Physiological Psych/Psychopharm Flashcards
Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome
Neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) is a rare, but potentially fatal side effect of the antipsychotic drugs. It involves a rapid onset of motor, mental, and autonomic symptoms including muscle rigidity, tachycardia, hyperthermia, and altered consciousness. To avoid a potentially fatal outcome, the drug must be stopped as soon as symptoms of NMS develop.
Broca’s aphasia
Broca’s aphasia is caused by damage to Broca’s area and involves difficulty producing written or spoken language with little or no comprehension issues; it often includes anomia and impaired repetition.
Aphasia is impaired production and/or comprehension of language.
Conduction aphasia
Conduction aphasia is caused by damage to the arcuate fasciculus and does not significantly affect comprehension but does result in anomia, paraphasia, and impaired repetition.
anomia - patient is unable to recall the names of everyday objects.
paraphasia - words are jumbled and sentences meaningless.
Aphasia is impaired production and/or comprehension of language.
Wernicke’s Aphasia
receptive
Wernicke’s aphasia is caused by damage to Wernicke’s area and involves an inability to comprehend written or spoken language along with the production of rapid, seemingly effortless speech that is lacking in content; it may include anomia, paraphasia, and impaired repetition.
Aphasia is impaired production and/or comprehension of language.
Hypoglycemia
Hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) is caused by excessive secretion of insulin by the pancreas and is characterized by hunger, dizziness, headaches, blurred vision, palpitations, anxiety, depression, and confusion.
All-or-None Principle
The all-or-none principle predicts that an action potential will always be of the same magnitude regardless of the amount of stimulation received by a neuron as long as the minimal level of stimulation (the threshold) has been reached.
Action Potential
With sufficient stimulation from other cells, a cell becomes depolarized (the interior of the cell becomes less negative), which triggers an action potential - i.e., an electrical impulse that travels quickly through the cell.
Neuron
The neuron is a specialized nerve cell involved in mental processes and behavior. Messages within a neuron are transmitted from a neuron’s dendrites to the end of its axon through an electrical process called conduction.
Weber’s Law
Weber’s Law states that the just noticeable difference in stimulus intensity is a constant proportion of the initial stimulus intensity.
Fechner’s law
Fechner’s law states that physical stimulus changes are logarithmically related to their psychological sensations
Stevens’s Power Law
Stevens’s Power Law proposes that the magnitude of a sensation is equal to the physical magnitude of the stimulus producing the sensation raised to a certain power (exponent) which varies, depending on the specific sensation being measured.
Psychophysical Laws
The psychophysical laws attempt to predict the relationship between perception and sensation.
suprachiasmatic nucleus
The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which is located in the hypothalamus, is involved in regulation of the body’s circadian rhythms.
Hypothalamus
The hypothalamus consists of a cluster of nuclei that control the autonomic nervous system and endocrine glands, mediate basic drives, and regulate emotional expression.
Imipramine, Clomipramine
Tricyclics
Imipramine has also been found useful for treating enuresis, (inability to control urination) while clomipramine is an effective treatment for Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia, Bulimia Nervosa, and OCD.
Tricyclics
The tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) are believed to work by blocking the reuptake of norepinephrine, dopamine, and/or serotonin. They are most effective for alleviating somatic, vegetative symptoms. Side effects include anticholinergic effects, confusion, drowsiness, weight gain, and cardiovascular symptoms.
Temporal Lobe And Wernicke’s Area
The temporal lobe contains the primary auditory cortex and Wernicke’s area.
Damage can result in
- auditory agnosia
- cortical deafness
- impairments in long-term memory
- Wernicke’s (receptive) aphasia
General Adaptation Syndrome
According to Selye, the human response to stress is mediated by adrenal-pituitary secretions (e.g., cortisol) and involves three stages:
- alarm reaction
- resistance
- exhaustion
The model predicts that prolonged stress can result in illness or death.
Occipital Lobe And Visual Agnosia/Prosopagnosia
The occipital lobe contains the visual cortex.
