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Drugs and Behavior > Psychology of Drug Use & Abuse > Flashcards

Psychology of Drug Use & Abuse Flashcards

1
Q

drugs use & addiction are

A

learned
learning is a permanent change in behavior as a result of experience

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2
Q

when you take a drug repeatedly

A

you learn how to administer it
your body gets better at processing it (tolerance)
your body starts to anticipate delivery of the drug & prepare for it (craving & withdrawal)

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3
Q

tolerance

A

decreased effectiveness or potency of a drug after repeated exposure
the need to use larger doses of the drug to achieve the same effects as when you first took it

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4
Q

effects of tolerance on your body

A

you don’t tolerate all the effects of a given drug at the same rate
E.g. morphine- nausea & vomiting-tolerance occurs very quickly, constriction of pupils- no tolerance

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5
Q

63 BCE- Mithridates V1 (King of Pontus)

A

He had been defeated by Pompey of Rome
His son had also just led a successful campaign against him
He tried to take his own life by ingesting poison- but it didn’t work

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6
Q

the king had spent his life afraid of being poisoned

A

throughout his life, he took increasing doses of well known poisons
his body learned how to metabolize the drugs

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7
Q

cross-tolerance

A

sometimes tolerance to one drug will diminish the effect of another drug
usually occurs between the same class of drug

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8
Q

opioid drugs & cross tolerance

A

all opioid drugs show cross-tolerance
if you develop a tolerance to heroin, you will also have tolerance to oxycodone & morphine
suggests these drugs are producing their effects by common mechanisms

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9
Q

pharmacokinetic tolerance

A

occurs as the body becomes more efficient at metabolizing a drug
fewer drug molecules reach their sites of action
increase of enzymes the body uses to break down the drug
drug does not reach the same peak levels & doesn’t last as long

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10
Q

when you experience pharmacokinetic tolerance

A

all effects of the drug are diminished

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11
Q

pharmacodynamic tolerance

A

physiological tolerance or cellular tolerance
arise from adjustments made by the body to compensate for effects of continued presence of a drug

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12
Q

result of pharmacodynamic tolerance

A

the body trying to maintain homeostasis

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13
Q

when a person first ingests a drug the body…

A

detects the drug and the effects on homeostasis- often the hypothalamus
responds by compensating to restore normal functioning
over time- the body gets better at restoring normal functioning

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14
Q

when you take a break from using a particular drug…

A

the compensatory process weakens

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15
Q

behavioral tolerance

A

you learn to function while impaired on a drug
the drug has less on an impact on your behavior
A Dr. with. an alcohol use disorder can still perform surgery
a person addicted to marijuana can still get a good grade on an exam
a mom with an addiction to valium can still react in an emergency

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16
Q

for tolerance to develop->

A

the influences of the drug need to be significant to the animal
ex. pain

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17
Q

ex. pain in tolerance and functional disturbances

A

unpleasant but really useful for survival
tolerance to morphine develops much faster when rats experience pain following injection

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18
Q

tolerance and functional disturbances

A

tolerance develops (or develops quickly) only when a drug places a demand on homeostasis
drug effects that aren’t detected (or don’t disrupt function)- don’t generate tolerance

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19
Q

withdrawal

A

physiological and psychological changes that occur when drug use stops
can be quite mild or quite intense (can cause death)
expressions of compensatory mechanisms to maintain homeostasis

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20
Q

withdrawal occurs because

A

the body “expects” delivery of a drug
starts to compensate to maintain homeostasis
BUT the drug is not delivered

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21
Q

withdrawal vs. toxic effects

A

there is a difference between withdrawal (compensatory effects) and toxic effects of the drug (hangover)

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22
Q

when you feel sick after a night out of excessive drinking

A

many of these effects are the result of toxic effects
dehydration & stomach irritation

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23
Q

after taking a large amount of cocaine- people often experience a “letdown”

A

period of depression as the body returns to homeostasis
compensatory response

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24
Q

dependence

A

when stopping a drug triggers withdrawal
people can experience withdrawal symptoms even when they do not take a drug compulsively

