Physiological Psychology Flashcards
(233 cards)
1
Q
A
2
Q
What are the three main regions of the brain?
A
Hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain.
3
Q
Which brain regions form the brainstem?
A
Hindbrain and midbrain.
4
Q
What symptoms may result from brainstem damage?
A
Respiratory problems, difficulty swallowing, slurred speech, problems with balance and coordination, nausea, sleep disturbances, confusion, or loss of consciousness.
5
Q
Which structures are included in the hindbrain?
A
Medulla, pons, and cerebellum.
6
Q
What is the function of the medulla?
A
Regulates swallowing, coughing, sneezing, respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure. Disruption can result in death.
7
Q
What does the pons do?
A
Connects the cerebellum halves, coordinates bilateral movements, relays messages between cerebellum and cortex, and regulates respiration and REM sleep.
8
Q
What functions are associated with the cerebellum?
A
Coordinates voluntary movement, posture, balance, and stores procedural and implicit memories. Also involved in attention, language, and visuospatial skills.
9
Q
What are symptoms of cerebellar damage?
A
Ataxia: impaired coordination, slurred speech, jerky eye movements, and double vision.
10
Q
What are the two major midbrain structures?
A
Reticular formation and substantia nigra.
11
Q
What is the function of the reticular formation?
A
Regulates muscle tone, eye movements, and pain; contains the RAS, which controls arousal and sleep/wake cycle.
12
Q
What happens when the RAS is damaged?
A
Lesions can cause coma; stimulation can increase alertness.
13
Q
What does the substantia nigra do?
A
Involved in reward-seeking, addiction, and motor control via basal ganglia. Degeneration causes Parkinson’s symptoms.
14
Q
What are the key subcortical forebrain structures?
A
Hypothalamus, thalamus, basal ganglia, amygdala, and hippocampus.
15
Q
What are the major functions of the hypothalamus?
A
Maintains homeostasis; regulates temperature, heart rate, hunger, sexual behavior, and stress responses.
16
Q
What is the role of oxytocin and vasopressin?
A
Oxytocin aids in bonding and childbirth; vasopressin regulates water balance. Both influence social behavior and stress response.
17
Q
How does the hypothalamus influence the pituitary gland?
A
Stimulates or inhibits hormone release from the anterior pituitary and sends oxytocin/vasopressin to the posterior pituitary.
18
Q
What is the function of the thalamus?
A
Relays sensory information (except smell) to the cortex; involved in sensory-motor coordination and memory.
19
Q
What condition is linked to thalamus damage and chronic alcoholism?
A
Korsakoff syndrome: anterograde and retrograde amnesia, confabulation.
20
Q
What are the components and functions of the basal ganglia?
A
Includes caudate nucleus, putamen, nucleus accumbens, globus pallidus. Controls movement, habit learning, and emotion.
21
Q
Which disorders are associated with basal ganglia abnormalities?
A
Mood disorders, schizophrenia, ADHD, OCD, Tourette’s, Huntington’s, and Parkinson’s.
22
Q
What is the limbic system responsible for?
A
Emotion, motivation, and memory.
23
Q
What are the primary structures of the limbic system?
A
Amygdala, cingulate cortex, and hippocampus.
24
Q
What is the role of the amygdala?
A
Processes fear and emotion, forms emotional memories, part of pain modulation and risk assessment.
25
What is Kluver-Bucy syndrome?
Caused by bilateral temporal lobe lesions including the amygdala; symptoms include hyperphagia, hypersexuality, visual agnosia.
26
What does the cingulate cortex do?
Involved in motivation, emotional pain processing, and memory. Damage reduces emotional response to pain.
27
What is the hippocampus responsible for?
Transfers declarative memories to long-term memory and supports spatial memory.
28
What conditions are linked to hippocampal abnormalities?
Alzheimer’s, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD.
29
What is the cerebral cortex?
The outer layer of the brain, divided into the right and left hemispheres. Each hemisphere has four lobes: frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital.
30
What are the main areas of the frontal lobe?
Broca’s area, prefrontal cortex, and primary motor cortex.
31
What is the function of Broca’s area?
Language production. Damage causes Broca’s (expressive/nonfluent) aphasia: slow, labored speech with intact comprehension.
32
What are executive functions managed by the prefrontal cortex?
Planning, decision-making, working memory, prospective memory, social judgment, and self-monitoring.
