Psychoactive Drugs Flashcards
Blood-Brain Barrier
… A border of blood vessels in the brain that doesn’t allow the blood of the peripheral nervous system to have an impact on the central nervous system.
I.e. The blood in your arm (and what it carries), for the most part, doesn’t impact or harm your brain.
But some stuff gets through.
Psychoactive Drugs
… chemical substances that alter perception and mood (effects consciousness).
They break the blood-brain barrier.
Interact with neurotransmitters at the receptor sites of neurons.
Dependence & Addiction
Repeated exposure to a psychoactive drug produces tolerance.
With repeated exposure to a drug, the drug’s effect lessens. Thus it takes bigger doses to get the desired effect.
Tolerance
Repeated exposure to a psychoactive drug produces tolerance.
Once tolerance is developed after repeated exposure, it takes more amounts of the drug to even feel the effects.
Drug (substance) dependence
technically means that the body adapts to repeated use of a drug (meaning it no longer produces the naturally existing neurotransmitter that is being replaced by the drug, in most cases), to the point that withdrawal symptoms are experienced upon cessation of taking the drug.
Physical dependence/addiction
a physical condition caused by chronic use of a tolerance-forming drug, in which abrupt or gradual drug withdrawal causes unpleasant physical symptoms.*
Symptoms can include:
* Fatigue
* Headaches
* Tremors
* Sweating
* Vomiting
* Many other varying symptoms
Psychological dependence/
addiction
a state that involves emotional-motivational withdrawal
symptoms upon cessation of drug use.
Types of Drugs - Depressants
Drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions. They include:
1. Alcohol
* In low doses – relaxes drinker by slowing down the sympathetic nervous system (lowering inhibitions and judgments)
* In high doses – reactions slow, speech slurs, and skilled performance deteriorates
* Also affects memory by disrupting the processing of recent events into long-term memory, reduces self-awareness, and focuses one’s attention on an immediate situations rather than future consequences
2. Barbiturates
* drugs that mimic the effects of alcohol – depress CNS activity and in larger doses, can lead to impaired memory and judgment
* Nembutal, Seconal, and Amytal are some examples.
3. Opiates
* Opium and its derivatives (morphine and heroin) depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety. They are highly addictive.
Heroin
* user gets a short lived feeling of blissful pleasure (lasts for about 3-5 hours), followed by craving for another fix, the
need for progressively larger doses, and physical withdrawal symptoms
* Methadone is often used when trying to combat a heroin addiction
* at the dosages given the individual does not get “high” yet it is enough to reduce the intense physical cravings
* However, people can become addicted to Methadone
Types of Drugs - Stimulants
Drugs that excited neural activity and speed-up body functions.
They include:
1. Caffeine
Caffeine and Nicotine increase heart and breathing rates, and other autonomic functions to provide energy.
- Considered the most widely used psychoactive drug
* Increases attentiveness and improves mood by mimicking
adenosine (a neurotransmitter)
* Is physically addictive
* Individuals can experience withdrawal symptoms if stop intake (usually from a few days up to a week will have headaches, be irritable, drowsy or be tired…esp. if a regular coffee, tea, soda drinker)
* At high doses, it can produce anxiety, restlessness, insomnia and increased heart rate – known as “coffee nerves”
- Nicotine
- Cocaine
* Illegal stimulate derived from coca tree
* Derivatives (Novocain) are used today as anesthetics
* cocaine was part of Coca-Cola’s original formula in 1888, it was replaced in 1903 by caffeine – yet coca leaves, with cocaine extracted for medical purposes, are still used today as a flavoring in some cola drinks
* When inhaled/”snorted”, reaches the brain in minutes – producing intense euphoria, mental alertness, and self-confidence which lasts for several minutes
* usually 10-30 minutes if someone is a binge user)
- Blocks the reuptake of dopamine… so the brain is flooded with a dopamine-produced pleasure sensation. - Ecstasy
* A stimulant and mild hallucinogen
* Increases empathy, peacefulness and the person “feels” calm or relaxed, yet they also seem to have an unending supply of energy- Making it a popular “club drug” * the immediate dehydrating effects, combined with prolonged physical activity (like dancing) causes the person risk severe overheating, increased blood pressure and death
- Researchers have found a decline in memory and performance on IQ tests
- And they believe MDMA causes long-term serotonin changes in the brain leading to reduced serotonin levels & an increased risk of depressed mood
- Making it a popular “club drug” * the immediate dehydrating effects, combined with prolonged physical activity (like dancing) causes the person risk severe overheating, increased blood pressure and death
- Amphetamines
(“speed” or “uppers”)
* Suppress appetite and were once prescribed as diet pills
* No longer prescribed because of tolerance to its appetite suppressant effects occurs quickly, meaning the individual needs more and more of the drug to maintain effects
* Also increase concentration and reduce fatigue…can increase anxiety and irritability as well - Methamphetamines
Crystal Meth
* illegal drug manufactured in street laboratories that is either smoked or injected
* as with all amphetamines, after using for awhile one “crashes”, exhibiting withdrawal symptoms of fatigue,
deep sleep, intense mental depression and increased appetite
* it is highly addictive…aftereffects include: irritability, insomnia, hypertension, seizures, periods of disorientation and occasional violent behavior
* Over time, it appears to reduce baseline dopamine levels, leaving the users with permanently depressed functioning
Type of drugs - Hallucinogens
psychedelic (mind-manifesting) drugs that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input.
They include:
- LSD
“Acid”
* one of the most powerful drugs known – only takes one-millionth of an ounce toproduce altering effects * first synthesized from rye fungus by Swiss chemist in late 1930s – Hofmann accidentally ingested a minuscule amount of the substance, having the first LSD trip ever)
* trip lasts 6-14 hours – effects vary greatly * visual distortions & hallucinations
* Emotions very intense & unstable and impaired thoughts
* “bad trips” * Terrifying, and users are in a state of panic, feel as they will go mad & never come out * some have ended tragically in accidents, death or suicide
* flashbacks – have sudden, without warning brief recurrences of trip weeks/months after use - Marijuana
* produces feeling of elation, promotes relaxation, relieves inhibitions, relieves anxiety and increases sensitivity to sights, sounds and touch – causes sense of time to be distorted
* THC (tetrahydrocannibinol), ingredient that produces the high, remains in body long after use
* 10% remains in system after 7 weeks
* effects: impairs attention/coordination, slows reaction time, interferes with concentration, logical thinking, ability to form new memories and ability to hold in mind what is said
* chronic use associated with loss of motivation and general apathy – it also causes respiratory damage faster than
cigarette smoking and heavy use/ abuse affects the reproductive system, especially in males
Influences on Drug Use - Biological Influences:
- Genetic tendencies
- Dopamine reward circuit
Influences on Drug Use
Psychological Influences:
* Lacking sense of purpose
* Significant stress
* Psychological disorders, such
as depression
Influences on Drug Use - psychological Influences:
- Lacking sense of purpose
- Significant stress
- Psychological disorders, such
as depression
Influences on Drug Use - social-cultural influences
- Urban environment
- Belonging to a drug-using
cultural group - Peer influences
Influence on Drug - Experience
The biggest influence on what someone experience will be when consuming psychoactive drugs is their expectations.
Those expectations are based on past experiences with others who have consumed that drug.
