Minor term - drugs
43 important questions on Minor term - drugs
Is dopamine alone sufficient for reinforcement?
- Dopamine is not sufficient on its own for reinforcement.
- It is necessary, but other factors are needed for reinforcement to occur.
What are the chances of getting addicted after a single use of various substances?
- Nicotine: 32%
- Heroin: 23%
- Cocaine: 17%
- Alcohol: 15%
- Benzodiazepines: 9%
- Cannabis: 9%
- XTC/LSD/paddo’s: < 1%
What drugs were used recreationally by our ancestors?
- Alcohol
- Opium poppy
- Cannabis
- Coca leaves
- Tobacco plants
- Coffee beans
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What are the types of drugs listed?
- Stimulants: Amphetamine, Caffeine, Cocaine, Nicotine, 3-MMC.
- Sedatives and Hypnotics: Alcohol, Barbiturates, Benzodiazepines.
- Opiates and Opioid analgesics: Morphine, Heroin, Methadone.
- Hallucinogenics: LSD, psilocybine.
What are the health risks associated with alcohol consumption?
- Cirrhosis
- Car accidents
- Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
- Korsakoff syndrome
What are the health consequences of nicotine usage?
- Lung cancer
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Smaller, less healthy babies
What are the dangers associated with cocaine use?
- Psychosis
- Brain damage
- Death
- Babies with brain damage
What are the other general risks related to drug use?
- AIDS
- Contaminated drugs leading to death, Parkinson's disease
- Criminality
How does dopamine affect reward behavior in relation to drug intake?
- Dopamine influences reward behavior.
- Lesioned animals show reduced drug intake.
- Lower intake observed for both heroin and cocaine.
- Sham animals demonstrate higher intake levels.
- Results highlight the importance of dopamine in addiction.
What are the statistics for alcohol abuse in the Netherlands (2021)?
- Alcohol users: 477,000
- In treatment: 24,231
How many people in the Netherlands were addicted to tobacco in 2021, and how many received treatment?
- Tobacco users: 539,000
- In treatment: 389
What are the figures for cannabis abuse and treatment in the Netherlands (2021)?
- Cannabis users: 70,000
- In treatment: 9,024
How many people in the Netherlands were addicted to opiates in 2021, and how was the treatment coverage?
- Opiates users: 14,000
- In treatment: 6,698
What were the statistics for gambling addiction and treatment in 2021 in the Netherlands?
- Gambling users: 79,000
- In treatment: 1,887
What are the data for internet-gaming addiction and treatment in the Netherlands in 2021?
- Internet-gaming users: 16,000
- In treatment: 221
How many total substance abusers and treatment cases were there in the Netherlands in 2021?
- Total users: 1,840,273
- In treatment: 54,865
What are examples of natural reinforcers?
- Water: Essential for survival and maintaining hydration.
- Food: Provides necessary energy and nutrients.
- Sex: Important for reproduction and species continuation.
What is intracranial self-stimulation and how is it demonstrated in this experiment with a rat?
- Intracranial self-stimulation involves stimulating the brain's pleasure centers.
- Rats press a lever to receive electrical brain stimulation.
- Graph shows increased bar presses with higher stim intensity.
- High interest shown between 14 to 18 mA.
How do dopamine levels change during various stages in the experiment?
- Home Cage: Baseline dopamine levels.
- Male Alone in Test Chamber: Slight increase.
- Female Visual Exposure: Further increase.
- Female and Male Together: Peak dopamine levels.
- Female Removed: Levels decrease.
How do dopamine and conditioned reinforcers relate in the experiment shown?
- Lever pressing observed for preferred food.
- Using a DA antagonist disrupts lever pressing.
- Leads to choice for non-preferred food.
- Highlights dopamine's role in reinforcing behavior.
How is reinforcement used in the context of morphine administration?
- Reinforcement: 100 responses = light, 30 lights = injection.
- Graph: Shows responses per second and ratings of liking the drug.
- Dose: Measured in mg (0, 3.75, 7.5, 15, 30).
What is shown in the graph regarding beta-endorphin levels after cocaine injection?
- Beta-endorphin levels are shown as a percentage of baseline over time.
- The timeline is over 200 minutes.
- A cocaine injection occurs at 80 minutes.
- Post-injection, there is a notable increase in beta-endorphin levels.
- Significant increases marked with asterisks.
How does CTAP dosage affect lever presses for drug-paired and inactive levers in cocaine self-administration?
- CTAP (ng) affects lever presses per hour:
- - At 0.0 ng, drug lever presses are high, inactive lever presses low.
- - Increase in CTAP to 3.0 ng shows a peak in drug lever presses.
- - At 30 ng, drug lever presses decrease.
What brain regions are associated with endogenous opioids?
- Prefrontal cortex
- Nucleus accumbens
- Amygdala
- Arcuate nucleus
- Ventral tegmental area
How does the endogenous opioid system interact with dopamine and alcohol?
- Endogenous opioid system: Interacts with dopamine via the mesolimbic pathway.
- Dopamine: Released from VTA to NAc.
- Alcohol: Increases β-EP release, activating MOR on GABA interneurons.