33
What does the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) control?
Most executive functions. Damage causes poor goal-directed behavior, concrete thinking, and apathy. Linked to MDD, GAD, OCD, and schizophrenia.
34
What is the role of the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC)?
Decision-making, memory, inhibition, emotion regulation. Linked to GAD and social anxiety disorder.
35
What are the effects of ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) damage?
Impaired moral judgment, confabulation, poor social cognition, blunted affect. Linked to MDD, OCD, GAD, PTSD, schizophrenia.
36
What is the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) responsible for?
Emotion regulation, social behavior, inhibition. Damage causes impulsivity and inappropriate behavior. Linked to MDD, bipolar, PTSD, schizophrenia.
37
What does the primary motor cortex do?
Initiates purposeful movements. Damage causes weakness or paralysis on the opposite side of the body.
38
What are the key areas of the temporal lobe?
Auditory cortex and Wernicke’s area.
39
What happens with damage to the auditory cortex?
May cause auditory agnosia, hallucinations, or cortical deafness.
40
What is Wernicke’s aphasia?
Fluent but meaningless speech, impaired comprehension and repetition. Caused by damage to Wernicke’s area.
41
What is conduction aphasia?
Fluent speech and comprehension intact, but impaired repetition. Caused by damage to the arcuate fasciculus.
42
What is the function of the parietal lobe?
Processes touch, pressure, temperature, pain, and body position.
43
What disorders result from parietal lobe damage?
Somatosensory agnosias, apraxias, contralateral neglect, and Gerstmann’s syndrome.
44
What is Gerstmann’s syndrome?
Right-left disorientation, finger agnosia, agraphia, and acalculia. Caused by left parietal lobe damage.
45
What is contralateral neglect?
Neglect of one side of the body and space, usually due to right parietal lobe damage.
46
What does the occipital lobe control?
Visual processing. Damage can cause visual agnosia, hallucinations, color blindness, or cortical blindness.
47
What is blindsight?
Responding to visual stimuli without conscious visual awareness. Can include affective blindsight.
48
What is prosopagnosia?
Inability to recognize familiar faces, including one's own. Caused by occipitotemporal damage.
49
What is brain lateralization?
Functional specialization of each hemisphere. Left: language, logic, positive emotions. Right: spatial, emotion prosody, negative emotions.
50
What is emotional prosody and pragmatics?
Right hemisphere functions that help interpret tone, sarcasm, humor, and emotional nuances in speech.
51
What did Sperry’s split-brain research find?
Left hemisphere handles verbal responses; right hemisphere controls left hand touch recognition without speech.
52
What does the dichotic listening task demonstrate?
Confirms left hemisphere dominance for language in most right-handed individuals.
53
What are the main divisions of the nervous system?
Central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS).
54
What does the central nervous system (CNS) consist of?
The brain and spinal cord.
55
What are the two parts of the peripheral nervous system (PNS)?
Somatic nervous system and autonomic nervous system.
56
What is the somatic nervous system responsible for?
Voluntary movements and transmitting information between sensory receptors and skeletal muscles.
57
What is the autonomic nervous system responsible for?
Involuntary body functions; includes sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.
58
What is the function of the sympathetic nervous system?
Prepares the body for action (e.g., fight-or-flight response).
59
What is the function of the parasympathetic nervous system?
Promotes rest and relaxation; returns body to pre-emergency state.
60
How do the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems work during male sexual response?
Parasympathetic enables erection; sympathetic enables ejaculation.
61
What are the two main types of cells in the nervous system?
Neurons and glia.
62
What are the parts of a neuron?
Dendrites, soma (cell body), and axon.
63
What does myelin do?
Insulates axons and speeds up conduction.
64
What initiates an action potential in a neuron?
Sufficient stimulation causing depolarization of the membrane.
65
What does 'all-or-none' mean in action potentials?
Action potentials either happen fully or not at all, with fixed intensity.
66
What determines stimulus intensity in neurons?
The frequency of action potentials and the number of neurons firing.
67
What is synaptic transmission?
The chemical transmission of information between neurons.
68
What happens after a neurotransmitter affects a postsynaptic neuron?
It is inactivated by reuptake or enzymatic breakdown.
69
What is neuroplasticity?
The brain’s ability to adapt structurally and functionally throughout life.
70
What is homologous area adaptation?
Functions shift to the opposite hemisphere after early brain damage.
