Lecture 17

Question 1

What is the wanting and liking theory?

Answer 1

When a given drug is associated with certain cues, and the cues elicit a desire for a drug (incentive sensitization theory)

Question 2

What is wanting versus liking? Which one goes up as use and effect goes up?

Answer 2

Wanting- Craving for the drug
Liking- pleasure produced by the drug
Wanting goes up, liking goes down

Question 3

Why do some people become addicted?

Answer 3

Firstly, the brain regions associated with pleasure are activated (ventral tegmentum). Then, people begin enjoying the drug in a social context. Tolerance increases, liking may go down, dose goes up (i need more to like this- incentive salience)

Question 4

What is the reward pathway?

Answer 4

Ventral tegmentum, hippocampus, basal ganglia, preforntal cortex

Question 5

What possesses incentive salience (Needing more to like a drug)

Answer 5

Cues

Question 6

What is cue driven behaviour and how does it contribute to addiction?

Answer 6

All the places associated with taking the drug-contribute to habit through learning in the dorsal striatum

Question 7

Why isn’t everyone an addict?

Answer 7

Because drug use varies (From type of drug, and type of user-genetics, social factors etc)

Question 8

Can alcohol cause brain damage?

Answer 8

YES. Long term use can damage it due to vitamin deficiencies as a result of a poor diet-thiamine (vitamin B deficiency), and produce memory dysfunction (Korsokoffs)

Question 9

What are some of the positive symptoms associated with MDMA?

Answer 9

Euphoria, willingness to communicate, energy, decrease in fear, feeling of love and empathy, mild visual hallucinations, increased body temperature, decreased pain perception

Question 10

What are some of the negative symptoms associated with MDMA?

Answer 10

Inappropriate emotional bonding, short-term memory loss, hyperthermia/dehydration, nausea/vomiting, vertigo, mild-severe depression, neurotoxicity, small risk of death (2/100000)

Question 11

How did AA Berthold discover testosterone?

Answer 11

Removed rooster testes-rooster no longer crowed or engaged in sexual/aggressive behaviour. Reimplanted them into the body cavity, normal behaviour returned. Conclusion was there must be some sort of release of a chemical into the bloodstream

Question 12

What are the steroid hormones?

Answer 12

Includes testosterone and cortisol. Synthesized from cholesterol, lipid soluble. Produced in gonads, adrenal cortex, thyroid. Binds to steroid receptors and influences gene transcription

Question 13

What are the peptide hormones?

Answer 13

Includes insulin, growth hormone, endorphins. Produced by cellular DNA, binds to metabotrophic receptors.

Question 14

What are the 3 functional groups of hormones?

Answer 14

Homeostatic, gonadal, and glucocorticoids.

Question 15

What are homeostatic hormones?

Answer 15

Maintain an internal metabolic balance, regulate physiological systems. Includes aldosterone which is involved in the regulation of water concentration, sodium, potassium, and calcium in the body

Question 16

What are the gonadal hormones?

Answer 16

Control reproductive functions-testosterone and estrogen/progesterone. Influence sexual behaviour, control menstrual cycle (progesterone), birthing of babies, release of breast milk (oxytocin, prolactin)

Question 17

What are the glucocorticoids?

Answer 17

Stress hormones (cortisol). Induce fight or flight response, protein and carbohydrate metabolism, controlling blood sugar levels.

Question 18

What does stress actually mean?

Answer 18

A process in which an agent exerts force upon an object

Question 19

What is a stressor?

Answer 19

A stimulus that challenges the body’s homeostasis and triggers arousal.

Question 20

Who was the first person to try and define stress?

Answer 20

Hans Selye

Question 21

What are the physiological components of stress?

Answer 21

Increased heart rate , mobilization of energy stores (Similar across all situations)

Question 22

What was the experiment on the Capilano suspension bridge?

Answer 22

Subjects crossed either the suspension bridge or a control bridge. Afterwards, were asked to fill out a questionnaire rating “effects of exposure to scenic attractions on creative expressions.” The research assistant would then give the people her number to call her if they had questions.

Question 23

What were the results on the Capilano suspension bridge experiment?

Answer 23

Those who had crossed it were more likely to call the female interviewer, as well as include sexual content in the short story (9/18)

Question 24

What are the two pathways activated in response to a stressor?

Answer 24

Fast-acting pathway and slow-acting pathway

Question 25

What is the fast-acting pathway?

Answer 25

Prepares body for immediate fight or flight, ends in release of epinephrine.

Question 26

What is the slow-acting pathway?

Answer 26

Activates in minutes to hours, turns off bodily systems not required to deal with the immediate stressor. (insulin, reproduction etc)

Question 27

Why should we shut down the stress response?

Answer 27

Chronic stress results in… continued mobilization of energy stores, inhibition of growth hormone, reduction of ability to replace lost nutrients, inhibition of reproductive functions, suppression of immune functions.

Question 28

Who proposed that the hippocampus is part of the feedback loop to shut down stress and why did he propose this?

Answer 28

Robert Sapolsky- Hippocampus has a high density of cortisol receptors and axons that project to the hypothalamus. Chronic stress (overexposure to cortisol) damages the hippocampus.

Question 29

What is PTSD?

Answer 29

Develops after a life-threatening, traumatic event. Symptoms include intrusive recollection (possible hippocampal damage), avoidance/numbing, hyperarousal.

Question 30

What is the theory of PTSD?

Answer 30

People with it do not shut down cortisol production as quickly as normal people-they have a smaller hippocampus.

Question 31

What were the twin studies done on PTSD to see if the smaller hippocampus was caused by PTSD or if they were born with it?

Answer 31

Looked at the hippocampus of the twin of someone with PTSD and one of someone who did not develop PTSD. Found that monozygotic twins of PTSD sufferers have a smaller hippocampus than non-sufferers.

Question 32

What is virtual reality exposure therapy and how does it help with PTSD?

Answer 32

Controlled virtual reality environment, gradual increase in stressful components. Can be used to prevent PTSD. Drugs can also be administered during this to eliminate the memory of the event.