Jan 23, 2006

 Presentation
o Put up powerpoint on eSnips or whatever information you have on
o Multiple Choice Questions
 Not mandatory
 Highly encouraged, b/c questions will be selected for the test
 Test
o 10 questions from presentation
o 80 questions altogether
 Drug Dependence and Drug Abuse
o All drugs that have dependence quality effect the CNS
o The main drugs of abuse
 Very strong dependence liability
• Morphine is top of the list
• Alcohol is less so
• Weak one is caffeine
o Nature of drug dependence
 Addiction, abuse dependence – we are going to use it all to mean
the same thing
 Important to know the characteristic
 The essential factor of all those things is the compulsion to take the
drug
o Characteristics of Addiction or Dependence
 IMPORTANT
• Psychological/behavioural dependence
 A physical dependence on the effect of the drug
o Historical look at societal use of psychoactive drugs
 Every culture has ones that are ‘ok’ and ones that are illegal
 Begins with those that naturally grow around you
o Social functions of Psychoactive Drug
 Usually starts with religion/culture
• Red wine
o Blood
o Warmth
o ‘spirit of life’
 Secular ceremonies
 Conviviality
o Factors governing extent of drug use
 MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR: degree of social
acceptance/rejection
 Price
• Less expensive easier use
  Ease of availability
• When alcohol became a self-use industry – saw increase
o Habitual Mechanism
 NOT INCLUDED
o Dependence
 Most important factor
• Psychological factors
o Psychological factors involved in drug dependence
 By increasing dopamine, get reinforcement
o Mechanisms of psychological/behavioural dependence
 IMPORTANT SLIDE!!!!
 Block dopamine receptor, decrease the reward from the drug
 Increasing 5-HT (serotonine) reduces drug seeking behaviour
• Decreases reward effect of the drug
 Glutamate receptor antagonists
• Inhibit glutamate receptor, decreases reward
o Habituation Mechanism
 Both INCREASE activity of adenylate cyclase
• Acutely, there is inhibition of cAMP
• Feedback mechanism stimulates more cAMP being
produced
• If stop taking level of drug that heightened sensitivity
causes the withdrawal symptoms
o Genetic factors
 Significant influence on drug addiction
 A lot of genetics show that a change in an individual’s sensitivity is
what predisposes them to the sensitivity
o Other characteristics influencing reinforcement
 Timing
• The sooner the onset the action of the drug, the sooner the
reinforcement and more likely to take the drug again
 Route of administration
 Motivational forced
• Why is the person taking the drug
• Usually, worry, fear, disappointment, anger
o Anything that can decrease that state, they will be
seeking in drugs
 Environmental stimuli
• If enter same environment of the drug will stimulate
craving again
• Same thing seen in heroine addicts
 Physical dependence
 Intensity of behavioural dependence
o Tolerance
 Decreased effect can be as a result of few mechanisms
• Metabolic
• Cross-tolerance
o Breaks down drug faster, and becomes tolerant
• Adaptive tolerance
o Body can adapt to different situations
o Stop neurological firing
o Tolerance and physical dependence
 Benzo and alcohol effect same receptors
 Benzo, still get alcohol effect without taking alcohol
 Confirm physical dependence, if when given drug the symptoms
go away
o Non-drug factors that influence tolerance
 GET RID OF THIS SLIDE!!!
o Treatment of drug dependence
 Manipulating serotonine
o GET RID OF EVERYTHING AFTER THE TREATMENT OF DRUG
DEPENDENCE SLIDE