71
What is cross-modal reassignment?
Neurons reassign functions when deprived of usual sensory input.
72
What is map expansion?
Enlargement of a cortical region due to practice or training.
73
What is compensatory masquerade?
Using alternative cognitive strategies when primary ones are impaired.
74
What are neurotransmitters?
Chemical messengers that transmit signals between neurons.
75
What are conventional neurotransmitters?
Stored in vesicles, released with action potentials, and activate postsynaptic receptors.
76
What are unconventional neurotransmitters?
Synthesized on demand, may signal in reverse from post- to presynaptic neuron.
77
What is the endocannabinoid system (ECS)?
Regulates homeostasis, reward, emotion, memory; includes endocannabinoids like anandamide.
78
What are the functions of dopamine?
Movement, mood, reward, motivation. Involved in Parkinson’s, ADHD, Tourette’s, and schizophrenia.
79
What are the functions of acetylcholine (ACh)?
Movement, memory, arousal, attention. Linked to Alzheimer’s and myasthenia gravis.
80
What are nicotinic and muscarinic receptors?
Types of ACh receptors: nicotinic are excitatory and rapid; muscarinic mediate both excitatory and inhibitory responses.
81
What is glutamate?
A major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in learning and memory; excessive levels cause excitotoxicity.
82
What is norepinephrine involved in?
Fight-or-flight, attention, arousal, sleep, memory, and mood; imbalances linked to depression and mania.
83
What is serotonin involved in?
Mood, sleep, arousal, appetite, pain. Linked to depression, OCD, eating disorders, and autism.
84
What is GABA?
The main inhibitory neurotransmitter; involved in mood, anxiety, motor control, and sleep.
85
How do psychoactive drugs affect neurotransmitters?
They act as agonists, partial agonists, inverse agonists, or antagonists.
86
What is the difference between direct and indirect agonists?
Direct agonists mimic neurotransmitters; indirect agonists increase their availability.
87
What is the difference between direct and indirect antagonists?
Direct block receptors; indirect prevent neurotransmitter production or release.
88
What is sensation?
The process by which sensory receptors and the nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from the environment.
89
What is perception?
The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information to recognize meaningful objects and events.
90
What is bottom-up processing?
Processing that begins with incoming sensory data and proceeds to interpretation in the brain.
91
What is top-down processing?
Processing that starts with the brain’s use of prior knowledge to interpret sensory input.
92
What are the photoreceptors in the retina?
Cones (color and sharp vision in bright light) and rods (dim light and peripheral vision).
93
What is the trichromatic theory of color vision?
The retina has three types of cones—red, green, and blue—for initial color processing.
94
What is the opponent-process theory of color vision?
Color perception is controlled by opposing responses of red/green, blue/yellow, and white/black cells.
95
What is red-green color blindness?
Most common type, caused by a recessive gene on the X chromosome; more common in males.
96
What is blue-yellow color blindness?
Caused by an autosomal dominant gene, affecting males and females equally.
97
What are binocular cues for depth perception?
Retinal disparity and convergence; they depend on input from both eyes.
98
What are monocular cues for depth perception?
Relative size, interposition, linear perspective, texture gradient, and motion parallax.
99
What is retinal disparity?
The slight difference between views from each eye; greater for closer objects.
100
What is convergence in vision?
The inward turning of the eyes as an object gets closer.
101
How does the gate control theory explain pain?
Pain signals are modulated in the spinal cord by competing non-pain signals and brain input.
102
What are nociceptors?
Pain receptors that detect thermal, mechanical, or chemical stimuli.
103
How can pain be reduced according to gate control theory?
By activating large sensory fibers (e.g., via heat, cold, distraction, or guided imagery).
104
What is synesthesia?
A condition where stimulation in one sensory modality triggers sensations in another modality.
105
What is grapheme-color synesthesia?
Letters or numbers are perceived as inherently colored.
106
What is psychophysics?
The study of the relationship between physical stimuli and psychological sensations.
107
What does Weber’s law state?
JND is a constant proportion of the original stimulus intensity.
108
What does Fechner’s law propose?
There is a logarithmic relationship between stimulus intensity and psychological sensation.
109
What does Stevens’s power law propose?
There is an exponential relationship between stimulus intensity and sensation, varying by stimulus.
110
What is signal detection theory (SDT)?
Perception is influenced by both sensory and decision-making processes under uncertainty.
