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Brain & behaviour > Lecture 7 - Drugs and endogenous compounds in the brain > Flashcards

Lecture 7 - Drugs and endogenous compounds in the brain Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the categories of long term effects of drugs?

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A
  • Financial (pricy)
  • Social (lose friends, or gain friends from it)
  • Educational
  • Emotional
  • Physical
  • Behavioural
  • Political
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2
Q

What are Opiates?

A

They reduce pain - also know as analgesic’s

Examples: heroin, opium, morphine

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3
Q

What are Stimulants?

A

Increase alertness, intensify mood

Examples: Amphetamine, cocaine, caffeine nicotine

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4
Q

What are CNS Depressants?

A

Increase drowsiness, relax you

Examples: Barbituates, Alcohol, Benzos

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5
Q

What are Hallucinogens?

A

Alter perceptions and thoughts

Examples: LSD, Ketamine, Mushrooms

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6
Q

What are Cannabinoids?

A

Examples: Cannabis, hashish, skunk

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7
Q

What are the 4 drug related things that are illegal

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A

It is an offence to:

  • unlawfully possess a controlled drug
  • possess with intent to supply
  • unlawfully sell/give/ share
  • allow premises you occupy/ manage to be used for smoking/ drugs
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8
Q

Which drugs are illegal is often based upon?

A
  • Based on harmfulness

- Social decision - e.g. may be influenced by religion, in muslim countries, alcohol is illegal

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9
Q

Outline the case of David Nutt

A

Chairman of the Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) - fired in 2009 for publicly saying:

  • Alcohol and tobacco cause more harm than LSD, ecstacy and cannabis
  • came after a reconsideration of where cannabis should be classed. It kept switching from B to C
  • research showed it had minimal psychosis risk, he argued it should be C, but government said B
  • Debates between scientists and politicians
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10
Q

What are short term side effects of cannabis use?

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A
  • Increase heart rate
  • risk of lung cancer
  • small risk of psychosis
  • anxiety, panic attacks, paranoia: THC - the primary psychoactive ingredient
  • confusion/ loss of memory or concentration
  • Amotivation/ apathetic
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11
Q

How potent is Fentanyl?

A

100% more potent than morphine as an analgesic
50% more potent than heroin

Very very dangerous, lethal dose is absolutely tiny

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12
Q

What % of 16-24 year olds had taken an illict drug in the last year

A

1 in 5, 80% of 16-24 had taken an illicit dtug in the last year

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13
Q

When people are seekng treatment, what is it mainly sought for?

A

Opiates

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14
Q

What happens to an alcoholics brain?

A

Alcohlic brain has a bit of atrophy - gaps in the brain

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15
Q

As Blood Alcohol Content increases, what happens

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A

Impairment increases

  1. Mild impairement (0.00-0.05%) - euphoria, less anxious
    - mild impairements (speech, cognitions etc), feel relaxed
  2. Increased Impairment (0.06-0.15%) - judgement and coordination impaired
    - sometimes increased Aggression
    - further impairement
    - risk of injury to self or others
  3. Severe Impairement (0.16-0.30%) - sedation
    - Significant impairement
    - very bad driving
    - judgement and decision making impaired
    - unconcious, vomiting
    - signs of alcohol poisoning
  4. Life threatening (0.31-0.45%) - depressed respiration
    - loss of conciousness/ coma
    - could die
    - suppression of vital life functions
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16
Q

What does alcohol do to neurotransmitters in the brain?
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******

A
  • Increases Dopamine
  • Decreases Serotonin
  • Stimulates Optiate Neuropeptide release
  • Enhances GABA receptor function (inhibit the inhibitor further)
  • Inhibits Glutamate receptor (inhibit excitatory)
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17
Q

What are endogenous opiods?

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A
  • Produced in pituitary glands
  • Endophines, enkphalines, demorphines - natural pain killers
  • Released in brain when we drink alcohol, might stimulate further drinking, releases dopamine
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18
Q 
What impact does alcohol have on endogenous opioids and neurotransmitters?
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A
  • Drinking Alcohol releases endogenous opiods
    1. These release Dopamine
  • increased DA in pleasure/ reward areas, e.g. nuclues accumbens
  1. Inhibts serotonin
    - serotonin is usually a behavioural inhibitor, so when you take it away, you see increases in impulsivity and aggression
  2. Endorphines and Enkephalins are natural neural peptides
    - bind to opiate receptors, produce euphoric effects
    - Euphoria stimulates further drinking
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19
Q

What are the 3 Endogenous opioids?