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25
non dependence
some people can take a drug compulsively, but will not necessarily experience withdrawal when they stop often substance specific social smokers/social drinkers
26
tolerance and withdrawal
people can become quite tolerant of a drug, and fail to show withdrawal symptoms when they stop taking the drug many people develop a tolerance to alcohol but do not show withdrawal also more likely to happen when rate of elimination of the drug from the body is slow etc. THC (marijuana)
27
classical conditioning
learning that one thing predicts another thing
28
conditioned (conditional)
learned (no responding)
29
unconditioned
not learned (already responding to)
30
stimulus
noun/thing
31
response
verb/behavior
32
unconditioned stimulus
a thing I don't have to teach you about you will naturally make an unconditioned response
33
conditioned
the thing you learn conditioned stimulus neutral at the beginning of training after training, you make a conditioned response conditioned response (CR) often looks similar to the unconditioned response (UR)
34
Pavlov & drug use
apomorphine (short acting dopamine agonist) in healthy dogs= restlessness, salvate, feel/act like its going to vomit
35
Pavlov gave the dogs the drug and waited a few minutes
just as the drug took effect, he played a tone (sound) after several trials, the sound alone produced symptoms of the drugs (less intense)
36
CS
stimulus that predicts the US is coming ex.the needle that is providing the heroin
37
CS in drug use
often the objects used to administer the drug/locations where drugs have been administered cigarette lighters, bongs, needles, pill bottles, sight of the drug (cigarettes, cocaine, marijuana...) exposure to these objects act as CS and predict the delivery of US
38
US in drug use
the drug itself
39
UR
unconditioned response (UR) to the presence of the drug= drug effects alcohol= UR is intoxication marijuana= UR is high cocaine= UR is mania/grandiosity
40
CR
compensatory response- getting ready for the drug the body compensating for the drug often the opposite response
41
UR & CR with drug use
CR & UR can look very different often- when presented with a CS the CR is compensation for the drug
42
morphine example- what is CS, US, UR, CR?
ex. needle (CS)-> morphine (US)-> euphoria/resistance to pain (UR) UR to morphine= analgesia (decreased responsiveness to pain) CR to needle= hyperalgesia (increased sensitivity to pain)
43
conditioned tolerance
your body learns to tolerate the drug
44
Siegel (1975)
conditioned tolerance to morphine
45
analgesia
decreased responsiveness to pain
46
hyperalgesia
increased sensitivity to pain
47
paw lick latency test
put animal on a hot plate (uncomfortable- but not dangerous) measure how long until the animal licks its paws
48
longer latency=
more analgesia (longer time until the need to lick their paws)
49
conditional tolerance in Humans
alcohol a familiar drink (beer) compared to same dose of alcohol in a different drink (wine) or a drink that doesn't usually contain alcohol (juice) will produce more impairment when it is consumed in an unusual location (office) vs familiar (bar) or an odd time of day (5 AM- at Purdue Breakfast club)
50
Siegel (1982)
on 30 consecutive days- rats were injected with placebo or heroin (on alternating days) group 1: heroin w/ white noise in room A and a placebo in colony room group 2: counter balance of group 1 group 3: injected on alternating days, in either room- but only with placebo
51
test phase
all three groups were given a large dose of heroin (15 mg/kg) similarly/different/control
52
similarly tested group
heroin in the room where they usually received heroin
53
different tested group
heroin in the placebo room
54
control
was given heroin in either room
55
results
control group different room group same room group
56
control group
96% died of overdose this dose was toxic to non tolerant animals
57
different room group
64% showed overdose
58
same room group
32% overdose
59
room as the CS
animals given the HIGH dose in the same room where they usually received the drug experienced conditioned tolerance animals in the different room- did not compensate as well
60
learning- CS-US
in general- learning occurs faster when there is a short delay between the presentation of the CS and the presentation of the US drugs are often more addictive when the effects (US) reach the brain more quickly following administration (CS)
61
administrative routes and speed of drug absorption
intravenous- hits blood stream immediately inhalation intramuscular transdermal orally
62
stimulus properties of drugs
state-dependent learning shock-avoidance-escape experiments
63
state dependent learning
can a drug influence your ability to remember (or not) specific information? overton
64
shock-avoidance-escape experiments
animals are placed at the bottom of the T choose either R/L arm when they get to the top if they choose incorrectly- receive a small shock
65
overton
administered pentobarbital (a mild barbiturate) trained animals to avoid shock animals could not avoid shock when given a placebo- & vice versa
66
discriminative stimulus
the stimulus that informs your behavior Overton et al. administered pentobarbital & saline on alternating days on drug days one response (eg left)= safety on saline days. the opposite response (right)= safety animals quickly learned to make a response depending on if they were drugged
67
craving, relapse, and withdrawal