111
What are the four outcomes in SDT?
Hit, false alarm, miss, and correct rejection.
112
What is d-prime (d’)?
A measure of sensitivity in signal detection theory.
113
What does the ROC curve show?
The trade-off between hit rate and false alarm rate across sensitivity levels and decision criteria.
114
What role does the hippocampus play in memory?
Consolidation of long-term declarative memories and spatial memory.
115
What did the case of patient H.M. reveal about memory?
Removal of the hippocampus prevented transfer of new declarative memories to long-term memory.
116
What role do the basal ganglia and cerebellum play in memory?
Essential for procedural and other implicit memories.
117
What is the amygdala’s role in memory?
Attaches emotions to memories; damaged amygdala impairs emotional memory.
118
What memory functions are associated with the prefrontal cortex?
Working memory, prospective memory, item memory, and source memory.
119
What is the role of the thalamus in memory?
Memory processing; damage can lead to anterograde and retrograde amnesia.
120
What did Kandel’s research on Aplysia reveal?
Short-term memory involves increased serotonin release; long-term memory involves new synapses.
121
What is long-term potentiation (LTP)?
A lasting increase in synaptic strength from rapid stimulation, crucial for learning and memory.
122
What is required for the formation of long-term memories?
Synthesis of RNA, which enables protein synthesis.
123
What are the two main theories of sleep function?
Recovery/restoration theories and adaptive/evolutionary theories.
124
What tool is used to study sleep stages?
Electroencephalography (EEG), which measures brain wave frequency and amplitude.
125
What are the two main types of sleep?
Non-REM (NREM) sleep and REM sleep.
126
What happens during stage N1 of sleep?
Alpha waves are replaced by theta waves; person may deny being asleep.
127
What characterizes stage N2 sleep?
Theta waves, sleep spindles, and K-complexes; muscle relaxation and slowed body functions.
128
What happens during stage N3 sleep?
Delta waves dominate; deepest sleep stage; also called slow-wave sleep (SWS).
129
What is stage R sleep and why is it paradoxical?
REM sleep with beta and theta waves; brain is active but muscles are paralyzed.
130
When do most vivid and detailed dreams occur?
During REM (Stage R) sleep.
131
How do sleep cycles change throughout the night?
REM sleep duration increases, while stage N3 sleep duration decreases.
132
How does infant sleep differ from adult sleep?
Infants sleep more, begin with REM sleep, and have longer REM periods.
133
What is circadian phase advance in older adults?
They fall asleep and wake earlier, with more frequent awakenings and less deep sleep.
134
What does the James-Lange theory propose about emotion?
Emotion results from the perception of physiological arousal caused by a stimulus.
135
What is the facial feedback hypothesis?
Facial expressions initiate physiological changes that lead to experiencing corresponding emotions.
136
What does the Cannon-Bard theory state?
Emotion and physiological arousal occur simultaneously via the thalamus sending signals to the cortex and SNS.
137
What is Schachter and Singer’s two-factor theory?
Emotion results from physiological arousal and a cognitive label based on environmental cues.
138
What is misattribution of arousal?
Incorrectly identifying the source of arousal, leading to mistaken emotional reactions.
139
What is Zillman’s excitation transfer theory?
Residual arousal from one event intensifies the emotional response to a subsequent unrelated event.
140
What are Lazarus’s three types of cognitive appraisal?
Primary (event evaluation), secondary (coping assessment), and reappraisal (ongoing adjustment).
141
What is primary appraisal according to Lazarus?
Assessing whether an event is irrelevant, benign-positive, or stressful.
142
What is LeDoux’s two-system theory of fear?
Fear involves a fast-acting subcortical system and a slower, conscious cortical system.
143
What brain structure is key in LeDoux’s subcortical system?
The amygdala, which triggers quick, automatic fear responses.
144
What does the cortical system in LeDoux’s theory do?
Evaluates sensory input with memory and attention to produce conscious fear.
145
What are the emotional effects of left hemisphere damage?
Produces a catastrophic reaction: depression, anxiety, fear, and paranoia.
146
What are the emotional effects of right hemisphere damage?
Produces an indifference reaction: euphoria or inappropriate indifference.
147
What is the role of the amygdala in emotion?
Evaluates emotional significance of stimuli, attaches emotion to memories, and recognizes facial expressions of fear.
148
What emotions are associated with the hypothalamus?
