Psychoactive Drugs Flashcards
psychoactive drug
chemical compound capable of altering consciousness
depressant
class of psychoactive drug that has sedative effects on the nervous system decreases processing speed, heart rate, blood pressure, arousal
barbiturate
depressant that affects the central nervous system and can be used to treat anxiety, insomnia, and seizures
causes negative side effects, habit forming
benzodiazepine
depressant that increases the effects of GABA in the CNS and can be used to treat anxiety, insomnia, and seizures
lower addiction potential than barbiturates and is more commonly prescribed
short/intermediate acting benzodiazepine
benzodiazepine that is used to treat insomnia
long acting benzodiazepine
benzodiazepine that is used to treat anxiety
alcohol
depressant
lowers inhibition, slows sympathetic nervous system, inhibits REM sleep
hallucinogen
class of psychoactive drug that causes perceptual distortions of reality and experiences of sensations that are not present
LSD
hallucinogen that affects serotonin transmission and causes mostly visual hallucinations
psilocybin
hallucinogen found in certain mushrooms
PCP
hallucinogen that is made synthetically and causes analgesic as well as hallucinogenic effects
marijuana (THC)
mild hallucinogen that relieves pain and nausea, increases perceptual sensitivity, decreases inhibition and motor skills, and causes lethargy
opiate
a class of psychoactive drug that causes analgesic effects by acting on receptors for endorphins
morphine
an opiate obtained from the opium plant that is prescribed for its strong analgesic effects
heroin
opiate obtained from the processing of morphine that is highly addictive
opioid
opiate made synthetically
stimulant
class of psychoactive drug that increases nervous system activity, heart rate, blood pressure and arousal
caffeine
stimulant that is found naturally in coffee, tea, and cocoa
amphetamine
stimulant that can be highly addictive and cause intense changes in mood, or be prescribed to treat ADHDA
methamphetamine
type of amphetamine that increases dopamine levels resulting in temporary euphoria, highly addictive
MDMA (ecstasy)
type of amphetamine that causes effects of a stimulant and a hallucinogen
cocaine
stimulant that blocks the reuptake of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine
temporarily increases the levels of these 3 neurotransmitters, and subsequently depletes the body’s reserves of them
nicotine
a stimulant that increases heart rate, blood pressure, decreases appetite, and is found in cigarettes
homeostasis
ability to maintain a consistent internal environment despite environmental changes
drug dependence
repeated use of a drug that results in the body adjusting and expecting the presence of that drug
overdose
quantity of a drug that can cause death
oral route of drug entry
intake of a drug through the mouth
effects of a drug taken in this way take about 30 minutes to feel
inhalation route of drug entry
intake of a drug through snorting or breathing in
effects of a drug taken in this way take about 10 seconds to feel
injection route of drug entry
intake of drugs through a needle or tube directly into a vein
effects are felt nearly instantaneously
transdermal route of drug entry
intake of drugs through absorption into the skin (eg nicotine patches)
intramuscular injection route of drug entry
intake of drugs through a needle places in the muscle (eg epipens)
reward pathway
dopaminergic circuit in the brain that responds to naturally positive stimuli such as food, social interactions, and sex
includes the amygdala, nucleus accumbens, and hippocampus
4 elements of the reward pathway
amygdala - emotion
nucleus accumbens - motor
hippocampus - memory
ventral tegmental area (VTA) - dopamine
nucleus accumbens
part of the brain that controls motor functions and is part of the reward pathway
hippocampus
part of the brain responsible for creating new memories
ventral tegmental area (VTA)
part of the brain where dopamine is synthesized and sent to other parts of the brain as part of the reward pathway
dopamine
type of neurotransmitter that is used in the reward pathway and its levels are often affected by addictive drugs
serotonin
neurotransmitter associated with relaxation, pleasure, and satiation
levels decrease during the activation of the reward pathway
prefrontal cortex
part of the brain responsible for attention, planning, and decision making
tolerance
repeated use of a drug that causes a person to need more for the same effect, typically through the blocking of receptors that are affected by that drug
withdrawal
set of symptoms that occur when stopping drug use
substance induced disorders
problems caused by drug use including withdrawal, psychosis, and substance induced mood disorder
substance induced mood disorder
mania or depression due to the continued use of drugs
psychosis
state of disconnect from reality, characterized by hearing or seeing things and false beliefs
substance use disorder
drug use that impairs daily functioning
detoxification
part of drug addiction treatment that involves abstinence from the drug and removing all toxins from the body
methadone
drug given to help treat symptoms of withdrawal from opioids by acting as an agonist on the same receptors as the opioids
cognitive behavioral therapy
long-lasting, effective type of psychological treatment that aims to create more positive thought patterns and teaches the patient to identify and avoid problematic situations
motivational interviewing (motivational enhancement therapy)
type of psychological treatment that aims to resolve ambivalence in the patient so they want to change and will meet their goals
group meetings for drug addiction (12-step recovery process)
includes 1. acceptance (acknowledgment of a problem) 2. surrender (person accepts help offered by a group or higher power) 3. active involvement (person begins to contribute to the group through sponsoring someone else and speaking in meetings)
relapse
returning to drug use after a period of abstinence from it
depends on addictive potential of the drug and encounters with triggering environmental cues
attention
selective concentration on a stimulus or set of stimuli while ignoring other perceptible stimuli
divided attention
concentration on multiple stimuli at one time
selective attention
concentration on a single stimulus at one time
exogenous cues to attention
stimuli that naturally cause focus to be redirected towards them (eg loud or bright stimuli)
example: pop-out effect
pop-out effect
idea that one different looking visual cue will be noticed in a set of similar visual cues
endogenous cues to attention
stimuli that can cause focus to be redirected towards them because of some internal knowledge or intention
examples include hearing your name or following an arrow
inattentional blindness
failure to perceive stimuli that are not being consciously attended to
change blindness
failure to perceive a difference between a current and previous state
shadowing task (dichotic listening task)
method of studying selective attention that requires the participant to repeat the auditory stimuli that come in through one earphone and ignore the stimuli that come in from the other earphone
attended channel
stream of information that the participant is told to focus on in a shadowing task
unattended channel
stream of information that the participation is told not to focus on in a shadowing task
Broadbent’s Early Selection Theory
idea that all stimuli come in through a sensory register and only some stimuli pass through a selective filter to go through perceptual processing and have meaning assigned
cocktail party theory
the idea that a person can selectively attend to a particular stimuli while ignoring other stimuli
this ability allows a person to hold a conversation during a noisy event and redirect their attention to their name being said from across the room
Deutsch and Deutsch’s Late Selection Theory
idea that all stimuli are sensed and assigned meaning before being selectively filtered for conscious awareness
Treisman’s Attenuation Theory
all stimuli are sensed and an attenuator weakens the unattended stimuli, but does not fully eliminate them
meaning is assigned after this initial filtering
spotlight model of attention
object in focus is seen with high acuity, and the objects or scene around it are perceived in a much cruder fashion
priming
effect that a previously presented stimulus has on the perception and response to another through subconscious influence
resource model of attention
we have a limited amount of focus that can be applied to a given task or tasks
task similarity, task difficulty, and practice all influence our ability to divide attention and multitask
controlled processes
tasks that require selective attention, cannot be performed with divided attention
automatic processes
tasks that can be completed with divided attention
related to practicing of the task
