Neural Disorders: Advances and Challenges

Question 1

Harmful drug use

Answer 1

Drug abuse

Question 2

a pathological desire for drugs that occupies an inordinate amount of an individual’s time and thoughts at the expense of other activities

Answer 2

Drug addiction or drug dependence

Question 3

9% of Americans have this health problem that costs the nation more than $276 billion each year

Answer 3

Drug abuse

Question 4

difficulty controlling frequency of use and terminating use, despite a stated desire to do so

Answer 4

Addiction

Question 5

a specific network of neurons that produce pleasure from abusing drugs; it’s normally involved in an important type of learning that helps us to stay alive, but has evolved to mediate the pleasurable and motivating effects of natural rewards

Answer 5

Brain reward system

Question 6

How do drugs of abuse affect neurons such that they begin to exert their influence?

Answer 6

Abused drugs alter the ways neurotransmitters carry their messages from neuron to neuron; some mimic neurotransmitters, whereas others block them, and some alter the way neurotransmitters are released or inactivated

Question 7

Why is the brain reward system activated inappropriately in all cases?

Answer 7

Because drugs alter the chemical messages sent among neurons in the circuit

Question 8

What else, besides the brain reward system, is required for addiction to occur?

Answer 8

The drugs themselves change the brain of susceptible individuals; the brain regions that are altered involve executive functions and judgment which are important in inhibiting behavior and decision-making

Question 9

What other factors influence the process of becoming addicted?

Answer 9

Motivation (taking opioids to get high vs. using them to relieve pain); Genetic susceptibility/environmental factors (stress can alter people’s response to drugs); the characteristics of the drugs themselves; and the development of tolerance as well as drug dependence

Question 10

the progressive need for a higher drug dose to achieve the same effect

Answer 10

Tolerance

Question 11

the adaptive physiological state that results in withdrawal symptoms when drug use stops

Answer 11

Drug dependence

Question 12

the feeling that a person can’t live without a drug must also be present with the standard responses of tolerance and dependence for addiction to occur

Answer 12

Motivational form of dependence

Question 13

Synonymous with alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction; nearly 14 million people have this problem which has an annual cost of $185 billion

Answer 13

Alcoholism or alcohol dependence

Question 14

this affects about 0.5 to 3 of every 1,000 babies born in the US and is the leading preventable cause of mental retardation

Answer 14

Fetal alcohol syndrome

Question 15

Responsible for more than 25,000 deaths each year, it’s the main chronic health problem associated with alcohol addiction

Answer 15

Cirrhosis

Question 16

susceptible individuals may feel an opioid-like euphoria from their own endorphins because _______ activates the __________ ______ system

Answer 16

alcohol; endogenous opioid

Question 17

this medication was developed for heroin addiction, and after research showed that opiate receptors were involved in the dopamine-reward activation of alcohol, it was approved by the FDA for the treatment of alcoholism in 1995

Answer 17

Naltrexone

Question 18

naturally occurring brain chemicals that induce the same actions as drugs

Answer 18

Opioids

Question 19

brain structures involved in rewarding cocaine and amphetamines

Answer 19

prefrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, ventral tegmental area

Question 20

the prefrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, amygdala, and ventral tegmental area are all rewarded when _______ are used

Answer 20

Opiates (a specific kind of opioid)

Question 21

what is the active ingredient in alcoholic beverages that reduces anxiety, tension, and inhibitions?

Answer 21

Ethanol (low doses - stimulant, high doses - depressant; significantly alters mood and behavior and can also cause heat loss and dehydration)

Question 22

what happens when alcohol interacts with the GABA receptor?

Answer 22

calm anxiety, impair muscle control, and delays reaction time; at higher doses, NMDA receptors may no longer be able to recognize the neurotransmitter glutamate and can cloud thinking which may eventually lead to a coma

Question 23

Ecstasy, Rohypnol (“roofies”), GHB (gammahydroxy-butyrate), and ketamine are all known as…?

Answer 23

Club drugs

Question 24

a synthetic psychoactive drug with hallucinogenic and amphetamine-like properties; users encounter problems similar to those found with the use of amphetamines and cocaine

Answer 24

MDMA (“Adam”, “ecstasy”, or “XTC”)

Question 25

the central nervous system depressants which are often colorless, tasteless, and odorless

Answer 25

Rohypnol, GHB, and ketamine

Question 26

Rohypnol, GHB, and ketamine have been called the…?

Answer 26

Daterape drugs

Question 27

abused for its euphoric, sedative, and anabolic (body-building) effects

Answer 27

Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

Question 28

a fast-acting general anesthetic (a drug that brings about a reversible loss of consciousness) that has sedative, hypnotic, analgesic (pain-relieving), and hallucinogenic properties

Answer 28

Ketamine (or “Special K”)

Question 29

distorts perception and alters the sense of time, space, and self; can produce intense anxiety

Answer 29

Marijuana

Question 30

the active ingredient in marijuana

Answer 30

tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)