Most of our drugs originally came either directly or indirectly from ___. |
plants |
Most drugs have three different kinds of names. Which of them belongs to a specific manufacturer? |
brand name |
The group of psychoactive drugs called stimulants includes: |
cocaine |
Among the psychoactive drugs, alcohol can be classified as a(n) ___. |
depressant |
Which of these is given its own classification category, due to its complex effects at different doses? |
marijuana |
Nonspecific effects of taking a drug are those that do not depend on its chemical activity. They are sometimes referred to as ___. |
placebo effects |
When neither the person taking the drug nor the person evaluating the effects of the drug knows which people are getting the experimental drug and which people are getting the placebo, this procedure is referred to as a(n) ___. |
double-blind procedure |
The threshold on a dose-response curve is the ___. |
lowest dose at which there is an observable effect of the drug. |
The text uses an example of overlapping dose-response curves for slowed reaction time, ataxia (staggering) and coma to illustrate ___. |
that different drug related effects can have different thresholds. |
The safety margin for a particular drug is based on the idea that ___. |
toxic doses will typically be larger than therapeutic doses. |
With increasing doses of any useful drug, there is usually an increase in the number and severity of ___. |
side effects |
The potency of a drug is defined in terms of ___. |
the amount required to produce an effect. |
The story of the Michigan police officer who ate marijuana-laced brownies and then called 911, is a good illustration of which basic psychopharmacology fact? |
different routes of administration can produce markedly different drug effects. |
The time course of a drugs action depends on ___. |
all of the above |
Regardless of the route of administration, psychoactive drugs reach the brain tissue by way of the ___. |
bloodstream |
After oral administration, most absorption of the drug molecules takes place in the ___. |
small intestine |
If you want to get very high concentrations of cocaine to the brain very rapidly, which route of administration would you probably use? |
intravenous |
Of the following routes of administration, which will produce fastest onset of effects? |
inhalation |
Alcohol has a low tendency, but THC has a high tendency, to ___. |
bind to the blood proteins. |
The blood-brain barrier ___. |
prevents many drugs from entering the brain |
Concussions and cerebral infections can decrease the effectiveness of ___. |
the blood-brain barrier |
Some drugs may act on all types of neurons by ___. |
altering the electrical potential across the cell membrane |
The most common way for drug molecules to be deactivated is by ___. |
CYP450 enzymes in the liver |
If repeated exposure to a drug increases the activity of the CYP450 enzyme that is responsible for metabolizing that drug, then later doses will be less effective than the first few doses. This is an example of ___. |
drug disposition tolerance |
When use of a drug interferes with normal behavior, experienced users may learn to compensate and show less impairment than new users. This is an example of ___. |
behavioral tolerance |
In some cases, repeated use of a drug leads to pharmacodynamic tolerance, which is based on ___. |
reduced sensitivity of neurons |
What kind of name is Provigil (an altering drug)? |
brand name |
Which of the following would be a reason for a drug company NOT to pursue expensive clinical trials with a new drug? |
the therapeutic index is less than 1 |
T or F: A drug's generic name can only be used by one company. |
False |
T or F: Caffeine and cocaine are both considered to be stimulant drugs. |
True |
T or F: Marijuana and heroin are both considered to be opioid drugs. |
False |
T or F: For most therapeutic effects, there is a maximum effect, and increasing the dose more just increases the number and type of side effects. |
True |
T or F: Most psychoactive drugs taken orally go directly from the stomach to the brain. |
False |
T or F: For many psychoactive drugs, such as nicotine and cocaine, the fastest way to get an effect is by inhaling the drugs vapors. |
True |
T or F: According to the text, inexperienced drug users should avoid taking a drug via a route that increases the drugs potency. |
True |
T or F: Because the effects of stimulants and depressants counteract each other, taking the drugs in combination does not produce intoxication. |
False |
What is the placebo effect? Describe some research techniques that have been developed to separate specific drug effects from placebo effects. |
The placebo effect is an effect that does not depend on the presence of a specific chemical in the system. Double blind procedures and dose effect curves are two ways of demonstrating specific drug effects. |
Describe three factors that can influence the time course of the behavioral effect of a drug, and show that you understand how each factor influences the time course. |
1) route of administration -influences how fast the drug acts and how long it takes to reach maximum effect 2) speed of absorption -influences how fast the drug acts and how long it takes to reach maximum effect 3) how the drug is eliminated -influences how long the drug lasts |
There are many different routes by which drugs can be administered. Describe the pros and cons of the oral route versus the intravenous route. |
Intravenous pros: short onset of action, can deliver irritating material since blood vessel walls are relatively insensitive cons: vein walls can loose elasticity over time and eventually collapse, can introduce infection into the blood stream Oral pros: simple and relatively safer cons: absorption from the GI tract is slow and complicated by many factors |
Describe the three mechanisms that might explain why an alcohol dependent individual might have to take more of the drug to experience the same effects. |
1) drug disposition tolerance -use of the drug increases a drugs rate of metabolism or excretion, requiring a greater dose to obtain the same result 2) behavioral tolerance -individuals learn to adapt to the altered state and compensate for the impairment 3) pharmacodynamic tolerance -sensitivity of neurons to a drug changes in an attempt by the brain to maintain its level of functioning within normal limits (homeostasis) |