Psychopharmacology 2

Question 1

What does addiction lead to?

Answer 1

Tolerance, which in turn requires a higher dose to achieve the same effect .

Question 2

How can long term meth use damage the brain?

Answer 2

1. Causing acute neurotransmitter changes
2. Rewiring brain’s reward system
3. Causing brain cell death

Question 3

What is heavy meth use known to do?

Answer 3

Cause cell death in parts of the brain associated with self control, including the frontal lobe, caudate nucleus and hippocampus .

Question 4

What can meth damage manifest with?

Answer 4

Psychiatric symptoms (seen in later stage addiction) including dementia, psychosis and sz .

Question 5

Is recovery from cell death possible?

Answer 5

It depends on how long you used the drug for, how regularly and how much .

Question 6

What improvements can be made in recovery from cell death in 12 months?

Answer 6

• Restoration of neurotransmitter activity in parts of the brain regulating personality
  
  • Normalization of brain receptors and transporters
  • Improvement in depression and anxiety
  • Stabilization of mood swings
  • Improvement in focus and attention
  • Fewer nightmares.
    Reduction in jitteriness and emotional rages

Question 7

What are steroids?

Answer 7

The synthetic derivative of testosterone

Question 8

What can steroid abuse cause?

Answer 8

Hormonal imbalances and serious medical and psychiatric illnesses

Question 9

How are steroids different to other drugs?

Answer 9

They do not trigger rapid increases in dopamine in the short term
BUT in the long term steroid abuse can act on some of the brain pathways as other drugs .

Question 10

What are the side effects of steroid abuse?

Answer 10

• Affect CNS, particularly the areas controlling mood, sexuality and agg
  
  • 20-30% of people abusing anabolic steroids exhibit symptoms of psychiatric illness
  • 30 % of people abusing anabolic steroids exhibit agg behaviours, hostility and irritability (known as roid rage)

Question 11

What does the oskar pistorius example tell us about steroid use?

Answer 11

That in some cases the hormones are responsible for impaired impulsive control, including reports of previously stable individuals becoming violent and committing manslaughter .

Question 12

Symptoms of steroid withdrawal

Answer 12

• Depression
  
  • Mood swings
  • Fatigue
  • Restlessness
  • Loss of appetite
  • Sleep problems
  • Decreased sex. Drive.
  • Steroid cravings

Question 13

What significantly correlated with psychiatric symptoms with steroid abuse?

Answer 13

changes in cerebrospinal fluid

Question 14

What is modafinil?

Answer 14

A ‘smart drug’- licensed to treat narcolepsy, popular among university students, helps brain performance .

Question 15

How might modafinil work?

Answer 15

• Modafinil may stimulate the brain so it releases a hormone called histamine, by increasing production of histamine less drowsiness
  - Alternatively modafinil may act like cocaine and amphetamines by increasing dopamine

Question 16

What are the side effects of modafinil?

Answer 16

• Agitation
  
  • Dry mouth
  • Headache
  • Dizziness
  • Upper respiratory tract infection
  • Nausea
  • Trouble sleeping
  • Diarrhoea
  • Anxiety

Question 17

What is Novichok?

Answer 17

A nerve agent that are acetylcholine inhibitors, which can occur naturally in some venom and poisons

Question 18

What are nerve agents?

Answer 18

Nerve agents are chemicals that short-circuit parts of the ns, leading to constant stimulation of muscles, secretory glands, and uncontrolled brain activity (similar to epilepsy)

This can cause breathing difficulty by paralysing the muscles which help us to breathe.

Question 19

What happened in the novichok case study?

Answer 19

• By inhibiting the breakdown of ach, there’s an increase in its concentration in synapses
  This leads to an increase in subsequent activity leading to the wide variety of symptoms that we see in Novichok poisoning. The result is involuntary contraction of all muscles, leading to cardiac arrest and asphyxiation.

Question 20

How to survive novichok?

Answer 20

if someone is kept alive long enough after initial poisoning, then body stands a chance of ridding itself of the toxin, the nerve agents are eventually metabolised and excreted from the body. If lasting problems exist they may relate to acetylcholine = neurological problems