Lectures 7 & 8 - Addiction I & II Flashcards
(83 cards)
What is addiction?
In the DSM-V (Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) the criteria are:
- Tolerance, withdrawal
- Taking more than intended, failure to quit
- Time lost, social engagements lost, use despite knowledge of problem
In general, drug taking that negatively affects one’s life, is compulsive, and resistant to quit attempts
What does addiction result from?
Results from complex interactions between the drug, the user and the environment
What 5 drug factors influence addiction development?
- Pharmacological effects
- Rewarding effects
- Aversive side effects
- Potency
- Mode of delivery
What is tolerance?
Reduced behavioral or physiological response to the same dose
What is physical dependence?
Elicitation of a withdrawal syndrome when consumption is terminated
Symptoms of alcohol addiction?
The symptoms and severity are determined by the amount and duration of alcohol consumption and include:
- Sleep disruption
- SNS activation
- Tremors
- Seizures in severe cases
What 5 user factors influence addiction development?
- Age of onset
- Psychiatric comorbidity
- Genetics
- Family history
- Personality
What 3 environmental factors influence addiction development?
- Stress
- Availability
- Cultural norms
Between marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco, which is the most addictive?
Tobacco
Describe the typical human use pattern.
Initial experimentation => repeated intake, recreational use => compulsive drug seeking => attempted cessation, withdrawal and back to either 2 or 3
What group of people are more prone to developing addictions?
Adolescents
3 properties of alcohol?
- Anxiolytic
- Hypnotic
- Anesthetic
Incidence of people who die from alcohol related causes?
3 in 100
Number of people worldwide that are alcohol dependent?
76 M
5 brain parts associated with addiction and alcohol?
- Mesolimbic dopamine system
- Nucleus accumbens
- Amygdala
- Striatum
- Hippocampus
What is ethanol? How is it formed?
Ethanol is an amphipathic molecule and as such is readily soluble in aqueous and non-aqueous environments, can pass through biological membranes (in sec-min) and effects membrane fluidity dynamics
Fermentation between Hordeum vulgare/Humulus lupulus (hops and barley)and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast): C6H12O6 (glucose from yeast anaerobically)→ 2 CH3CH2OH + 2 CO2
Alcohol addiction treatment?
Medications currently approved in the US to combat alcohol dependence include:
- Disulfiram (Antabuse): 1949
- Naltrexone (ReVia): 1994
- Acamprosate (Campral): 2004
- Long-Acting Naltrexone (Vivitrol): 2006
What is ethanol a target of in the body?
It is a target of many signaling molecules including most ligand-gated ion channels: NT gated ion channels for glutamate, GABA, acetylcholine, and serotonin are differentially affected by alcohol in a dose dependent fashion beginning with non-intoxicating levels
What chemical reactions can ethanol take part in? What to note?
- Hydrogen bonding at –OH group
- Very weak hydrophobic interactions (-CH3 end of molecule)
NOTE: limits alcohol to low affinity (~mM) interactions with biomolecules
8 effects of alcohol in vivo?
- Pregnancy: birth defects, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
- Liver: damage, cirrhosis, fatty liver
- Diuretic (↓ vasopressin)
- Serum lipoproteins (↑ HDL)
- Cardiovascular effects
- Decreased muscle strength
- Internal body temperature falls
- Sexual function: initial increase in libido; long-term: gonadal atrophy
3 actionc of alcohol on the CNS?
- Inhibition of excitatory neurotransmission
- Enhancement of inhibitory neurotransmission
- Modulation of dopamine release
=> Disturbances in these balances produce dis-inhibition, ataxia and sedation, and depression of the CNS
When does alcohol tolerance develop?
After chronic use
When does alcohol physical dependence develop?
Upon alcohol withdrawal
How does alcohol cause death?
Respiratory arrest due to effects on brain respiratory center