Topic 1: Pharmacology and Pharmacokinetics Flashcards
What is neuro-psychopharmacology?
the study of the actions of drugs on the central nervous system and their subsequent effects on human behavior
What are drug actions?
specific molecular changes resulting from drug binding to a target site or receptor
What are drug effects?
widespread alterations in physiology or psychology resulting from drug actions
what the drug does to behavior
What is therapeutic effects?
drug-target interactions producing the desired physiological or behavioral changes
what the goal of the drug is
What are side effects?
all other drug effects
any other effect that is not the goal
means you can use some drugs for different therapeutic effect
What are adverse effects?
undesirable or harmful drug effects
What are specific effects?
occur as a result of biochemical interactions between drug and target receptor
What are nonspecific effects?
occur as a result of interactions beyond the receptor (e.g., lipid membranes, fluid compartments)
may occur as a result of unique characteristics of an individual or an individual’s state
not the drug binding directly caused by chain reaction secondary effects
What is a placebo effect?
measurable therapeutic effect of a treatment without specific activity for the respective condition
affected by expectancy and conditioning
In what way is the placebo effect a confound in neuropsychopharmacology?
antidepressants have efficacy of ~50-70% in major depression
placebo is effective in 20-30% of cases
during development fluoxetine (Prozac) had to endure 5 clinical trials to achieve 2 showing significantly better response than placebo
What is the classic experiment on ulcer patients given placebo?
group A given placebo by physician who assured the medication would give relief (efficacy of 70%)
group B given placebo by nurse who described it as experimental in nature (efficacy of 25%)
What is pharmacokinetics?
the dynamic factors contributing to the bioavailability and efficacy of drugs in the human body
provides performance guidelines for efficacy and efficiency of drug use in clinical settings
What are the principal of pharmacokinetics?
absorption: administration and absorption of the drug into body fluids
distribution: dispersal of drug through body fluids to the target tissues of the body; depot binding in bodily fluids and non-target tissues
metabolism: biotransformation or inactivation of drugs in the body into metabolites
excretion: removal of substances or metabolites from the body
What are the routes of administration?
oral administration
intravenous
intramuscular
subcutaneous
inhalation
topical
sublingual (below the tongue)
transdermal (e.g. nicotine patch)
What routes of administration are only used in experimental studies?
intraperitoneal (IP)
intracranial
intracerebroventricular
intracisternal
What is oral administration?
most convenient
safe self administration
first-pass effect
blood-brain barrier (BBB) affects usefulness for neuropharmacology
What is the first-pass effect?
blood flow from stomach/intestines goes directly to the liver for detox
oral route has greatest breakdown of drug