WEEK 1 Flashcards
What is Psychopharmacology
Psychopharmacology is the discipline that attempts to
systematically study the effects of drugs on behavior, cognitive functioning, and emotions”
How does knowing how drugs work benefit you?
- prescribing the correct dose of a medication
- predicting side effects
- predicting how 2 or more drugs may interact in the body
- helping to prevent & treat overdoses
- treatment of substance use problems
- our understanding of the neural basis of normal & pathological behaviour
What is the history of drug use
- Drugs have been used since records began; used as part of
religious & social ceremony. - Social factors
- Nonhuman substance use –> Siegel (1989) suggested universal
“4th drive” of intoxication
What is significance of 1952
- effects of antipsychotic effects of chlorpromazine on
schizophrenia discovered (published in France). - encouraged researchers to develop new drugs & trial previouslyabandoned drugs
- development of the formal discipline of psychopharmacology
What is significance of 1952-195 for psychopharmacology
- chlorpromazine the drug of choice for all mental diseases
(European trade name of ‘Largasil’ - large range of therapeutic activity) - greater specificity of psychotropic drugs (‘a pill for every ill’)
What is The Psychopharmacological Revolution
New techniques allow researchers to look at machinery &
workings of the living brain:
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT)
- Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
Psychotherapeutic drugs do not cure mental disorders or
suppress symptoms in all individuals (+ potential side
effects).
Basic classification of psychotropics
Different classifications – one common approach is by desired
therapeutic action, e.g.,
* Stimulants - major (amphetamines) and minor (caffeine)
* Anxiolytic - anti-anxiety
* Sedative-hypnotics - make you sleep (alcohol)
* Opiates - pain relief
* Antidepressants
* Antipsychotics
What is a drug?
Drug: any substance that alters the physiology of the body…but is not a food or nutrient
What is Psychoactive drugs
“induce psychological effects by altering normal
biochemical reactions in the nervous system”
How do you describe doses?
- Milligrams are 1/1000 of a gram
- Doses given in accordance to body weight
What is ED50
- median effective dose
- the dose that is effective in 50% of individuals tested.
What is LD50
- median lethal dose
- the dose that will kill 50% of individuals tested.
What is Therapeutic Index (TI)
LD50/ED50 (e.g., 84/35 = 2.4)
how far the difference is between the LD and ED so that the drug is as safe as possible. Want the margin to be as far away from each other as possible.
What is Potency
differences in the ED50 between drugs. The lower
the ED50 the more potent the drug.
the lower the ED50 the less dose you need to see the intended effects
(if you need 1 pill to get pain relief versus needing 5 pills to get pain relief –> the 1 pill is more potent)
What is Effectiveness
differences in the maximum effect that drugs
will produce at any dose.
top response of the drug (max effect of the drug)
What is Primary/main effect:
intended treatment result
What is Side effect
unintended; may be harmful
What is Therapeutic window
range of blood concentrations of a medicine between dose that produces undesirable side effects (toxic level) & dose that has intended effect (therapeutic level)
window is about trying to keep blood level relatively constant in the desired range (toxic and therapeutic level) so your having the desired relief but not reaching the toxic level or getting side effects.
What are the different names of drugs
- Chemical name
- Generic name
- Trade name
- Street name
What is a Chemical name of a drug?
describes molecular structure of a drug in terms of chemical make-up (e.g. 7-chloro-1,3-dihydro-1-methyl -5-phenyl-2H-1,4-benzodiazepin-2-one)
What is Generic (or non-proprietary) name of a drug?
shorter, simpler name that is made up for a drug (e.g. diazepam).
What is a Trade* (or proprietary) name of a drug?
- name given to a drug manufactured by a drug company. Patented by the drug company for a number of years (e.g.,Valium).
- refers to company’s formulation, not just the active drug ingredient (other excipients)
What is a street name of a drug?
‘slang’ names given by community, usually in
relation to recreational drug use (e.g., pot/weed/dope/joint/cones; speed; coke/crack; smack; ICE)
What is Pharmacokinetics?
a series of processes that involve how the drug moves around in the body
* includes: Absorption; distribution; elimination/excretion
What is Enzymes?
molecules that control a certain chemical reaction;
help to break down/metabolise drugs