Module 10: Drugs and Alcohol Flashcards
define: drug
Drug: Any chemicals other than food intended to affect the structure or function of the body.
define: psychoactive drug
Psychoactive drug: Chemicals that can alter a person’s consciousness or experience.
define: intoxication
Intoxication: The state of being mentally affected by a chemical (literally, a state of being poisoned).
define: addictive behaviour
Addictive behaviour: Any habit that becomes out of control, resulting in a negative effect on a person’s health.
define: addiction
Addiction: A chronic disease that disrupts the brain’s system of motivation, reward, and memory; characterized by a compulsive desire and increasing need for a substance or behaviour, and by harm to the individual and/or society.
List the characteristics of an addiction (5)
- reinforcement
- compulsion or craving
- loss of control
- escalation
- negative consequences
define: reinforcement
Reinforcement: Addictive behaviours reinforce themselves. Reinforcement can be positive—the activity or situation reliably results in pleasure or reward. It can also be negative—avoiding the drug or activity results in stress, anxiety, discomfort, or depression.
define: compulsion or craving
Compulsion or craving: The individual feels a strong compulsion—a compelling need or irresistible “hunger”—to engage in the behaviour. Craving is often associated with environmental cues and accompanied by obsessive planning for the next opportunity to perform it.
define: loss of control
Loss of control: The individual loses control over the behaviour and cannot block the impulse to do it.
define: escalation
Escalation: Addiction often involves a pattern of escalation in response to tolerance. More and more of the substance or activity is required to produce its desired effects.
define: negative consequences
Negative consequences: The behaviour continues despite serious negative consequences, such as problems with academic or job performance, personal relationships, and health; legal or financial troubles are also common.
List the routes of administration in terms of shortest to longest time for drug to reach peak concentration in the brain (4)
- inhalation
- injection (subcutaneous, intravenous, intramuscular)
- snorting
- oral dosage
Which routes of administration are more likely to cause dependence and why?
- Injections and smoking drugs
- Strong stimulus-response pairing
- Wear off more quickly
- Users may take more frequent doses
How do drugs affect the brain?
Alters effects of neurotransmitters; Some increase the effects of dopamine in the brain’s reward and pleasure pathway
How does cocaine affect the brain
- Cocaine blocks the removal of dopamine from a synapse; results in a buildup of dopamine and continuous stimulation of the receiving neurons
- Under normal circumstances, the amount of dopamine at a synapse is controlled partly by the reuptake of dopamine by the transmitting neuron
What are some factors that influence the drug effects? (7)
- pharmacological properties
- dose response function
- time action function
- drug use history
- route of administration
- physical factors (e.g. weight)
- psychological factors (e.g. setting)
define: pharmacological properties
Pharmacological properties (e.g. composition): The overall effects of a drug on a person’s behaviour, psychology, and chemistry.
define: dose-response function
Dose-response function (e.g. intensity): The relationship between the amount of a drug taken and the intensity and type of the resulting effect.
define: time-action function
Time-action function (e.g. lag time): The relationship between the time elapsed since a drug was taken and the intensity of its effect.
define: stimulants
- drugs that speed up the activity of the nervous and/or muscular system
give some examples of stimulants
Examples: caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, amphetamines, ecstasy, ritalin
What is the most popular psychoactive drug
caffeine
What can excessive consumption of caffeine do to you?
Excess consumption can cause shaking, difficulty concentrating, insomnia, and irregular heartbeat
What can caffeine withdrawal do to you?
Withdrawal can cause irritability, drowsiness and headaches
What is the leading preventable cause of disease, disability, and death
tobacco
Chronic smoking can cause emphysema. What is that?
Emphysema: damage to the elastic tissues making it difficult to exhale and requiring you to breathe in deeper; irreversible
What age can you quit smoking at and reverse your health to be close to a non-smoker?
Before the age of 30
define: popcorn lung
Popcorn lung: nickname used for lung disease caused by damage to the smallest airways causing you to feel short of breath and cough. Caused by vaping
define: crack
Crack’ is a less pure freebase form of cocaine