Damage to the occipital lobe can result in
- visual agnosia (inability to recognize familiar objects),
- color agnosia,
- word blindness, and/or
- scotomas (blind spots).
Lesions at the junction of the occipital, temporal, and parietal lobes can produce prosopagnosia (inability to recognize familiar faces).
Emotion (Areas Of The Brain)
Areas of the brain that have been implicated in the regulation of emotion include the
- amygdala (which plays a role in the perception and expression of anger, fear, sadness, happiness, and other emotions and attaches emotion to memories)
- hypothalamus (which is involved in the translation of emotions into physical responses)
- cerebral cortex. With regard to the latter, the left hemisphere governs happiness and other positive emotions, while the right hemisphere mediates sadness, fear, and other negative emotions.
Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive degenerative disease characterized by tremor, muscular rigidity, akathisia, akinesia, and speech difficulties; and it may eventually include dementia. Symptoms are temporarily relieved by L-dopa, a dopamine agonist. Parkinson’s disease is believed to be due to degeneration of dopamine-containing cells, especially in the substantia nigra.
Frontal Lobe (contains, involved in)
The frontal lobe occupies the major portion of the cortex and includes the primary motor cortex, supplementary motor area, premotor cortex, Broca’s area, and prefrontal cortex.
It is involved in
- initiative
- planning ability
- abstract thinking
- executive functions;
- personality and mood; and
- motor functions.
Damage to: Frontal Lobe, Broca’s Area, Prefrontal Cortex
Damage to Broca’s area produces Broca’s (expressive) aphasia.
Damage to the prefrontal cortex produces personality changes and deficits in higher-level cognitive abilities.
Menopause/Hormone Replacement Therapy
The decreased estrogen levels that accompany menopause produce a variety of emotional and physical symptoms including hot flashes, fatigue, mood swings, nausea, vaginal dryness, and loss of bone mass.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) alters estrogen levels only or both estrogen and progesterone levels and is effective for eliminating hot flashes, mood swings, and vaginal dryness and reduces the risk for bone loss.
Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism is caused by hyposecretion of thyroxine and involves a slowed metabolism, slowed heart rate, lethargy, lowered body temperature, impaired concentration and memory, and depression.
Hyperthyroidism
Hyperthyroidism is caused by hypersecretion of thyroxine by the thyroid gland and is characterized by a sped-up metabolism, elevated body temperature, accelerated heart rate, increased appetite with weight loss, nervousness, and insomnia.
Hypertension
There are two types of hypertension.
Primary (essential) hypertension occurs when there is no known physiological cause.
Secondary hypertension occurs when elevated blood pressure is related to a known disease.
Primary hypertension accounts for about 85 to 90% of all cases; untreated, it can lead to cardiovascular disease. It is a major cause of heart failure, kidney failure, and stroke.
The prevalence of hypertension is related to age, race, and gender. Older adults have higher rates than younger adults, and African Americans have higher rates than Whites. Rates are generally higher for men; however, for older adults and African Americans, rates are higher for women.
Methylphenidate
Methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta, Metadate) is a psychostimulant drug used to treat ADHD in children and adults.
Common side effects include decreased appetite, insomnia, dysphoria, and growth suppression.
Naltrexone
Naltrexone (ReVia, Vivitrol) is an opioid antagonist that blocks the craving for and reinforcing effects of alcohol and is used to treatment Alcohol Abuse and Dependence.
Side effects include abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting, insomnia, nervousness, headache, and joint and muscle pain.
Gate-Control Theory of Pain
According to gate-control theory, there are mechanisms in the spinal cord that mediate (block) the perception of pain.
Effects Of Psychoactive Drugs
Terms used to describe the effects of the psychoactive drugs include the following:
(1) Agonists produce effects similar to those produced by a neurotransmitter.
(2) Inverse agonists produce an effect opposite the effect produced by a neurotransmitter or an agonist.
(3) Partial agonists produce effects that are similar to (but less than) the effects produced by a neurotransmitter or an agonist.
(4) Antagonists produce no activity in the cell on their own but, instead, reduce or block the effects of a neurotransmitter or agonist.
