PSY 335A Drugs and Behavior

• American Psychological Association

• The National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information has a well-developed website, with survey results, and a variety of drug education programs.
• Food and Drug Administration

• National Institutes of Health

• National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
• National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA)

• Slang terms or street names for drugs can be identified via this dictionary.
• Another resource for drug identification is this site by the Partnership for a Drug Free America.
• The Office of National Drug Control Policy is the location of the "drug czar" John P. Walters

• Student Projects:
• Melissa Hobbs on methylphenidate/Ritalin treatment of AD/HD.
• Susan Ventresca on drug treatment of Bipolar Disorder. (Reference list)

• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
• Web of Addictions: A commercial site which offers current drug information from an anti-drug abuse perspective. 

Examination One

Examination Two

Examination Three

2. Essay questions: This is not an exhaustive list.

1. How can we launch a nationwide drug menace?
2. Explain the practical and theoretical issues surrounding drug classification.
3. Describe seven ways drugs may be classified.
4. Explain Ray and Ksir's four revolutions in drug use. Evaluate the claims made. Are we in the midst of a fifth revolution?
5. Explain four principles of psychoactive drug effects.
6. Explain the many manifestations of tolerance.
7. Can someone be harmed by a dosage of a drug to which tolerance has been developed? How?
8. Describe the various routes of drug administration. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each method?
9. Calculate the relative fat solubility of a drug of a particular pH and pKa in solutions of particular pH, using the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation.
10. How do the pH of a drug, the pH of the solution, and the pKa of the drug affect drug distribution?
11. How do drug half-lives relate to the effectiveness of a dose of a drug?
12. Label the components of a typical dose-response curve.
13. Describe how drug action is terminated and drugs are eliminated from the body.  Include Type I and Type II metabolic processes.
14. What is the six-half-life rule?  If alcohol is found in a blood test taken two hours after an accident, can we use the elimination half-life of alcohol to calculate the alcohol concentration at the time of the accident?
15. What are receptor proteins, and where are they found? Explain the functions of four types of receptor proteins (ion channel receptor complexes, G-protein coupled receptors, transporters, enzymes).
16. Explain five ways that a drug may act to affect synaptic transmission. (mimic, block, etc.)
17. What are the components of toxicity assessment? Explain the therapeutic index. Are any drugs 100% safe? Why or why not?
18. Explain the second messenger system for metabotropic receptors.

1. Terms. Terms and essay questions in red below will not be asked on this exam.
 

endogenous opiates	opiate antagonists	opium	picrotoxin
oxycodone	OxyContin	nociceptors	bicuculline
codeine	Serturner	Dreser	French paradox
meperidine	methadone	morphine	Ledermann curve
endorphins	enkephalins	mixed agonist- antagonist	Harrison Narcotics Act
gall	VTA	nucleus accumbens	ondansetron
analgesia	NMDA	excitotoxic	Antabuse(R)/ disulfiram
heroin	stereotaxic methods	microdialysis	butyl nitrite
naloxone	autoradiography	DAWN	nitrous oxide
m, k, d receptors		Schedules I - V	halothane
alcohol dehydrogenase	acetaldehyde dehydrogenase	ACOA	codependency and enabling
precontemplation	motivational interviewing	ibogaine	contingency contracting
GABAA receptor	GABAB receptor	BDZ receptor	BARB receptor
risk/benefit analysis	barbiturates	ethyl alcohol	benzodiazepines
disulfiram	isopropyl alcohol	methanol	ethanol
bromide	fluid mosaic model	chloral hydrate	Mickey Finn
methyl hydrate	inhalants	toluene	nitrous oxide
ether	hypoxia	acetaldehyde	fermentation
distillation	fortification	mixed beverages	proof
moonshiner’s test	Gin Lane	Beer Street	flavinoids
Albertus Magnus	Cisco	US system	Gin epidemic
Whiskey Rebellion	Plato	Triangular trade	amphetamine
Bennies	speed/ice/crystal	sympathomimetic	anorectic
caffeine fen-phen and sibutramine ephedrine clonidine theobroma cacao adenosine receptor snuff	theophylline theobromine methylxanthines Coffea arabica kola cacao ilex camellia sinensis	autoreceptors neurotransmitters acetylcholine norepinephrine epinephrine dopamine serotonin glutamic acid GABA	endorphins enkephalins Substance P
nucleus accumbens	stereotypy	methylphenidate	pemoline
moral model	medical model	self-medication model

2. Essay questions: This is not an exhaustive list.

1. What methods are used in drug epidemiology? To what extent is each method useful?
2. What correlates to illicit drug use have been found in correlational research? What are the protective factors and the risk factors? Explain each of them.
3. Write an essay for publication in a newspaper, advising parents about how to lessen the risk that their children will abuse drugs. Are parents the anti-drug?
4. Compare and contrast three global explanations of drug addiction.
5. What role do the actual substances play in addictive processes?
6. What are the DSM-IV criteria for Substance Dependence? For Substance Abuse? Do behavioral addictions meet the criteria?
7. What cognitive changes may occur in the process of treatment for drug addiction?
8. Compare and contrast three treatment goals in the treatment of addiction. Which do you think is the best? Why?
9. What are the stages of treatment for addiction?
10. Explain, with examples, the various methods used in the treatment of addiction.
11. What is GABA?  What does it do?
12. What is a GABA receptor?  How is its action affected by alcohol?
13. Describe the pharmacokinetics of ethyl alcohol, from administration to elimination.
14. Describe the pharmacodynamics of ethyl alcohol, including all affected neurotransmitter systems.
15. Present a history of alcohol use and abuse.
16. Outline, with explanations, the chronic effects of alcohol consumption on body systems.
17. Is alcohol a safe drug? Analyze the risks and benefits, and conclude with a cost-benefits analysis of alcohol use. What, if any, controls should be placed on alcohol today? Are the control mechanisms that are in place appropriate? Excessive? Inadequate? Explain and support your answer with research.
18. Why are some Japanese, Chinese, and Korean people immune to alcoholism?
19. Outline six types of inhalants, with examples of each.
20. What are the special risks associated with inhalant abuse?
21. Using examples, outline the various sub-families of opioid drugs.
22. Outline the history of opium use, from ancient times through the Opium Wars and the American Civil War's aftermath.
23. Explain the history of legal actions as they affected the use of opioids.
24. How do opiates affect pain? By what mechanisms?

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Copyright 1998 Paul D. Young Last updated 25 May, 2006.