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A
  1. Endorphines (reward pathways)
  2. Enkephalins (reward pathways)
  3. Demorphines (Dysphoria - unhappiness)
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20
Q

What do the first 2 Endogenous opioids do in the brain
Endoprhines & Enkephalins
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A
  • They activate the mesolimbic dopamine system (VTA -> NAc) - this is a reward pathway
  • this is implicated in drug addiction due to the increased dopamine
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21
Q

What does the 3rd Endogenous opioids do in the brain?
Demorphines
*******

A

Decreases dopamine levels released by the NAc

- you can decrease Da by activating Dynorphines

22
Q

What does Alcohol do to the Endogenous opioids

A

It can interfer with these 3 Endogenous opioid mechanisms

  • and this can change dopamine levels
  • e.g. getting reward, or dysphoria
23
Q

What impact does Alcohol have on opiod binding and production
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A

Alcohol has direct (either acute - short term, or chronic - long term) effects on:

  1. Binding properties of opioid receptors
  2. Opioid syntehesis and secretion
  • Basically just impacts how much our natural opiods can impact on the brain
24
Q

What has research into alcohol self-administration in rodents and primates found?
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A

found:

  1. Low doses of morphine = increased alcohol intake
  2. high doses of morphine = decreased alcohol intake
  • Conversely, opiod antagonists (binds to receptors but doesnt activate them) would decrease alcohol consumption
  • Shows that the effects of alcohol/ willingness to drink alcohol is interacting with these opioid effects
  • Alcohol depends on activity of endogenous opiod reward system. Alcohol consumptions may serve to compensate for inherent deficits in this system.
25
Q

What have Opiod Agonists been used for?

A

Have been used to prevent relapse in alcoholics

  • they bind to receptors but dont activate them
  • stopping the activation of this receptor
26
Q

Which receptors are involved in alcohol and opioids?

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A

μ-opioid (mu-opioid) receptors in the VTA and/or δ-receptors (delta receptors) in the NAC
- both are targets for endogenous endorphin

27
Q

Outline Endorphines

A
  • They are associated with pain, pleasure, exercise and reward
  • Anything that puts you past a threshold will release endorphins
  • Brain has similar response to pain as to pleasure
28
Q

Outline runners high

A

Feel high after a run - not clear if it is endorphines or something else (anandamide)

  • Unclear whats going on in the brain after a run
  • X - can people become exercise dependent as it brings a high
29
Q

What are 7 examples of Class A?

A
  1. heroin
  2. Cocaine
  3. Crack
  4. XTC
  5. LSD
  6. Mushrooms
  7. Methamphetamine (injection)
30
Q

What is the penalty for Class A?

A

Penalty for having/ doing/ possessing = 7 years prison (max) and an unlimited fine

31
Q

How does cocaine work in brain?

A

Binds to DA reuptake sites - impacts the amount of DA we have in the brain

32
Q

What are some of the adverse effects of cocaine on the brain?

A
  • Anxiety
  • Impact on uptake of NE and 5HT
  • Cerebral grey matter atrophy
  • Emotional instability
  • Psychosis
  • Inability to feel pleasure
  • Severe depression
33
Q

What did the 2013/2014 opiod death in USA look like?

A
  • Death from opiods are increasing
  • but fentanyl deaths doubled in one year
  • 20,000 OD in USA one year
  • and these are prescription pain relief drugs!
34
Q

Outline Metabolisim of heroin

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A

Why opiods are so harmful to the brain:

Codeine is a pain relief drug, and heroin is an illegal drug - but when they are metabolised (in liver cells), they read as Morphine ob lood tests,
- depends on your genes and enzymes, but this can happen:

Heroin + Codeine = morphine

35
Q

Outline the CYP2D6 Genotype

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A

Our genes determine how we respond to certain drugs, the CYP2D6 Genotype is involved in metabolising codeine into morphine. There are two variants of this genotype

  1. Fast Variant - rapid metabolisers
    - Can show a higher Morphine: codeine ratio - leading to a higher reading
  2. Slow variant
    - can lead to a lower mor:cod ratio - leading to a lower reading
36
Q

Outline what the Morphine: Codeine is used for?