Basal Ganglia Pathology
Pathology
Basal ganglia pathology has been linked to
- Huntington’s disease
- Parkinson’s disease
- Tourette’s Disorder
- OCD
- ADHD
Basal Ganglia Parts
CGPS
- Caudate nucleus
- Globus pallidus
- Putamen
- Substantia nigra
Basal Ganglia
What they do
The basal ganglia are subcortical structures that are involved in planning, organizing, and coordinating voluntary movements
Hippocampus
The hippocampus is a limbic system structure that is important for spatial and explicit memory and the consolidation of declarative memories.
Parasympathetic Branch
The parasympathetic branch regulates energy conservation and relaxation.
Activation is associated with:
- slowing of heart rate
- lowered blood pressure
- contraction of pupils
- reduction of sweat gland output
- increased activity of the digestive system
Sympathetic Branch
The sympathetic branch is involved in the mediation of flight or fight (emergency) reactions. Activation of the sympathetic branch produces increased:
- heart rate
- pupil dilation
- increased blood sugar
- inhibition of the digestive processes
Autonomic Nervous System
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is a division of the peripheral nervous system and is involved in the control of visceral functions
- heart rate
- blood pressure
- respiration
- digestion
- sweating
It consists of the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches:
The right hemisphere dominates in
- visual-spatial activities such as facial recognition
- spatial interpretation and memory for shapes
- negative emotions
The left hemisphere dominates
Brain Lateralization
in
- verbal activities (spontaneous speaking and writing, word recognition, memory for words and numbers)
- analytical
- logical thought
- positive emotional states.
Brain Lateralization Discovery
This specialization is referred to as brain lateralization and was initially studied in split-brain patients, whose corpus callosums had been severed to control severe epilepsy.
Type A Behavior Pattern
People exhibiting the Type A behavior pattern are highly competitive and achievement-oriented, have a sense of time urgency, and tend to be hostile, easily irritated, and impatient.
A number of studies have confirmed that, of the Type A characteristics, cynical or antagonistic hostility is most strongly associated with health problems, especially coronary heart disease in males.
Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal Axis
Although the mechanisms that trigger the development of the secondary sex characteristics are not well understood, it occurs when the hypothalamus secretes chemicals that stimulate the anterior pituitary gland, which then releases the gonadotropic hormones that stimulate testosterone and sperm production by the testes or ovulation and estrogen production by the ovaries. This system is referred to as the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis.
Secondary Sex Characteristics
At puberty, an increase in gonadal hormones influences the emergence of secondary sex characteristics and the development of the reproductive system.
Benzos
Side effects and withdrawal
Side effects include
- drowsiness
- ataxia
- slurred speech
- other signs of CNS depression
- paradoxical agitation
- impaired sexual functioning
- confusion
- sleep disturbances
abrupt cessation can cause rebound hyperexcitability
Benzodiazepines
What are they used for
Benzodiazepines are the most commonly prescribed anxiolytic and are used for
anxiety,
sleep disturbances,
seizures,
cerebral palsy, and
alcohol withdrawal.
Sedative-Hypnotics (Benzodiazepines)
What are they
The sedative-hypnotics:
- barbiturates
- anxiolytics
- alcohol
are generalized CNS depressants with dose dependent effects.
Low doses reduce arousal and motor activity; moderate doses induce sedation and sleep; and high doses produce anesthesia, coma, and death.
Spinal Cord Segments and Groups
It consists of 31 segments, which are divided into five groups. From the top of the spinal cord to the bottom, these are:
- cervical
- thoracic
- lumbar
- sacral
- coccygeal
Spinal Cord (Quardriplegia and Paraplegia)
The spinal cord carries information between the brain and the peripheral nervous system, coordinates activities of the left and right sides of the body, and controls simple reflexes that do not involve the brain.
Damage at the cervical level ordinarily results in quadriplegia (loss of sensory and voluntary motor functioning in the arms and legs), while damage at the thoracic level causes paraplegia (loss of functioning in the legs).
