NR546 WEEK 6: TEST QUESTIONS WITH COMPLETE
SOLUTIONS
the US consumes __% of the world's legal and illegal supply of opioids. -- Answer ✔✔
85%
opioid withdrawal syndrome is characterized by: -- Answer ✔✔ the patient feeling
dysphoria, craving another dose of opioid, being irritable, Pilo-erection ("goose-bumps"),
and having signs of autonomic hyperactivity such as tachycardia, tremor, and sweating
Hallucinogens -- Answer ✔✔ three classes of agents that act, at least in part, as agonists
at 5HT2A receptors:
• tryptamines (such as psilocybin)
• ergolines (such as lysergic acid diethylamide [LSD])
• phenethylamines (such as mescaline)
-not selective for 5HT2A receptors
alone, and their actions at other serotonin receptor subtypes may contribute to their
mind-altering states
-5HT2A antagonists, but not D2 dopamine antagonists, can reverse the action of
hallucinogens in humans, supporting the predominant mechanism of action of
hallucinogens as being agonists at 5HT2A receptors
Empathogens -- Answer ✔✔ Empathogens produce an altered state of consciousness
described as experiences of emotional communion, oneness, relatedness, emotional
openness - that is, empathy or sympathy
Impulsivity -- Answer ✔✔ predisposition towards rapid, unplanned reactions to internal
or external stimuli, with diminished regard for the negative consequences of these
reactions
,-inability to stop initiating actions
-associated with risk seeking
-action without forethought, lack of reflection on the consequences of one's behavior
compulsivity -- Answer ✔✔ performance of repetitive and dysfunctionally impairing
behavior that has no adaptive function.
-inability to terminate ongoing actions
-associated with harm avoidance
-action inappropriate to the situation but which nevertheless persists
-characterized by the curious inability to adapt behavior after negative feedback
-Type of compulsion-habits-responses triggered by environmental stimuli
Impulsivity and compulsivity are thought to be mediated by neuroanatomically and
neurochemically distinct, but in many ways parallel, components of -- Answer ✔✔
cortico-subcortical circuitry
-too much "bottom-up" limbic emotional drive or too little "top-down" cortical
inhibition of these drives
Impulsive-compulsive disorder construct -- Answer ✔✔ -Impulsivity can be thought of
as the inability to stop the initiation of actions and involves a brain circuit centered on
the ventral striatum and linked to the thalamus, to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex
(VMPFC), and to the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).
-Compulsivity can be thought of as the inability to terminate ongoing actions and
hypothetically involves a brain circuit centered on the dorsal striatum and linked to the
thalamus and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC).
Impulsive acts such as drug use, gambling, and over-eating can eventually become
compulsive due to neuroplastic changes that engage the dorsal habit system and
theoretically cause impulses in the ventral loop to migrate to the dorsal loop.
gambling
natural ways to trigger mesolimbic dopamine neurons to release dopamine (natural
high) -- Answer ✔✔ brains own:
morphine/heroin (endorphins)
marijuana (anandamide)
nicotine (acetylcholine)
, cocaine & amphetamine (dopamine itself)
Dopamine theory of addiction -- Answer ✔✔ all drugs of abuse have a final common
pathway of causing pleasure by provoking dopamine release in the mesolimbic pathway
"burn-out" -- Answer ✔✔ enduring if not irreversible changes in dopamine neurons
-long-lasting depletions of dopamine levels and axonal degeneration
"bath salts" -- Answer ✔✔ atypical stimulants
-not for bathing, synthetic stimulants that commonly include the active ingredient
methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and may also contain mephedrone or methylone
-also called "plant food"
-cause agitation, paranoia, hallucinations, suicidality, and chest pain.
other atypical stimulant -- Answer ✔✔ inhalants
-direct releasers of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens
-"huffing": toluene found in paint thinner, felt-tip markers, glue, various aerosol sprays,
and even freon found in air conditioners
-cause impaired judgment and possibly hallucinations,
-Short term: sudden death due to cardiac arrest, aspiration, or suffocation, Freon in
particular can cause these effects and can also freeze the lungs, making it extremely
dangerous.
-Long-term can cause depression, weight loss, and brain damage
*Substances that are huffed do not show up on drug tests.
