Sedative, hypnotics, and anxiolytics Part 1 Flashcards
Sedative
Calms anxiety, decreases excitement and activity, does not produce drowsiness, or impair performance
Anxiolytic
Anti Anxiety, relieves anxiety without sleep or sedation
Hypnotic
Induces sleep, implies restful, refreshing sleep, not “hypnotized!”, natural sleep
Narcotic
Actually means “sleep producing”, now refers to opioids or illegal drugs
Reticular formation
Extends through the central core of the medulla, pons, and midbrain
It is an intricate system composed of loosely clustered neurons in what is otherwise white matter
Stages of sleep
Wakefulness
Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) slow-wave sleep
Rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep
NREM Sleep
Stage 1 (dozing)
Stage 2 (unequivocal sleep)
Stage 3 (voltage increase, frequency decreases)
Stage 4 (delta waves)
REM sleep
similar to awake in EEG
Sleep deprivation
Total sleep
Delta sleep
REM
Factors that regulate sleep
Age
Sleep history
Drug Ingestion
Circadian Rhythms: “Normal sleep cycle”
Neurotransmitters
regulators of sleep
GABA: main target for current medication
Neuromodulators
GH
Prolactin
Cortisol
Melatonin: “hormone of darkness”
Endogenous peptides
GABAergic Neurotransmission
GABAa receptors
GABAb receptors
GABA Transporters
GABA-T (Transaminase)
SLIDE 11
GABAa receptor/Chloride Ion Channel Complex
Orthostatic site: GABA alpha1 and beta2
Allosteric sites: benzodiazepines site alpha 1 and gamma 2
Barbiturate
Ethanol
Glucocorticoid
Channel pore (picrotoxin)
Most common
Benzodiazepines
facilitate GABA action (alpha 1-5) increase frequency, require intact GABA system
