Pyschopharmacology(B&B)

Question 1

Ligand

Answer 1

Any chemical that binds to a receptor

Question 2

Endogenous

Answer 2

Produced within the body

Question 3

Exogenous

Answer 3

Administered to the body

Question 4

Four principle ways that chemicals influence the activity of neurons in the brain

Answer 4

• agonist
• antagonist
• direct effect
• indirect effect

Question 5

agonist

Answer 5

Drugs that augment the action of an endogenous ligand

Question 6

antagonists

Answer 6

Drugs that interfere with the action of an endogenous ligand

Question 7

direct effect

Answer 7

involves direct interaction of the drug with a receptor

Question 8

indirect effect

Answer 8

indirect effect is based on some kind of metabolic change (e.g., change in neurotransmitter synthesis)

Question 9

direct agonist

Answer 9

called “blockers” because they block the receptor and block the response, a drug that looks exactly like an endogenous ligand (i.e., it mim­ ics the active site that is recognized by the receptor) so it binds to a receptor and causes the expected post­ synaptic response,

Question 10

binding affinity

Answer 10

(the strength with which a receptor holds on to a lig­and) influences the impact and duration of a drug

Question 11

Dose-Response

Answer 11

The relationship between dose and effect is usually not a simple linear function. The range of dose-responsiveness for a given drug is typically depicted on a dose-response curve (DRC)

Question 12

effective dose (ED50)

Answer 12

the dose that has the desired effect in 50% of the Ss (or the median point of the effect range)

Question 13

potency

Answer 13

drug refers not to its efficacy (i.e., effectiveness) but to the “strength” of the drug, its ability to evoke a response at a lower dose.

Question 14

efficacy

Answer 14

maximal effect of the drug at its optimal dose

Question 15

side effects

Answer 15

appear at not only excessive doses but also within the therapeutic range

Question 16

Stereotypy

Answer 16

repetitive, useless, stereotyped, and uncontrollable body movements (e.g., pacing, gnawing, bruxation [grinding of teeth], and scratching etc.)

Question 17

lethal dose (LD)

Answer 17

LD50 is the dose at which 50% of the Ss will die (i.e., the “median lethal dose”), An index of safety of a drug that is used in the pharmaceutical industry

Question 18

therapeutic index

Answer 18

(TI = LD/ED)

Question 19

Pharmokinetics

Answer 19

the processes associated with the distribution, absorption, metabo­lism, and excretion of drugs in the body

Question 20

peroral [PO]

Answer 20

involves absorption in the mouth (e.g., chewing tobacco, LSD) or in the digestive system. This oral route necessitates taking into consideration factors such as degradative enzymes and the low pH (acidic) of the stomach, which can reduce the concentra­ tion of the drug as it is absorbed in the blood

Question 21

intravenously (IV)

Answer 21

injected intravenously (IV) go straight into the blood

Question 22

Intraperitoneal (IP)

Answer 22

injections involve a needle penetrating the abdominal wall and the spraying of so­ lution into the cavity containing the intestines, which receive circulation from the complex web of vessels known as the mesentery

Question 23

inhaled

Answer 23

absorbed either in the nasal mucosa or the lungs, which provides a tremendous and highly vascularized surface area and fluid coating (known as surfactant) for dis­ solving the drugs

Question 24

subcutaneously (SC)

Answer 24

distributes locally in the fatty sub­ cutaneous space and is picked up by capillaries.

Question 25

transdermal

Answer 25

administration (i.e., through the skin) in the form of a patch saturated with the drug, which allows for a slow and continuous release, or ointments or salves

Question 26

half-life

Answer 26

is a way to summarize the typically gradual drop in concentration of the drug in the body. The half-life is defined as the duration of time (after drug administration) wherein the concentration of the drug reaches 50% of its maximum

Question 27

tolerance

Answer 27

response to repeated drug administration, consists of a decrease in the responsiveness to or sensitivity to the drug

Question 28

down-regulation

Answer 28

common and intuitive mechanism for tolerance involves changes in receptors, namely, a decrease in the number of receptors expressed (i.e., active) on the sur­ face of the cell

Question 29

up-regulation

Answer 29

involves an increase in the sensitivity to the ligand

Question 30

metabolic tolerance

Answer 30

enzymes used to metabo­lize alcohol are inducible, meaning that with excessive exposure, the liver increases its metabolic activity, thus promoting faster clearance of the drug

Question 31

Anxi­olytics

Answer 31

are used to treat anxiety, designed to “take the edge off” for people who are dealing with anxiety or attempting to cope with an acute crisis

Question 32

sedative-hypnotics

Answer 32

are used more for sedation and sleep induc­tion

Question 33

Anxiety and GAD

Answer 33

Symptoms typically associated with GAD include: hyperactivity of the ANS, apprehensive expectations, motor hyperactiv­ity and tension, and hypervigilance and distractibility.

Question 34

barbiturates

Answer 34

are used for deeper sedation and general anaesthesia, sufficient enough for major surgery (e.g., Phenobarbitol). They are also used in smaller doses for diminishing seizure activity in epilepsy and for the treatment of narcolepsy

Question 35

Dissociation

Answer 35

A psychic disconnection between one’s reality and actual experiences. This commonly occurs during a traumatic experience in which a victim reports sensations like “I felt like I was on the ceiling looking down at myself being attacked.”

Question 36

Narcotics:

Answer 36

Opiate drugs fall into a class known as narcotics

Question 37

endogenous opiate peptides (EOPs)

Answer 37

are released in response to such things as physical and emotional stressors, painful experiences, and aerobic exercise (of at least 45-minute duration at minimum 60% of aerobic capacity)

Question 38

our types of opiate receptors

Answer 38

mu1, mu2, kappa, and delta

each one has some dif­ ferent functionality and binding specificities, although with some overlap

Question 39

opium

Answer 39

(typically smoked) has a long history in the Orient and the Far East and was very pop­ ular in the United States from the mid-1800s to the 1930s when opium trade and use was banned.18 The drug comes from the sap that oozes out of the seedpod and consists of two main ingredients: morphine and codeine

Question 40

Heroin involves a minor chemical modification of mor­ phine (that allows more efficient transfer to the CNS), is typically injected IV or smoked (also known as freebasing

Answer 40

involves a minor chemical modification of mor­phine (that allows more efficient transfer to the CNS), is typically injected IV or smoked (also known as freebasing

Question 41

Methadone

Answer 41

long-lasting synthetic morphine mimic that is taken orally, is often used in the course of treatment of heroin addiction

Question 42

Psychostimulants

Answer 42

class of drugs, in general, can be classified as sympathomimetics (i.e., they mimic the sympathetic response),these drugs are motor-activating in that they cause “psychomotor ac­ tivation,” meaning that they cause hyperactive locomotor activity (i.e., they cause a lot of running around

Question 43

Caffeine

Answer 43

class of drugs known as the methylxanthines. These are naturally occurring drugs that occur in a wide variety of species of plant

Question 44

Nicotine

Answer 44

Nicotine is an alkaloid compound derived from the tobacco plant. From smoking the tobacco leaves, nicotine is absorbed through the lung mucosa and distributed to the brain