Rage, pleasure, and fear; regulates physical signs of emotion via the ANS and pituitary gland.
149
What is the general adaptation syndrome (GAS)?
Selye’s model of stress: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion stages.
150
What happens in the alarm stage of GAS?
Sympathetic nervous system is activated for fight-or-flight.
151
What happens in the resistance stage of GAS?
Some functions normalize, but cortisol remains elevated to sustain energy.
152
What happens in the exhaustion stage of GAS?
The body’s systems begin to break down from prolonged stress.
153
What is allostasis?
The body’s process of achieving stability through change in response to stress.
154
What is allostatic load?
The wear-and-tear on the body from prolonged stress and allostasis.
155
What is allostatic overload?
The point at which stress causes damage to health, such as immune dysfunction or psychiatric disorders.
156
Which brain structures mediate the stress response according to McEwen?
Amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex.
157
What factors influence a person’s response to stress in McEwen’s model?
Genetic makeup, resilience, and perception of controllability.
158
What is a cerebrovascular accident (CVA)?
A stroke caused by a sudden interruption of blood flow to the brain resulting in neurological loss.
159
What is the most common type of stroke?
Ischemic stroke due to a blockage in a cerebral artery.
160
What is a transient ischemic attack (TIA)?
A brief blockage causing temporary stroke symptoms; a warning sign of a future stroke.
161
What causes a hemorrhagic stroke?
Bleeding due to rupture in a cerebral artery (intracerebral or subarachnoid hemorrhage).
162
What artery is most often involved in stroke?
Middle cerebral artery, leading to contralateral symptoms and possible aphasia or neglect.
163
What are common symptoms of TBI?
Cognitive deficits, anterograde/retrograde amnesia, headaches, sleep issues, seizures, emotional changes.
164
What is post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE)?
Seizures occurring more than a week after TBI, often hard to treat.
165
What is Huntington's disease caused by?
A mutation in the HTT gene on chromosome 4 causing degeneration in the basal ganglia.
166
What are early symptoms of Huntington's disease?
Affective symptoms like depression, followed by cognitive and motor symptoms.
167
What is chorea?
Involuntary jerky or writhing movements seen in Huntington’s disease.
168
What causes Parkinson’s disease?
Degeneration of dopamine-producing cells in the substantia nigra.
169
What are primary motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease?
Resting tremor, rigidity, postural instability, bradykinesia, and akinesia.
170
What are common treatments for Parkinson’s disease?
Levodopa, dopamine agonists, and deep brain stimulation (DBS).
171
What are the two types of seizures?
Focal onset seizures and generalized onset seizures.
172
What are focal onset aware seizures?
Seizures without loss of consciousness (simple partial seizures).
173
What are absence seizures?
Brief loss of consciousness with a blank stare, also called petit mal seizures.
174
What is status epilepticus?
A prolonged or repeated seizure without recovery, requiring emergency treatment.
175
What are common triggers for seizures?
TBI, stroke, infections, fever, alcohol withdrawal.
176
What are the two types of migraine?
With aura (classic) and without aura (common).
177
What neurotransmitters are linked to migraines?
Low serotonin; also glutamate, dopamine, and norepinephrine.
178
What is primary hypertension?
High blood pressure with no known cause; most common type.
179
What is hyperthyroidism?
Overproduction of thyroid hormones, causing increased metabolism and heat intolerance.
180
What is hypothyroidism?
Underproduction of thyroid hormones, causing fatigue, depression, and weight gain.
181
What is central diabetes insipidus?
Low antidiuretic hormone (ADH) leading to frequent urination and extreme thirst.
182
What causes hypoglycemia?
Too much insulin, skipped meals, alcohol use, or liver/pancreas dysfunction.
183
What causes Type 1 diabetes?
Autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing cells; often triggered by a virus.
184
What causes Type 2 diabetes?
Insulin resistance or insufficient insulin production, often linked to lifestyle.
185
What are common diabetes symptoms?
Excessive hunger/thirst, frequent urination, fatigue, and blurry vision.
186
What does EEG measure?
Electrical activity in the brain to assess seizures, sleep disorders, and brain injury.
187
What do CT and MRI scans show?
Structural abnormalities like tumors, strokes, and injuries.
188
What is DTI used for?
Assessing white matter integrity by measuring water diffusion along axons.
189
What are PET and SPECT used for?
Measuring brain activity using radioactive tracers.
