PSYC 450 Drugs and Behaviour final exam tips questions to
consider (from Unit 1-20) Athabasca University
,PSYC 450 Drugs and Behaviour final exam tips questions to
consider (from Unit 1-20) Athabasca University
Psyc 450 Study Notes
Unit 1 – Read Chapter 1 of the text
Questions to consider.
• Define Psychopharmacology. – focuses on drug induced changes in mood,
thinking, and behaviours. √
• What is meant by the term pharmacokinetics? √
• Describe the advantages and disadvantages of intravenous injection. √
• What are lipid-soluble drugs? √
• Explain the importance of the blood-brain barrier. √
• Define half-life. √
• What is meant by the term pharmacodynamics?
• What are receptors? What are ligands? √
• Describe how receptors can be modified. In other words, explain the life cycle of
receptors. √
• Differentiate between tolerance and sensitization. √
• Differentiate between metabolic tolerance and pharmacodynamic tolerance. √
Terms
Pharmacology is the scientific study of the actions of drugs and their effects on a living organism.
Neuropharmacology – is concerned with drug-induced changes in the functioning of cells in the
nervous system.
,Psychopharmacology – emphasizes drug-induced changes in mood, thinking, and behaviour.
Neuropsychopharmacology – is to identify chemical substances that act on the nervous system
to alter behaviour that is disturbed because of injury, disease, or environmental factors.
Drug action – the molecular change produced by a drug when it binds to a particular target site
or receptor.
Therapeutic effects – the drug-receptor interaction produces desired physical or behavioural
changes.
Side effects – all other effects produced that are not the desired effect, they vary in severity
from mild to dangerous.
Bioavailability -the amount of a drug in the blood that is free to bind at specific target sites.
Pharmacokinetic factors – 1) the drug moves through cell membranes to be absorbed into the
blood.
2) where it circulates to all cells in the body. Some may bind to inactive sites such as plasma
proteins or storage depots 3) and others may bind to receptors in target tissue. Blood borne
drug molecules also enter the liver 4) where they may be transformed into metabolites and
travel to the kidneys and other discharge sites for ultimate excretion 5) from the body.
1. Routes of administration – how and where a drug is administered determines how quickly
it will be absorbed into the blood
, 2. absorption and distribution – pass through a variety of cell membranes and enter the blood
plasma
3. Binding – bind to active target sites (receptors) or bind to plasma proteins (inactive, depot
binding)
4. Inactivaion – or biotransformation occurs primarily as a result of metabolic processes in
the liver as well as other organs and tissues. Influences the intensity and duration of the
drug effects.
5. Excretion – the liver metabolites are eliminated from the body with the urine or feces.
Method of drug administration – Enternal – uses the GI tract – slow onset, highly variable
blood levels of drug. Usually orally but can be suppositories as well. Parenteral – injection,
pulmonary and topical administration. Faster, over dose more possible with little time for
corrective measures. Inhalation – absorption is rapid. Intramuscular injection – past the fat
and into the muscle, slower more even absorption over a period of time. Subcutaneous
injection – just under the skin in the fat, absorbed at a rate dependent on blood flow. Topical
– application of an ointment to the mucous membranes such as eyes, nose, under the tongue
(sublingual – which is quick). Intranasal - nasal sprays. Can pass the blood-brain barrier
through direct access to the cerebrospinal fluid. Transdermal – patches applied to
the skin. Spinal injection – epidural – spinal anesthetic administered directly to the spinal cord.
Infusion pump – implanted under the skin or the scalp.
Gene therapy - refers to the application of DNA, which encodes a specific protein
Impact on bioavailability – because the route of administration alters the rate of absorption,
blood levels of the same dose of a drug administered by different routes vary significantly.
Route of administration Advantages Disadvantages
Oral (PO) Safe,self-administered, Slow and highly variable
economical, no needle-related absorption, subject to first
complications pass metabolism, less
predictable
blood levels
Intravenous (IV) Most rapid, most accurate Overdose danger, cannot be
blood concentration readily reversed, requires
sterile
needles and medical
technique.
Intramuscular (IM) Slow and even absorption Localized irritation at the sie
of injection, needs sterile
equipment
Subcutaneous (SC) Slow and prolonged Variable absorption depending
on blood flow
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