Test 1 Flashcards
Drugs are classified by:
- Origin
- Action
- Therapeutic use
- Site of drug action
- Chemical structure
- Mechanism of action
- Street name
effect of drugs on behaviour
psychopharmacology
how the body absorbs, distributes, metabolises, and excretes drugs
pharmacokinetics
biochemical and physiological effects of drugs and their mechanisms of action
pharmacodynamics
What does the dose-response curve measure?
describes the amount of biological or behavioural effect (response) for a given drugs concentration (dose).
What is bioavailability?
portion of original drugs dose that reaches the site of action
What factors affect drug absorption?
- ability to pass through membrane
- form of drug administration (i.e. drugs in water solution)
- conditions at site of absorption (i.e. size of absorbing surface)
when a drug is eliminated by a steady percentage in the body
first order kinetics
when a drug is eliminated by a steady amount/concentration in the body
zero order kinetics
Which drug is the black sheep of order kinetics?
alcohol; follows zero order kinetics
time that must pass for the amount of the drug in the body to be cut in half
half-life
what do agonists do
bind directly to receptor and initiates drug action/effect
what do antagonists do
bind to the receptor and block and produce no cellular effect, but prevent agonists from binding to the site
a receptor antagonist that binds to a receptor but does not activate the receptor. The antagonist will compete with available agonist for receptor binding sites on the same receptor.
competitive antagonist
an antagonist that blocks elsewhere
noncompetitive antagonist
what is dispositional tolerance?
an increase in the rate of metabolising drug as a result of chronic use
what is pharmacodynamic tolerance?
decreased behavioural effects of a drug (a) acute (b) protracted
what is behavioural tolerance?
tolerance occurs in the same environment in which the drug was administered but tolerance is not apparent or is reduced in a new environment
What is state-dependent learning?
information learned under the influence of a drug is best recalled when the individual is in that drug-induced state
What are the different types of neurons?
- sensory
- integrating
- motor
monitors internal and external environment through presence of receptors
sensory neurons
interpretation and processing of sensory information; complex (higher order) functions
integrating neurons
response to information processed through stimulation of effectors
motor neurons
parts of the neuron:
- dendrites-receives incoming information
- cell body-houses nucleus and dna
- axon hillock-start point of action potential
- axon-action potential travels down
- axon terminal
What do glial cells do?
provide supportive function for neurons
What is resting membrane potential?
-70mV; the voltage difference across the cell membrane when the cell is at rest
What are the passive properties for maintaining resting membrane potential?
differential permeability of the ions
What are the active properties for maintaining resting membrane potential?
sodium-potassium pump
What is depolarisation?
making the membrane less negative
What is hyperpolarisation?
making the membrane more negative
brief period in which it is impossible to elicit another action potential
absolute refractory period
period in which a higher amount of stimulation is necessary to make a neuron fire
relative refractory period
What is the difference between gray and white matter?
gray matter-cell bodies, unmyelinated axons
white matter-myelinated axons
What are the meninges?
- pia mater-innermost
- arachnoid mater
- dura mater-outermost
What does the medulla do?
regulates breathing
What does the pons do?
involved in dreaming
What does the cerebellum do?
has to do with motor balance
What does the thalamus do?
sensory relay station where signals are received, processed, and transmitted to areas of sensory cortex
What does the hypothalamus do?
regulates food intake; hormonal control; regulates body temperature; emotional response; autonomic regulatory centre
What does the basal ganglia do?
involved in performance of voluntary motor responses
What does the amygdala do?
involved in emotional memory and recall
What does the hippocampus do?
involved in long-term memory and spatial navigation
NT is discharged from synaptic vesicles by exocytosis at the ___.
active zone
Docking of synaptic vesicles, fusion, and exocytosis are controlled by ____.
calcium influx
Calcium influx is greatest in the region of ___.
the active zone
What are the mechanisms controlling the rate of NT release?
- rate of neuron firing
- probability of transmitter release from axon terminal
- presence of autoreceptors
- axon terminals may have heteroreceptors
How are NTs inactivated?
- enzymatic breakdown
- reuptake
- uptake by glial cells
What is the difference between ionotropic and metabotropic receptors?
- ionotropic - gate ion channels directly
- metabotropic - gate ion channels indirectly
Second messenger systems do what?
- activate protein kinases
- function of the protein is altered
What do tyrosine kinase receptors do?
mediate actions of neurotrophic factors
Endocrine system: hormones control which major processes?
- reproduction
- growth and development
- mobilisation of body defenses
- regulation of metabolism
the adrenal cortex releases what?
glucocorticoids
the adrenal medulla releases what?
epinephrine and norephinephrine
the pineal gland is involved in what?
- secretion of melatonin
- controlling sleep rhythms
- used to alleviate jet lag
Difference between CT scan/MRI and fMRI/PET:
first two visualise the brain while the last two provide images of brain activity
used to visualise the brain and other internal structures of the living body
CT scan
produces detailed pictures of organs, soft tissues, and bone; more detailed
MRI
produces images of the increase in oxygen flow in the blood to active areas of the brain
fMRI
provides images of brain activity rather than brain structure
PET scan
EEG measures:
brain waves
used to position experimental devices into the brain with precision
stereotaxic surgery
remove, damage, or destroy a part of the brain to observe impact on behaviour
lesion
activates a structure in the brain
electrical stimulation
allows for measurement of NTs released in a specific brain area in freely moving animals
microdialysis
a chemical used to prepare and preserve body tissue
fixative
process in which an animal’s blood is replaced by a saline solution or a fixative in preparing the brain for histological examination
perfusion
instrument that produces very thin slices of body tissue
microtome
method of locating NTs and receptors based on the binding of labeled protein-specific antibodies
immunocytochemistry
subjects missing a gene that can provide insight into what the gene controls
gene knockout
inserting a pathological human gene in mice
gene knockin