190
What does fMRI measure?
Brain activity using magnetic fields and radio waves; no radiation exposure.
191
What is FDG-PET useful for?
Distinguishing Alzheimer’s from other neurocognitive disorders.
192
What are first-generation antipsychotics (FGAs) also known as?
Typical antipsychotics.
193
What symptoms do FGAs primarily treat?
Positive symptoms of schizophrenia.
194
What is a serious side effect of FGAs that can be life-threatening?
Neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS).
195
What distinguishes SGAs from FGAs?
SGAs treat both positive and some negative symptoms and have fewer extrapyramidal side effects.
196
What is a rare but dangerous side effect of clozapine?
Agranulocytosis, a severe form of neutropenia.
197
What are third-generation antipsychotics classified as?
Dopamine-serotonin stabilizers.
198
What is a unique side effect associated with aripiprazole?
Addictive gambling and impulse control issues.
199
How do SSRIs work?
They block serotonin reuptake, increasing its availability.
200
What are common side effects of SSRIs?
Sexual dysfunction, insomnia, GI issues, and mild anticholinergic effects.
201
What is serotonin syndrome?
A potentially fatal condition caused by excess serotonin, often due to combining serotonergic drugs.
202
What are SNRIs used for?
Depression, anxiety, and pain disorders.
203
What neurotransmitters do SNRIs affect?
Serotonin and norepinephrine.
204
What is a major side effect risk with SNRIs?
Elevated blood pressure.
205
What is the benefit of bupropion (NDRI)?
Few anticholinergic effects, no sexual dysfunction, and non-cardiotoxic.
206
What are TCAs commonly used for?
Depression, OCD, panic disorder, and neuropathic pain.
207
Why are TCAs prescribed with caution?
They are cardiotoxic and lethal in overdose.
208
What foods should be avoided with MAOIs?
Tyramine-rich foods like aged cheese, wine, and soy products.
209
What is the risk of combining MAOIs with certain foods/drugs?
Hypertensive crisis.
210
What is a major advantage of buspirone over benzodiazepines?
It does not cause sedation or dependence.
211
What are benzodiazepines commonly used to treat?
Anxiety, seizures, insomnia, and alcohol withdrawal.
212
What is a risk of combining benzodiazepines with alcohol?
Lethal synergistic depressant effect.
213
How do barbiturates differ from benzodiazepines?
They are more dangerous and can be lethal even when used alone.
214
What is methadone used for?
Heroin detoxification and pain relief.
215
What are side effects of narcotic-analgesics (opioids)?
Respiratory depression, drowsiness, constipation, dependence.
216
What do beta-blockers like propranolol treat?
Hypertension, anxiety (somatic symptoms), and migraines.
217
What is the first-line drug for classic bipolar disorder?
Lithium.
218
Why must lithium levels be monitored?
To avoid lithium toxicity which can be fatal.
219
What are anticonvulsants used for in bipolar disorder?
Treating acute mania and mixed episodes.
220
What is the function of cholinesterase inhibitors in Alzheimer’s treatment?
They delay the breakdown of acetylcholine.
221
What does memantine (Namenda) do?
Regulates glutamate activity for moderate to severe Alzheimer's.
222
What are psychostimulants used for?
Treating ADHD by increasing dopamine and norepinephrine.
223
What is a drawback of stimulant medications in children?
Growth suppression (reversible with drug holidays).
224
What non-stimulants are used for ADHD?
Atomoxetine, guanfacine, and clonidine.
225
What drugs are used for alcohol use disorder?
Disulfiram, naltrexone, acamprosate, and topiramate.
226
What is the function of varenicline?
Reduces nicotine cravings and smoking rewards.
227
What does THC do in the brain?
Stimulates dopamine release in the mesolimbic reward pathway.
228
Which psychedelics have FDA breakthrough therapy designations?
LSD (for anxiety) and psilocybin (for depression).
229
What is drug half-life?
Time needed for blood levels to drop to 50% of peak concentration.
230
What is drug tolerance?
Reduced drug effectiveness with repeated use.
231
What is cross-tolerance?
Tolerance to one drug causes tolerance to others in the same class.
232
What does therapeutic index (TI) measure?
A drug’s safety margin: TI = LD50 or TD50 divided by ED50.
233
What is a narrow therapeutic window?
TI ≤ 1.0, indicating a risky drug with little margin between therapeutic and lethal dose.
