Neurobiology of Addiction Flashcards
what are the ICD-10 core symptoms of addiction?
strong desire to take substance
difficulties controllign substance use
physiological withdrawl state
tolerance
neglect of alternative pleasures
persistence depsite evidence of harm
what is CAGE and what is it used for?
used in identifying alcohol misuse
C- cut down
A- annoyed (at suggestion of addiction)
G- guilty
E- eye opener (first thing you fo in the morning)
what happens to dopamine receptors in an indiiual with addiciton
dopamine receptors are down regulated- less of a response than control suggesting tolerance
what drives the inital stages of addiction those following?
inital stages- postive reinforcment: brings pleasure
following stages- negative reinforcement: taking it to stop feeling down
which area of the brain is important in guiding behaviour, setting goals and focussing attention?
prefrontal cortex
how is the prefrontal cortex affected in teenagers?
still developing so inc in reckless behaviours and risk taking
what is one of the most common causes of death in heroin users?
respiratory depression
what is the active component of heroin?
diacetylmorphine
what can be used as part of opiod substitution therapy?
methadone
buprenorphine
how many ml of pure alochol is in a unit?
10ml in 1 unit
what is low/high risk drinking?
<14units a week spread evenly over three days
>15units a week
how is alcohol dependance measured?
severity of alcohol dependancy questtionaire (SADQ)
how does alcohol wihtdrawl affect glutamte and GABA?
excess glutamate activity
reduced GABA activity
what are the three models of addiction?
moral model- blame the person
dispositional disease model- recognises perosn has a problem that drove hem to addiction
personality models- persons personality is at fault
medical model- can be genetic influence
which benzo is useful in alcohol withdrawl?
chlordiazepoxide
