principles of neuropharmacology

Question 1

what is pharmacology?

Answer 1

drug action and effect

Question 2

what is psychopharmacology?

Answer 2

drug-induced changes in mood, thinking and behaviour

Question 2

what is neuropharmacology?

Answer 2

drug-induced changes in brain functioning

Question 2

what is neuropsychopharmacology?

Answer 2

identify substances acting upon the nervous system to alter disturbed behaviour

Question 3

psychoactive drugs

Answer 3

change brain function to alter mood, perception and behaviour

Question 4

therapeutic effect

Answer 4

desired physical or behavioral change

Question 5

side effect

Answer 5

anything outside of the desired effects

Question 6

specific effect

Answer 6

caused by drug-receptor interactions

Question 7

nonspecific effect

Answer 7

based on individual characteristics
- experience, mood, expectations, attitude, genetics

Question 8

pharmacokinetics (PK)

Answer 8

the study of how drugs move through the body

Question 9

oral advantages

Answer 9

• safest, most convenient and economical
• self administered

Question 9

oral administration

Answer 9

taken via mouth

Question 9

oral disadvantages

Answer 9

• least efficient
• stomach acids destroy drugs fast
• individual differences make it hard to know how much of the drug will be absorbed into the blood

Question 9

intravenous (IV)

Answer 9

injecting drug directly into the venous blood stream

Question 10

IV advantages

Answer 10

• doses extremely precise
• extremely fast onset of pharmacological action
• less strain on liver

Question 11

IV disadvantages

Answer 11

• extremely dangerous
• very few barriers between drug and brain
• very little time for intervention
• requires a health care professional for administration

Question 12

intramuscular (IM)

Answer 12

directly into skeletal muscle tissue

Question 13

IM advantages

Answer 13

• faster than oral but slower than IV
• absorption is more gradual
• can be combined with other drugs like oil to control absorption

Question 14

IM disadvantages

Answer 14

• rate of absorption depends on rate of blood flow to that muscle
• it hurts

Question 15

subcutaneous (SQ)

Answer 15

under the skin

Question 16

SQ advantages

Answer 16

slow and steady

Question 17

SQ disadvantages

Answer 17

depends on derma layers, fat layers, blood flow to the area

Question 18

dura mater

Answer 18

• layer of meninges
• a thick, tough, protective membrane made of connective tissue that covers the brain and spinal cord

Question 19

epidural

Answer 19

injection mute afferent sensory communication (ex. can’t feel pain)

Question 20

inhalation

Answer 20

inhaled drugs and oxygen enter the bloodstream via lung capillaries and travel directly to the brain

Question 21

sublingual and intranasal

Answer 21

absorption via mucus membrane of nose and mouth gains access to the bloodstream

Question 22

transdermal

Answer 22

patches provide a slow, continuous and highly controlled release of a drug

Question 23

factors that influence how we absorb drugs

Answer 23

- transport across membranes - lipid (in)solubility - ionization of drugs - genetic differences at every step along the way - current metabolic and homeostatic state

Question 24

capillaries

Answer 24

small blood vessels that are the site of exchange of many substances between the arterioles and venules

Question 25

blood-brain barrier

Answer 25

a highly-selective semipermeable membrane that separates circulating blood from brain

Question 26

passive diffusion

Answer 26

substances cross the membrane without the input of energy

Question 27

metabolism

Answer 27

the chemical alterations of drugs that reduce the effects of the drugs and increase their likelihood of excretion

Question 28

enzyme induction

Answer 28

repeated use of a drug increases the number of enzymes capable of breaking the drug down

Question 29

phase I metabolism

Answer 29

less reactive compound is converted to a more reactive molecule through oxidation, reduction or hydrolysis

Question 30

phase II metabolism

Answer 30

active or toxic molecules are converted to a less active metabolite

Question 31

kidney elimination

Answer 31

excrete water-soluble drugs and metabolites in the urine

Question 32

live elimination

Answer 32

bile excretes some drug molecules in feces

Question 33

exhalation

Answer 33

through the lungs or escape via sweat pores

Question 34

pharmacodynamics

Answer 34

the study of the physiological and biochemical interaction of drug molecules with cell receptors in their target tissue

Question 35

receptors

Answer 35

proteins on cell surfaces or within cells

Question 36

ligand

Answer 36

molecule that binds to a receptor with some selectivity

Question 37

agonist

Answer 37

produces biological effect

Question 38

antagonist

Answer 38

produces no cellular effect

Question 39

affinity

Answer 39

the strength of the attraction between a ligand and a receptor

Question 40

potency

Answer 40

absolute amount of drug needed to produce a specific effect

Question 41

ED-50

Answer 41

the amount of drug that produces the desired effect in 50% of patients

Question 42

TD-50

Answer 42

the dose at which a drug will be toxic to 50% of patients

Question 43

therapeutic index

Answer 43

TI= TD-50/ED-50