Physiological Psychology and Psychopharmacology Flashcards
Acetylcholine (ACh)
- Neurotransmitter
- causes muscles to contract
- Myasthenia Gravis - auto-immune disorder causing profound weakness in skeletal muscles
Tyramine interacts with MAOIs
Decreased Tyramine in a diet is essential when taking an MAOI in order to avoid a hypertensive crisis.
Elevated levels of dopamine in the __________ pathway of the brain are responsible for the reinforcing effects of alcohol, psychostimulants, and opiates.
Mesolimbic Pathways
There’s evidence that, for some patients, depressive symptoms can be alleviated by either a placebo or an antidepressant and that a placebo and antidepressants affect the same area of the brain. More specifically, the research has found that:
A placebo produces increased activity in the prefrontal cortex while antidepressants produce decreased activity.
What do drugs that block the activity of ACh do?
Produce dry mouth, blurred vision, tachycardia, sedation, and hypotension
Who is at the highest risk for a migraine headache?
35 year-old female perfectionist and ambitious
Migraine symptoms
Does not begin with an aura and may be exacerbated by bending over or lifting
Tumor in medial hypothalamus would likely cause what changes?
Outbursts of aggressive behavior
Describe depression in people with Parkinsons
Appears to be endogenous to the disorder and may precede motor symptoms, especially in younger patients.
If a young child (ie: 1 year old) sustains brain damage to the left hemisphere at Broca’s Area, what will the outcome most likely be?
The child will likely ultimately eventually exhibit language abilities in the low to normal range, as the other brain hemisphere due to a take-over of language functions by the right hemisphere.
Serial Position Effect
- The tendency for a person to recall the first and last bits of information best and the middle items worst.
- Can be best explained by the 3-Boxes Model (multi-store) of Memory
When compare to patients with a TBI, volunteers instructed to malinger (fake brain injury) are:
Less likely to exhibit a recency effect.
What is Tardive Dyskinesia due to?
- TARDIVE DYSKENESIA and DOPAMINE are connected
- Tardive dyskenesia can be caused by dopamine blockers
- TDs are most common in patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or bipolar disorder who have been treated with antipsychotic medication for long periods (but they occasionally occur in other patients as well.
- Could be treated with drugs that increase dopamine levels
For patients who develop Tardive Dyskinesia as a result of neuroleptic use, what are outcomes
- Symptoms may eventually improve to some degree following neuroleptic withdrawal.
Drugs that are given for alleviating psychotic symptoms such as those that accompany Schizophrenia or Psychotic Disorder
- Risperdal (less likely to produce Tardive Dyskenesia than traditional neuroleptics)
- Zyprexa
- Thorazine
not prescribed: Tegretol
Metobolic Encephalopathy - condition
- Can cause delirium
- May be caused by kidney or liver failure, diabetes, hypo or hyper thyroidism, vitamin deficiency, severe dehydration
Post-central gyrus of brain
- Sense of touch
Pre-central gyrus of brain
- Movement
Anterior Cingulate Cortex
Emotional reactions to pain
Central Acromatopsia
Cannot distinguish between hues. Due to bilateral lesions in the occipito-temporal region
What is the prognosis for those with a minor brain injury?
50% have post-concussion syndrome; most will recover completely within 3-6 months. If symptoms are still present after 1 year, they may be permanent.
Sleep disturbance in Depression has shown what about sleep cycle patterns?
Decreased latency and increased density of REM sleep
Describe Physiological mechanisms of eye blinking
Potentiated when viewing UNpleasant stimulus, and INHIBITED when viewing pleasant stimulus
A child suddenly has severe behavior problems after no history and no trauma. What could be happening?
Tumor pushing on various parts of the brain.
What are the most common symptom of Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome?
Muscle rigidity, hyperthermia (hot) and stupor
What setting has been found to be the most likely to prescribe central nervous system medications?
Primary care clinics
Where does tactile sensation and visiospacial functions mediated in the brain?
The parietal lobe
Hydrocephalus
Problems with ventricles
What does the medication phenothiazine help?
Hallucinations
Anomia: Describes what?
-Inability to recall the names of familiar objects, attributes, or actions
Alexia: Describes what?
Reading impairment due to brain injury
Agnosia: Describes what?
Inability to recognize certain objects (VISUAL) or sounds (auditory)
Ataxia: Describes what?
Inability to perform certain actions not due to paralysis, sensory impairment, or lack of understanding
Relationship between alcohol use and the neurotransmitter glutamate
Contributes to the effect of alcohol on cognitive abilities
What excitatory neurotransmitter is underlying several neurogenative disorders, causes Long Term Potentiation (LTP) exociticity
Glutamate
An antidepressant that may cause drowsiness
Pamelor
Looking at cerebral blood flow in order to view brain activity underlies PET, fMRI, and SPECT. Which one common test does not
CT Imaging- it alternately looks at brain STRUCTURES