Drugs and cognition
- Created by: Emily-Jade99
- Created on: 02-01-18 17:42
View mindmap
- Drugs and behaviour
- Drug use, misuse and abuse
- Drug - Any chemical substance that can alter the homeostasis of the body
- Drug use - Using a substance for its intended purpose (e.g. antibiotics/wine)
- Drug misuse - Using a substance beyond its intended purpose; it may result in physical, mental or social problems (e.g. excessively drinking alcohol for improved social skills/taking more medication than prescribed)
- Drug abuse - Use of a chemical substance that results in long-term physical, mental or social problems (e.g. heroin to get high/marijuana to escape responsibilities)
- How do drugs affect us?
- They change the way our brain works by affecting chemical neurotransmission
- They stimulate brain cells, giving us a feeling of pleasure (reward pathways may be activated)
- Positive reinforcement - Reward following an 'expected behaviour' (giving dog treat for following command/good grades for hard work)
- Negative reinforcement - A reward that operates by alleviating an unpleasant experience (e.g. eating when hungry/resting when tired)
- Reward pathways are characterised by the use of dopamine (produced in Substantia Nigra)
- Reward pathways
- All commonly misused substances increase dopamine related activity in reward pathways (expect benzodiazepine)
- Drugs can bind to, mimic, block or increase the production of a neurotransmitter
- Agonists = binds
- Antagonists = blocks
- Reuptake - Excess substance pumped back to terminal button (regulates neurotransmitters)
- Some drugs inhibit reuptake (e.g. cocaine)
- Serotonin affects things like mood, emotion and sleep
- Re-uptake inhibition
- Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) block reuptake, meaning more serotonin is available to pass messages between nerve cells and therefore are increased extracellular concentration in the synaptic cleft
- Drug tolerance - Adaptation of the body (decreased responsiveness to drug - need larger dose for initial effect)
- The magnitude of the body's response to a drug depends on the concentration of the drug at its action site and the sensitivity of the target cells
- Sensitivity of target cells impacted by genetic factors and adaptive body changes (e.g. after repeated exposure)
- Withdrawal symptoms include restlessness and nausea
- Cognitive decline
- Drugs affect cognitive mechanisms (e.g. memory/thinking)
- Gould
- Addiction manifests clinically as compulsive drug seeking
- Addiction is a disorder of altered cognition
- Drugs alter normal brain structure and function
- Drugs reshape communication pathways between neurons (synaptic plasticity)
- Long-term potentiation (LTP) - Long-lasting increase in signal transmission between 2 neurons
- Effects of drugs on cognition
- Untitled
- Drug use, misuse and abuse
Comments
No comments have yet been made