- MOR: Inhibition of GABA leads to dopamine increase.
What characteristics make drugs more addictive, according to the provided information?
- Immediate effects increase addiction potential
- Examples suggest swift results make substances more appealing
- Time references indicate faster outcomes lead to greater dependency
What happens to drug effectiveness in terms of tolerance and withdrawal?
- Drug effectiveness decreases over time.
- More drug is needed to achieve the same effect.
- This is known as drug tolerance.
What are the steps involved in chemical activity at the synapse involved in receptor downregulation?
- Vesicles & peptide neurotransmitters: synthesized in soma.
- Transport: moves neurotransmitters.
- Storage & synthesis: smaller neurotransmitters produced and stored.
- Action potential: facilitates calcium ion entry, triggering neurotransmitter release.
- Neurotransmitter crossing: synapse is traversed.
- Attachment & activity: neurotransmitters bind to receptors, inducing postsynaptic activity.
- Reuptake: involves transporter proteins.
- Breakdown by MAO: enzymes like Monoamine Oxidase degrade neurotransmitters.
What are the key components of epigenetic mechanisms involved in tolerance?
- Drugs interact with ion channels and NT receptors.
- Second messengers and protein kinases play a role.
- Transcription factors: CREB, NFκB, MEF2, δFosB.
- Chromatin/DNA modifiers: HATs, HDACs, HMTs, HDMs, DNMTs.
- MicroRNAs affect gene expression.
- Long-lasting changes influence neuronal function.
What is negative reinforcement and what are its associated effects?
- An action that eliminates an aversive stimulus is reinforced.
- Associated effects include:
- - Withdrawal symptoms
- - Negative feelings
What are withdrawal symptoms and how can they vary?
- Include compensation reaction, dependent on drug type.
- Often mimic flu:
- - Tearing of eyes
- - Runny nose
- - Abdominal cramps
- - Nausea
- - Body aches
- Sometimes lead to serious issues:
- - Epileptic seizures
- - Hallucinations
- - Delirium
What is the classical conditioning process involving insulin and placebo injections?
- Insulin Injection:
- - Reduces blood sugar
- - Glucagon normalizes it
- Placebo Injection:
- - Stimulates glucagon
- - Increases blood sugar
What elements trigger compensatory reactions in classical conditioning related to drug use?
- Syringe, needle, room, other people:
- - Act as stimuli.
- Drug effects on brain:
- - Lead to compensatory reactions.
- Compensatory reactions:
- - Oppose drug effects.
- - Withdrawal symptoms occur with no drug.
Why do people have more chance to die from an overdose when taking the drug in an unfamiliar environment?
- Lack of environmental cues can reduce tolerance.
- Unfamiliar surroundings may prevent anticipatory body responses.
- Increased risk due to altered physiological reactions.
- Reduced ability for the body to protect itself from drug effects.
What are the effects of long-term drug use on the brain?
- Causes long-term changes in the brain.
- Associated with craving and relapse.
- Alters brain function over time.
What factors contribute to craving and relapse in addiction?
- Priming effects: Re-exposure to the addictive substance primes the brain.
- Stress: Triggers craving and potential relapse.
- Chronic drug exposure: Leads to gene activation or repression.
- Drug challenge: Influences gene expression linked to addiction.
How does cocaine affect dopamine transporters?
- Cocaine blocks the dopamine transporter.
- Increased dopamine concentration occurs in the synaptic cleft.
- Enhanced neural signaling is a result.
- Dopamine cannot be reabsorbed into the neuron.
How does nicotine affect the central nervous system?
- Binds to nicotinic acetylcholine (nACh) receptors.
- Primary receptor: α4β2 nACh in the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA).
- Binding causes dopamine release in Nucleus Accumbens (nAcc).
- Release is linked to reward mechanisms.
What is the mechanism of action of MDMA?
- MDMA increases noradrenaline and dopamine levels.
- Blocks Noradrenaline Transporters (NAT) and Dopamine Transporters (DAT).
- Effect is similar to amphetamine.
How does heroin affect dopamine release according to the diagram?
- Heroin converts to morphine in the body.
- Morphine binds to delta (δ) or kappa (κ) opiate receptors.
- Inhibition of GABA release occurs.
- Reduced GABA release leads to increased dopamine release in the synaptic cleft.
How does amphetamine affect dopamine neurons?
- Targets VMAT2, releasing dopamine into cytoplasm
- Reverses dopamine uptake via dopamine transporter
- Inhibits dopamine transporter with methylphenidate
- Increases synaptic dopamine levels
- Impact on presynaptic dopamine neuron
What therapies are considered difficult according to the slide?
- Nalexone/naltrexone: Used for opioid dependence.
- Methadone: Substitution therapy for opioid use.
- Nicotine gum/plasters: Aid in smoking cessation.
What are some key subjects in the study of heredity vs. environment?
- Monozygotic twins: Identical genetics, used to study heredity.
- Adopted children: Different environments, same genetics, used to explore environmental impacts.
- Alcohol: Studied for genetic predispositions and environmental influences on behavior.
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