Week 11 Flashcards
What is drug tolerance?
With chronic exposure, adaptive changes occur which means the dose of the drug will need to be increased to maintain its effects.
With is drug withdrawal?
Signs of withdrawal appear when the drug is no longer available.
What is drug dependence?
The presence of a withdrawal symptom as a physical dependence.
What is drug addiction?
Relapsing drug use despite negative consequences due to psychological dependence.
What is the drug reward pathway?
A dopamingeric pathway from the ventral tegmental area to the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal Cortex of the brain.
Drugs move through this pathway and increase release of dopamine into the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex.
Using the drug reward pathway, what molecule is increased and where?
More dopamine is release into the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex of the brain.
What causes animals to self-administer cocaine?
Animas self administer cocaine into the nucleus accumbens and the pleasure this causes reinforces self-administration.
On what type of receptors do Opioid drugs act?
Mu-opiod receptors in the CNS and peripheral mu-receptors.
What type of drugs are Opioids at mu-opioid receptors in the CNS?
Agonists
What effects do Opioids have due to acting on peripheral mu-receptors?
Reduce motility of the GI tract.
What molecules can be used to stop the effects of Opioids and how?
Specific antagonists such as Naloxone which bind to Opioid receptors.
What are some of the adverse effects of Opioids?
Drowsiness, confusion memory loss, fatigue, hallucinations, convulsions. Dilation of blood vessels causing increased pressure in the brain. Respiratory depression. Pupil contraction. Slurred speech. Nausea, vomiting, weight loss. Sexual dysfunction. Constripation.
What are the central effects of morphine?
Analgesia Sedation Euphoria Respiratory Depression Vasomotor Centre Depression Miosis Nausea and vomiting due to CTZ stimulation
What is analgesia?
The inability to cause pain.
What are the peripheral effects of Morphine?
Constipation.
Billiary Spasm.
Constrition of the sphincter of Oddi.
Histamine release.
What the of receptors does Ketamine work at and how?
It is an antagonist and NMDA receptors. Competes with N-methyl-D-aspartate for NMDA receptors
What type of receptors are NMDA receptors?
They are glutamate ion channel-linked receptors.
What type of anaesthesia does ketamine cause?
Dissociative
What are the effects of chronic ketamine use?
Bladder removal
When were Barbiturates introduced to medicine?
1904, first cynically used in 1912.
Describe the therapeutic window of Barbiturates
Narrow
What were Barbiturates initially used to treat?
Sedatives and hypnotics
What type of drug became used more than Barbiturates as sedatives and hypnotics?
Benzodiazepine group
What are Barbiturates now used to treat?
Epilepsy and for anaesthesia.
What type of receptor agonists or antagonists are barbiturates?
GABAa receptor agonists.
What is the difference in the mechanisms of action between Barbiturates and Benzodiazepines?
Bind to different GABAa receptor site
What are Benzodiazepines used to treat?
Used as sedatives, hypnotics, for insomnia, anxiety and epilepsy.
Outline the mechanism of Benzodiazepines to cause neuronal excitability.
In the CNS, GABA neurotransmitter binds to GABAa receptors and causes a Cl- ion channel to open. Benzodiazepines enhance the binding of GABA to GABAa receptors meaning more Cl- enter the channel and cause excitability.
Do drugs that act on adrengeric nerve terminals act in the centra or peripheral nervous system and why?
Both. Noradrenaline is released by neurones in both the brain and sympathetic nervous system.
What effect does cocaine have on noradrenaline?
Cocaine blocks neuronal uptake of noradrenaline meaning more is available in the synaptic cleft.
How does cocaine affect dopamine neurones?
Cocaine blocks dopamine transporter in dopamingeric neurones meaning more dopamine is available.
How does cocaine affect Seratonin transporter?
Cocaine blocks serotonin transporter meaning more is available as neurotransmitter.
What type of nervous reaction does cocaine mimic and why?
The sympathetic nervous system by increasing noradrenaline availability in peripheral tissues.
What are the sympathetic effects that cocaine has?
Rapid heart rate
Hypertension
Decreased GI motility and secretion
How does Amphetamine affect noradrenaline?
Amphetamine displaces noradrenaline from its storage vesicles and reverses the direction of the uptake pump. This increases the concentration of noradrenaline in the synaptic cleft.
How does Amphetamine affect dopamine ?
Displaces Dopamine from its storage vesicles and reverses the direction of the uptake of the pump. This increases the concentration of dopamine available.
Name some possible side effects caused by Amphetamine
Insomnia. Restlessness. Night terrors. Euphoria. Dependence. Tolerance. Psychosis. Anorexia. GI symptoms. Growth retardation. Dry mouth. Sweating. Tachycardia. Increased blood pressure.
Outline the mechanism used by LSD
It is an agonist at 5=HT2A receptors.
Outline the mechanism used by MDMA
It releases 5-HT and blocks uptake
What type of receptors does Psilocybin act on?
Acts on 5-HT2A receptors
What class of drug is Psilocybin?
Class A
Outline the mechanism and clinical use of Tetrahydro-cannabinol?
Activates CB1 and CB2 receptors.
Has analgesic and antiemetic properties.