Lecture 12

Question 1

Which drug is the most problematic in the UK?

Answer 1

Alcohol

Question 2

What receptor/s does alcohol act on?

Answer 2

Multiple

Question 3

What factors contribute to addiction?

Answer 3

Genetic sensitivity
Social environment
Personality and personal history

Question 4

Why are flies a good model for studying addiction?

Answer 4

Cost efficient, 50% of shared genes. 75% of genes implicated in human disease are found in flies

Question 5

Explain the booz-o-mat

Answer 5

Mat on which the flies are placed. Can alter the air, change from oxygen to ethanol. Use camera to measure flies movement and create locomotor velocity profiles.

Question 6

Explain the inebriometer

Answer 6

Flies sit in tube with ethanol vapour. As the flies get ‘drunk’ they fall through the tube. The elution time can then be measured.

Question 7

Define tolerance

Answer 7

A decrease in sensitivity when a drug is used repeatedly over time.

Question 8

Define sensitivity

Answer 8

Inability to tolerate the adverse effects of the drug

Question 9

What is the cheapdate mutant?

Answer 9

Has an increased sensitivity to ethanol, takes less time to fall through the tube. Mutation causes a lack of activation in the cAMP pathway. cAMP pathway is needed to decrease sensitivity to drugs.

Question 10

What is the hangover mutant?

Answer 10

Flies don’t develop a tolerance to ethanol. No expression of zn-finger protein in the brain. Hangover usually acts to increase the transcription of dunce which decreases the levels of cAMP. No hangover=no dunce=no decreased cAMP. cAMP is needed to increase tolerance.