Question | Answer |
What is addiction? | the continued repetitive behavior despite adverse consequences |
Addiction is complex | Psychology: impulsive and poor decision-making, psycho-social problems, co-morbidity, etc. not limited to "drugs": addiction can be applied to video games, gambling, sex, etc. multiple stages involve mulltiple neurobiological systems/processes e.g. -specific addictive drugs affect specific neurobiological systems -most addictions involve dopamine transmission |
hedonic value | -a drug pertains to the amount of pressure experiences ("liking") when taken |
positive-incentive value | refers to the anticipated pleasure ("wanting") ones associated with drug-related behaviors -taking the drug, going to a "drug -party" buying the drug |
ABC | A- Antecedent - cage w/ lever - drug house B - Behavior - press lever - "do drug" C - Consequence - Get food - |
Drugs with addictive potential | (the ability to produce addiction) often increase dopamine neurotransmission |
mesocorticolimbic DA-pathway | the main area activated during addictive behaviors. Includes VTA, nucleus accumbens (NAc), and frontal lobe |
Stimulant Drugs | have a direct effect on VTA-> NAc dopamine transmission |
Symptoms of acute stimulant use | -increased excitement, alertness, activity, and euphoria ("good mood") -decreased fatigue |
Stimulants work as dopamine agonists | -the main site of activity is by blocking the dopamine transporter (inhibiting reuptake) |
DA transporters | which normally remove DA from synapse) are blocked by stimulants like cocaine, making the effect of DA on the postsynaptic cell more intense/last longer |
injecting cocaine is reinforcing | when the lever is pressed, cocaine is injected into the rat's mesocoricolimbic pathway. The programming equipment controls how much cocaine is give for how many lever-presses |
injecting cocaine is reinforcing | "breakpoint" when the animal is no longer willing to work for drugs |
speed of drug maximum concentration and half-life | -time necessary for the drug to reach maximal concentration in the blood (Tmax) -time necessary for the drug's concentration to drop to 5-% its peak lever (T1/2) -short Tmax and short T1/2 are dangerous, associated with frequent "dosing of drug |
Speed of drug maximum concentration and half-life | Drugs with both small Tmax and T1/2 tend to be frequently "dosed" (e.g., "Nic-fix") this is a very dangerous pattern for addiction |
tolerance & wtihdrawal mark physical dependence | -withdrawal -tolerance |
withdrawal | - symptoms that occur with hte abrupt discontinuation (or decrease in dosage) of a given drug |
tolerance | changes in a persons psychological and physiological response to a specific drug |
withdrawal | -generally, withdrawal from a drug looks like the opposite of he effects of a drug - i.e., "highs" are followed by "lows" |
common withdrawal symptoms | -stimulants: reduced energ, reduced motivation, mild depression -alcohol: irritability, fatigue, shaking, sweating, nausea -opiates: anxiety, sweating vomiting, diarrhea -Nicotine: irritability, fatigue, insomnia, headache, concentration issues -marijuana: decreased appetite, sleeplessness, irritability, anxiety |
drug tolerance lowers a drug's effect | 1. in tolerant subjects, the same dose has less effect 2. in tolerant subjects, a greater dose is required to produce the same effect -the enjoyable effects of drugs diminish with repeated exposure. Therefore, the user tends to "up" his dosage to achieve the same amount of enjoyment as in previous exposure |
"Upping" the dose is riskly... | -effective dose (ED50) - the amount of drug needed for 50% of the population to achieve the entended effect (e.g., "high"/"pleasure") -TD5- (toxic dose 505), LD50 (lethal dose 50%) -optimal dose varies widely across individuals different drugs have different optimal doses |
Chart of "upping the dose" | |
"Upping" the dose is risky... | increases the "probability of lethal overdose" |
Allostasis: withdrawal & tolerance effects | -after several times taking the drug the person's overall mood shifts downward from its natural homeostasis (natural "set-point") to a new allostasis (changed "set-point") |
Shift of allostasis | after several times taking the drug, the person's overall mood shifts downwards from its natural homeostasis (natural "set-poiint") to a new allostasis (changed "set-point".) |
negative reinforcement | in addition to the hedonic value of drugs, addicted persons might also want to avoid withdrawal symptoms (negative reinforcement) -this is often referred to as the "Self-medication" theory of drug abuse |
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