you are exposed to a CS but do not get drug delivery the case of California Do-Gooders heroin-poster caused heroin relapse to increase
68
former addicts often experience withdrawal when
they go to places where they used to use they see people they used to use with they see/hear/smell things that remind them of the drug
69
relapse can happen even when
the used is no longer dependent on the drug withdrawal symptoms will go away after repeated exposure to CS without the US (extinction) compensatory response
70
extinction of drug use
presenting the CS without the US responding to the CS declines over time BUT- the information is not "forgotten" or "unlearned" when CS is presented alone (repeatedly)- the compensatory response weakens... but...
71
reinstatement of drug use
what happens during relapse? CS+US response is often quite strong initially often take a large quantity of the drug often feel the effects- you are not compensating anymore overdose is possible use resumes
72
sensitization
reverse tolerance when repeated exposure makes you more sensitive to a stimulus
73
it is possible for certain effects of a drug to increase with repeated exposure
administer low doses of a drug (cocaine, amphetamine, nicotine, alcohol, opioids..)- you can observe an "activating effect" (short term change in behavior) with repeated doses there is an increase in these behaviors at high doses=stereotyped behavior- invariable, repetitive movements, with no purpose- occurring for a prolonged period of time
74
Chippy stopped drinking for the summer while she was home from college. She went through the effects of withdrawal and when she came back to school she drank again after being exposed to the same stimulus but drank the same amount as she normally did. This time she gets really sick and suffers from alcohol poisoning. This is known as?
reinstatement
75
Operant conditioning of drug effects
Pavlovian/classical conditioning Operant/instrumental conditioning
76
Pavlovian/classical conditioning
you learn that CS signals the US you do not have to "choose" to act sound of a lighter (CS)-> cigarette (nicotine) (US)
77
Operant/instrumental conditioning
animal must behave to receive a consequence learn the relationship between behavior and consequences
78
reinforcement
increases the likelihood of a target behavior occurring again
79
punishment
decreases the likelihood of a target behavior occurring again
80
positive
does not mean good- means addition (adding something to the environment)
81
negative
does not mean bad- taking something away (removing stimulus from environment)
82
escape and avoid
negative reinforcement dog jumping over to the other side of the crate when it is shocked on one side
83
positive reinforcement
taking heroin (Behavior) and getting the high (consequence)
84
negative reinforcement
taking and aspirin (behavior) to get rid of a headache (consequence)
85
positive punishment
drinking too much (behavior) makes you sick (consequence)
86
negative punishment
throwing out your drugs (behavior) makes you ill (consequence)
87
drug addiction when people first start taking a drug
it is usually because of the positively reinforcing effects of the drug the high, social rewards, physical abilities
88
drug addiction once dependence sets in
you take the drug, in part, to avoid the effects of withdrawal negative reinforcement
89
neuroscience of reward & addiction
meet the mesolimbocortical dopamine system the brain's reward system begins in the midbrain (mesencephalon) projects to the limbic system & prefrontal cortex
90
mesolimbocortical dopamine system
initiates in the ventral tegmental area the medial forebrain bundle (mesolimbic dopa pathway) nucleus accumbens
91
dopamine & reward
virtually all abused drugs increase dopamine levels in Nucleus Accumbens (NA) opiates, barbiturates, alcohol, THC, PCP, MDMA, nicotine, caffeine
92
the paradox of dopamine & drug use
PET scans reveal that chronic drug users have diminished dopamine release & # of receptors
93
Volkow (2004)
Ss Non-drug users were given a low dose of a stimulant (Ritalin) those who had the most enjoyment- also had low numbers of the D2 receptors those who had the highest number of receptors- found the drug unpleasant
94
survival related information (food/sex) increases dopamine in the NA (50-100%)
many drugs (and electrical stimulation) can increase dopamine 3-6 fold in NA
95
animals will press a lever for a release of dopamine in NA
will stop lever pressing if they are given a dopamine antagonist
96
drugs (and EBS) delivered to the NA (or medial forebrain bundle) when animal presses lever
1000s of presses/hour ignore food/water/potential mates
97
reward deficiency syndrome (hypothesis)
it is probable that lowered dopamine receptors life is less rewarding general for these individuals drugs elevate the level of perceived reward
98
experimental support: Thanos 2001
trained rats to self administer alcohol inserted a gene that increased D2 in the NA as receptors increased, rats reduced alcohol intake
99
prolonged drug use leads to
measurable changes in brain function & structure
100
chronic amphetamine use
increased dendrite length & complexity in the NA and prefrontal cortex
101
prolonged drug use results in
reduced dopamine activity & deactivation of prefrontal cortex
102
frontal dysfunction
leads to trouble controlling behaviors, weighing reward/consequence- making it harder to control your own behavior

Drugs and Behavior (9 decks)

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