Psychopharmacology (2) Flashcards
what is psychopharmacology
study of actions and effects of drugs on nervous system and behavior
what is a drug
exogenous chemical (not produced inside the body) that is not necessary for normal functioning but alters functions of the body at relatively low doses
what are drug actions
what the drug is doing to the mechanism of the body
what are drug effects
the actual observable effect
what are the alpha and beta phases of the drug
alpha: drug is spreading throughout the body
beta: drug is being metabolized
what are the barriers a drug needs to cross in order to access the brain
cell lining of digestive system, cell lining of blood vessels, blood-brain barrier, neuronal membranes
what are different routes of drug administration
oral, IV, smoked, intranasal, IM, subcutaneous, rectal, dermal patch
what are the characteristics of different routes of administration
orally needs to cross more membranes than IV
dermal patches will be constant absorption and last longer than IV/IM
what is the organ involved in metabolizing drugs
liver
what is a drug agonist
binds to a receptor and alters the receptors function to elicit a physiological change
half agonists have 50% the activity of a full agonist
what is a drug antagonist (competitive and non-competitive)
competitive antagonists: bind to a receptor and block the normal ligand from binding (dependent on the concentration of agonists vs antagonists)
non-competitive antagonists: bind to a different receptor site and block the receptor conformation change by the agonist
what are reverse agonists
block the normal/basal level of activity from occurring so response will decrease
what is drug potency
how strong a drug is/ the amount required to observe an effect
what is drug efficacy
maximum effect of a drug