A

The morphine:codeine ratio is often used to assess whether someone has used morphine or heroin

  • the cut off point is 1 - so it its above 1, they have likely used heroin recently
  • debate its too low and they are reading that they have had heroin, but in fact it was just codeine
37
Q

What are the functions of the Dopamine Pathways?

A
  • Reward (motivation)- ML
  • Pleasure, euphoria - ML
  • Motor function (fine-tuning) - NS
  • Compulsion - MC
  • Perserveration- MC
38
Q

What are the functions of the Serotonin Pathways

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A
  • Functions
  • Mood
  • Memory processing
  • Sleep
  • Cognition
39
Q

What do Class A drugs do to mood over time

A

Get the initial short term high, but then later on, due to the withdrawal of the drug you get that depressed mood

40
Q

On top of mood, what else does XTC-MDMA impact?

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A

Cognitive functions, like memory

- XTC users make more errors on all types of memory task compared to controls

41
Q

What do XTC users brains look like compared to non-users

A 
Much more atrophy
- shows class A drugs, and hallucinogens have long term imapcts
42
Q

What are 6 examples of Class B drugs?

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A
  1. Amphetamine
  2. Methylphenidate
  3. Cannabis
  4. Codeine
  5. Ketamine
  6. Barbituates
43
Q

What is the penalty for Class B drugs?

A

5 years in prison (max) and an unlimited fine

44
Q

What is the impact of amphetamines on physical apperance?

A

Quite drastic effects on physical appearances

  1. teeth & fums: dry mouth + grinding teeth, lack of oral hygeine
  2. Gaunt: loss of fat in your face, because meth suppressess appetite and causes undernourishment
  3. Can cause achne, and poor skin health - get dry and itch skin
  4. Facial Scarring - get sensation of bugs under the skin
45
Q

What % of meth takers have psychosis

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A

20% of meth takers estimated to experience psychosis

46
Q

What are 3 examples of Class C drugs?

A
  1. Mild Amphetamines (diet pill, Khat)
  2. Anabolic steroids
  3. Benzodiazepines (e.g. valium)
47
Q

What are the penalty for Class C drugs?

A

2 years max
- but usually just a warning

not a bad lawful implication, but quite an impact on your brain

48
Q

Briefly outline the balance of excitatoy and inhibitory NT

A
  1. Glutamate mediates excitatory side
    - allows positive Ions to enter and excite it
  2. GABA mediates inhibitory side
    - opens up GABA receptor, allowing Chlorine (anion) to come in, and inhibit the brain

they work together in a balance so we can function normally

49
Q

How do Benzo’s effect the brain

A

They attach onto the inhibitory GABA receptors and increase their activation - meaning more inhibitory effects can occur

  • increases the potency of GABA
  • as you need a certain amount of GABA to open the receptor, Benzo’s act like GABA, and open it up sooner
50
Q

What is the long term impact of Benzo’s on memory

A

The memory process:

  1. Acquire
  2. Short term memory
  3. Convert it to LTM
  • After a long time of Benzos, you lose the ability to convert STM into LTM’s. You can acquire and hold in STM but cant convert into LTM
  • Causes anterograde amnesia - cant form new memories
51
Q

Outline GABA

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A

Associated with:
•Anxiety - Benzo’s inhibit cell and reduce rate of firing so help here
•Motor Function
•Depression - Ketamine helps with depression perhaps because it enhances GABA transmission and perhaps Glutamate - interacts with this balance - can cause long term memory issues
- In theory Benzo’s should help but they dont

52
Q

How does Ketamine Help depression?

A
  • Does it very quickly, within hours, unlike SSRI
  • By enhancing GABA transmission / affecting glutamate?
  • Can cause memory loss, sedation, pain relief

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