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| Question | Answer |
| what is substance abuse? | pattern of drug use in which people rely on a drug chronically & excessively — not for therapeutic reasons |
| what is addiction | being physically dependent on a drug in addition to abusing it |
| what are examples of dangerous drugs? | alcohol, cocaine, intravenous drugs, smoking, designer drugs |
| why do people still take them anyway? | highly addictive + positive reinforcement from the drugs |
| when does the reinforcing stimuli have a greater effect? | when it is immediately after the behaviour -- thus why heroin is preferred as it is more rapid |
| for the neural mechanisms behind positive reinforcement, where does dopamine get released from? | nucleus accumbens (NAC) |
| which system of the brain does the process of addiction begin? | mesolimbic dopaminergic system |
| what is the part of the brain that is first affected by addiction? | ventral tegmental area |
| what do changes in the VTA lead to? | increased activation of a variety of regions that receive dopaminergic input from the VTA -- such as the dorsal striatum in the basal ganglia |
| what is the basal ganglia important for? | instrumental conditioning |
| what can synaptic changes be responsible for? | compulsive behaviours that characterise addiction after continued use |
| describe the functions of the dopamine pathway in contrast to the serotonin pathway | dopamine is for rewards as a motivator, serotonin for mood D = pleasure & euphoria, S = memory processing, sleep, cognition D = compulsion + perseveration |
| what can a person develop over continued usage of a drug? | tolerance to it -- need to take more and more due to decreased sensitivity to it |
| what can this lead up to when trying to get off the drugs? | withdrawal symptoms |
| what can withdrawal be like? | opposite effects to the drugs. If a drug calms you, you may feel anxious without it Results of the body trying to compensate for the disturbed homeostatic mechanisms |
| what can the withdrawal symptoms serve as with continuing drug abuse? | negative reinforcement |
| when can a craving occur? | over long periods of time after abstinence, even after years |
| why can it occur | due to long-lasting changes to the brain caused by the drug, especially the prefrontal cortex & mesocortical pathway |
| what can drug related stimuli elicit? | a classically conditioned response |
| what did Franken say cravings of drugs was a result of? | attentional bias, can be cured by cognitive process & increase in dopamine in response to drugs |
| dopamine plays a role in... | positive reinforcement & cravings + relapse |
| what does the PFC play a role in? | inhibitory control & emotional regulation |
| what is the most commonly used opiate & what costs does it bring? | heroin - personal & societal |
| what are some bad features of heroin? | can be transmitted to unborn child :( tolerance = person takes more & more for high uncertainty of strength & what it can be mixed with needle use |
| what are some of the effects with increased stimulation of opiate receptors in the brain? | analgesia (smth to do with pain) hypothermia sedation reinforcement |
| what is the similar effect cocaine & amphetamine have? | blocking dopamine transport proteins/reuptake of dopamine |
| but whats the difference in their sites of action? | cocaine blocks transport proteins -- preventing reuptake amphetamine does the same, but directly stimulates release of dopamine from the terminal buttons too |
| are rats more likely to die from cocaine or heroine? by how much? | cocaine - 3x more likely |
| what does the destruction of dopaminergic terminals or blocking receptors do? | lose the reinforcing power of drugs |
| what receptors does nicotine activate? | nicotinic acetylcholine receptors |
| what can damage to the unsula cause with smoking addiction? | while it doesnt get rid of it, it can cause disruptions of the addiction |
| what are the potential effects of alcohol | mild euphoria disinhibition anxiolytic alcohol myopia |
| what are alcohol's two major action sites? | indirect agonist for GABAa receptors & NMDA receptors |
| what is the reinforcing effect from alcohol thought to be due to? | not just dopaminergic systems, but also endogenous opioids -- the receptors of which have been known to increase with abstinence as a craving effect |
| without the suppressive effect of alcohol, what can the increases sensitivity in NMDA receptors cause? | seizures... blocking these receptors can help prevent em |
| what is korsakoff's syndrome? | found in malnourished alcoholics, where they struggle to remember & encode due the damage to areas of thalamus risen from lack of B1 exacerbated by toxic effects of alcohol |
| what is the key component in cannabis? | THC - tetrahydracannabinol |
| what mediates the psychotropic effects of THC? | cannabinoid type 1 |
| what effect does THC have on the dopaminergic system? | stimulating |
| how much % of drugs vulnerability is attributed to genetic factors? | 40-60% |
| what can blocking the CB1 receptors do? | reduce reinforcing effects of heroin, morphine, cannabis, nicotine & alcohol |
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