Problem 8

Question 1

Positive reinforcement

Answer 1

The effect that certain stimuli have on the behavior that preceded them

 ex. : smoking makes me feel more alert
               - -> more smoking 

• immediate reinforcing effects can overpower the recognition of longterm aversive effects

Question 2

Operant conditioning

Answer 2

Learning about the consequences of our behavior

–> good consequences = behavior is more likely to be repeated

Question 3

Dopamine

Answer 3

hormone, its release is necessary for a positive reinforcement to take place

 --> released into nucleus accumbens

Question 4

Ventral Striatum

Answer 4

Release of dopamine in this region results in the acquisition of a drug taking behavior

• includes the NAC

Question 5

Dorsal Striatum

Answer 5

Release of dopamine in this region results in a behavior that becomes habitual
– >impulse becomes difficult to resist (automatic)

• includes the Putamen + Basal Ganglia

Question 6

Control of compulsive drug taking behavior

Answer 6

Established by the interactions between the ventral + dorsal striatum

First Time = dopamine is released in ventral striatum

Following times = dopamine is released in dorsal striatum by the stimuli associated with taking the drug

 ex.: place, people

Question 7

Dopamine D1 Receptor

Answer 7

causes excitation + facilitates behavior

 --> habitual drug use results in an increase in these receptors

Question 8

Dopamine D2 Receptor

Answer 8

cause inhibition + suppresses behavior

 --> habitual drug use results in a decrease of them

Question 9

Prefrontal cortex

Answer 9

Judgment, appropriate behavior, risk taking

Question 10

Orexin

Answer 10

• Release in the VTA, NAC, dorsal striatum

- activation when the drug is administered

Question 11

MCH

Answer 11

• located in NAC
• reinforces the effects of drugs
• Inhibited by nicotine (plays a role in hunger)
  
  • -> appetite is suppressed by nicotine

Question 12

Negative Reinforcement

Answer 12

Behavior that turns off/reduces an aversive stimulus is more likely to be repeated/reinforced

 ex. : Smoking makes the craving for smoking go away
                 - -> more smoking

Question 13

Tolerance

Answer 13

Decreased Sensitivity to a drug which comes from continued use

 --> one must take a larger amount of the drug for it to be effective

Question 14

Why do we become tolerant to a drug

Answer 14

• Drugs disturb the normal homeostatic mechanisms in the brain
  
  • -> compensatory mechanisms begin to produce effects opposite to those of the drug

Question 15

Withdrawal Symptoms

Answer 15

When person stops taking the drug, compensatory mechanisms make themselves felt even with the absence of the drug

Question 16

Classical Conditioning

Answer 16

Stimuli that have been associated with the drug elicit craving

Question 17

Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex

vmPFC

Answer 17

plays an inhibitory role in reinstatement/relapse

Question 18

Dorsal anterior cingulate cortex

Answer 18

plays an exctitatory role in reinstatement/relapse

 --> has excitatory connections with the NAC

Question 19

Locus Coerelus &

Periaqueductal grey matter

Answer 19

plays a role in the production of withdrawal symptoms

Question 20

Cocaine

Answer 20

• dopamine agonist

- -> binds w/ receptors + deactivates dopamine transporter proteins = blocks reuptake of dopamine

Question 21

Amphetamine

Answer 21

• dopamine agonist

- -> directly stimulates the release of dopamine + blocks the reuptake of dopamine

Question 22

Nicotine

Answer 22

• stimulates ACh receptors + causes dopamine release in the NAC
• reinforcing effect is caused by the activation of the nicotinic receptors in the VTA

Question 23

Physical dependence on Nicotine

Procedure

Answer 23

• Nicotinic receptors serve as heteroreceptors on term. but. that release other neurotransmitters; here ACh
  1. ACh is released by terminal buttons
  2. ACh + Nicotinic Receptors open, entry of calcium
  3. Ca+ stimulates the release of ACh + Nicotine
  4. Enzyme AChE destroys ACh, but nicotine is not destroyed

5. As levels of nicotine stay steady
   
   • -> nicotinic receptors first activate
   • -> then convert to desensitized state

Question 24

Desensitized State

Answer 24

receptors bind with molecules but don’t react to neurotransmitter

 --> Smoke doesn't have an effect at some point

Question 25

Insula

Answer 25

larger in smokers, hardens the attempt to quit

–> damage to it makes quitting easier

Question 26

Anxiolytic effect

Answer 26

Doing things one, under normal circumstances, wouldn’t do

–> suppressed behavior

Question 27

NMDA Receptor and alcohol

Answer 27

Alcohol acts as an indirect antagonist at NMDA receptors

 --> interferes with the transmission of glutamate at NMDA receptors

=> accounts for memory loss

Question 28

GABAa Receptor and alcohol

Answer 28

Alcohol acts as an indirect agonist at the GABAa receptors

 --> enhances the action of GABA

=> accounts for anxiolytic effect + sedation

Question 29

THC

Answer 29

produced by marijuhana plant

 --> stimulates the release of dopamine

Question 30

CB1 Receptor

Answer 30

site of action of endogenous cannabinoids

 - -> if blocked; not high - large numbers are found in the hippocampus which plays a role in memory

Question 31

Cannabidiol

CBD

Answer 31

• antagonist
• not reinforcing –> not high=> opposite to THC