Alcohol Flashcards
(33 cards)
Drug addiction properties
Dependency Positive reinforcement Negative reinforcement Craving Tolerance Withdrawal symptoms
Factors that can promote drug abuse
Genetics. Personality traits. Genetic predisposition for alcoholism. Inability to metabolise alcohol. Sensitivity to drugs.
Addictive drugs that produce positive reinforcement stimulate
Release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens
Alcohol is hydrophilic
Highly soluble in water
Acute exposure to alcohol
Disrupts activity and levels of neurotransmitters in the brain
Predominant affects of alcohol are
Inhibitory, resulting in a depressant effect on the CNS.
Chronic exposure to alcohol results in
Adaptive changes to tolerances within the brain
Low doses of alcohol
Mild euphoria.
Anxiolytics effect reducing anxiety.
High doses of alcohol
Lack of coordination.
Sedation.
Cell bodies in mesolimbic system are located in
Ventral tegmental area (VTA)
Agonist
Facilitates the effect of a neurotransmitter
Antagonist
Inhibits the effect of a neurotransmitter
Direct
Acts at the binding site of the neurotransmitter
Indirect
Acts at a different binding site to the neurotransmitter
GABA receptors
Responsive to GABA inhibitory neurotransmitter
NMDA receptors
Responsive to glutamate neurotransmitter
Alcohol increases activity of
Dopaminergic neurons in the mesolimbic system
What decreases alcohol intake
Injecting a dopamine antagonist into the nucleus accumbens
Alcohol synaptic action
Has complex effects on glutamate neurotransmitters and serotonin receptors and influences dopamine
Small alcohol exposure
Inhibits NMDA in particular
A lot of alcohol exposure increases
NMDA receptor number and contributes to hyperexcitability in withdrawal.
Dopamine activation
May be linked to reinforcing effects of cues linked to alcohol
NMDA antagonists produce
Sedative, hypnotic, anxiolytic effects
NMDA antagonists interfere with
Cognitive performance