Treatment of Stimulant Addiction -- Answer ✔✔ no approved drug treatments for
stimulant addicts
-many dopamine-linked and serotonin-linked therapeutics have failed
nicotine's actions at _________________ directly on dopamine neurons in the ventral
tegmental area (VTA) are those that are theoretically linked to addiction -- Answer ✔✔
α4β2 nicotinic postsynaptic receptors
μ-opioid antagonists -- Answer ✔✔ block the euphoria and "high" of heavy drinking
-Naltrexone and nalmefene (approved outside the US)
SOLUTIONS
the US consumes __% of the world's legal and illegal supply of opioids. -- Answer ✔✔
85%
opioid withdrawal syndrome is characterized by: -- Answer ✔✔ the patient feeling
dysphoria, craving another dose of opioid, being irritable, Pilo-erection ("goose-bumps"),
and having signs of autonomic hyperactivity such as tachycardia, tremor, and sweating
Hallucinogens -- Answer ✔✔ three classes of agents that act, at least in part, as agonists
at 5HT2A receptors:
• tryptamines (such as psilocybin)
• ergolines (such as lysergic acid diethylamide [LSD])
• phenethylamines (such as mescaline)
-not selective for 5HT2A receptors
alone, and their actions at other serotonin receptor subtypes may contribute to their
mind-altering states
-5HT2A antagonists, but not D2 dopamine antagonists, can reverse the action of
hallucinogens in humans, supporting the predominant mechanism of action of
hallucinogens as being agonists at 5HT2A receptors
Empathogens -- Answer ✔✔ Empathogens produce an altered state of consciousness
described as experiences of emotional communion, oneness, relatedness, emotional
openness - that is, empathy or sympathy
Impulsivity -- Answer ✔✔ predisposition towards rapid, unplanned reactions to internal
or external stimuli, with diminished regard for the negative consequences of these
reactions
,-inability to stop initiating actions
-associated with risk seeking
-action without forethought, lack of reflection on the consequences of one's behavior
compulsivity -- Answer ✔✔ performance of repetitive and dysfunctionally impairing
behavior that has no adaptive function.
-inability to terminate ongoing actions
-associated with harm avoidance
-action inappropriate to the situation but which nevertheless persists
-characterized by the curious inability to adapt behavior after negative feedback
-Type of compulsion-habits-responses triggered by environmental stimuli
Impulsivity and compulsivity are thought to be mediated by neuroanatomically and
neurochemically distinct, but in many ways parallel, components of -- Answer ✔✔
cortico-subcortical circuitry
-too much "bottom-up" limbic emotional drive or too little "top-down" cortical
inhibition of these drives
Impulsive-compulsive disorder construct -- Answer ✔✔ -Impulsivity can be thought of
as the inability to stop the initiation of actions and involves a brain circuit centered on
the ventral striatum and linked to the thalamus, to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex
(VMPFC), and to the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).
-Compulsivity can be thought of as the inability to terminate ongoing actions and
hypothetically involves a brain circuit centered on the dorsal striatum and linked to the
thalamus and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC).
Impulsive acts such as drug use, gambling, and over-eating can eventually become
compulsive due to neuroplastic changes that engage the dorsal habit system and
theoretically cause impulses in the ventral loop to migrate to the dorsal loop.
gambling
natural ways to trigger mesolimbic dopamine neurons to release dopamine (natural
high) -- Answer ✔✔ brains own:
morphine/heroin (endorphins)
marijuana (anandamide)
nicotine (acetylcholine)
, cocaine & amphetamine (dopamine itself)
Dopamine theory of addiction -- Answer ✔✔ all drugs of abuse have a final common
pathway of causing pleasure by provoking dopamine release in the mesolimbic pathway
"burn-out" -- Answer ✔✔ enduring if not irreversible changes in dopamine neurons
-long-lasting depletions of dopamine levels and axonal degeneration
"bath salts" -- Answer ✔✔ atypical stimulants
-not for bathing, synthetic stimulants that commonly include the active ingredient
methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and may also contain mephedrone or methylone
-also called "plant food"
-cause agitation, paranoia, hallucinations, suicidality, and chest pain.
other atypical stimulant -- Answer ✔✔ inhalants
-direct releasers of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens
-"huffing": toluene found in paint thinner, felt-tip markers, glue, various aerosol sprays,
and even freon found in air conditioners
-cause impaired judgment and possibly hallucinations,
-Short term: sudden death due to cardiac arrest, aspiration, or suffocation, Freon in
particular can cause these effects and can also freeze the lungs, making it extremely
dangerous.
-Long-term can cause depression, weight loss, and brain damage
*Substances that are huffed do not show up on drug tests.
Treatment of Stimulant Addiction -- Answer ✔✔ no approved drug treatments for
stimulant addicts
-many dopamine-linked and serotonin-linked therapeutics have failed
nicotine's actions at _________________ directly on dopamine neurons in the ventral
tegmental area (VTA) are those that are theoretically linked to addiction -- Answer ✔✔
α4β2 nicotinic postsynaptic receptors
μ-opioid antagonists -- Answer ✔✔ block the euphoria and "high" of heavy drinking
-Naltrexone and nalmefene (approved outside the US)
