EPPP BIOLOGICAL BASES OF BEHAVIOR
COMPREHENSIVE EXAMS ALL QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔GABA - ✔✔Neurotransmitter that acts as a neuro inhibitor; used to treat anxiety
✔✔Dopamine - ✔✔Part of the reward system in the brain; used to treat Parkinson's and
ADHD
✔✔Norepinephrine - ✔✔Neurotransmitter that activates behaviors associated with fight
or flight responses
✔✔Serotonin - ✔✔Good feelings and happiness, and regulating sleep, appetite, and
mood; used to treat depression
✔✔MAOIs - ✔✔Category of drug used as final alternative to treat depression due to
serious drug and food interactions
✔✔Acetylcholine - ✔✔ACh - muscle activation
✔✔Glutamate - ✔✔Neurotransmitter responsible for cellular metabolism, learning, and
memory; implicated in many mental and physical illnesses
, ✔✔Phenylketonuria - ✔✔PKU - caused by poor metabolic processing of amino acid
phenylalanine
✔✔Pharmacokinetics - ✔✔How drugs move throughout the body
✔✔Pharmacodynamics - ✔✔How drugs impact the body
✔✔Agonist - ✔✔Increases the production of a neurotransmitter
✔✔Antagonist - ✔✔Decreases the effect of a neurotransmitter caused by agonists by
blocking open transmitter sites
✔✔Therapeutic Window - ✔✔Amount of drug required to produce clinical efficacy
without dangerous side effects
✔✔Anxiolytics - ✔✔Drugs used to treat anxiety
✔✔Benzodiazepines - ✔✔Enhance GABA to produce a relaxation response; used to
treat most anxiety disorders
✔✔SSRIs - ✔✔Category of drug replacing benzodiazepines to treat anxiety disorders
✔✔Barbiturates - ✔✔Category of drug used to be used as a relaxation medication;
replaced by benzodiazepines due to this category's dangerous side effects
✔✔Tricyclic Antidepressants - ✔✔TCAs - used to treat depression but have dangerous
side effects
✔✔Norepinephrine - Dopamine Reuptake Inhibitors - ✔✔Newer drugs used to treat
depression; Wellbutrin
✔✔Dystonia - ✔✔Repetitive twisting or abnormal posture
✔✔Akathisia - ✔✔State of agitation, distress, and restlessness caused by antipsychotic
medication
✔✔Typical Antipsychotics - ✔✔First generation anti-psychotics which were created in
the 1950s; dopamine blockers; can result in movement disorders
✔✔Atypical Antipsychotics - ✔✔Second generation anti-psychotics which were created
in the 1990s; blocks both dopamine and serotonin; can result in metabolism disorders
✔✔Serotonin Syndrome - ✔✔Toxic levels of serotonin
COMPREHENSIVE EXAMS ALL QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔GABA - ✔✔Neurotransmitter that acts as a neuro inhibitor; used to treat anxiety
✔✔Dopamine - ✔✔Part of the reward system in the brain; used to treat Parkinson's and
ADHD
✔✔Norepinephrine - ✔✔Neurotransmitter that activates behaviors associated with fight
or flight responses
✔✔Serotonin - ✔✔Good feelings and happiness, and regulating sleep, appetite, and
mood; used to treat depression
✔✔MAOIs - ✔✔Category of drug used as final alternative to treat depression due to
serious drug and food interactions
✔✔Acetylcholine - ✔✔ACh - muscle activation
✔✔Glutamate - ✔✔Neurotransmitter responsible for cellular metabolism, learning, and
memory; implicated in many mental and physical illnesses
, ✔✔Phenylketonuria - ✔✔PKU - caused by poor metabolic processing of amino acid
phenylalanine
✔✔Pharmacokinetics - ✔✔How drugs move throughout the body
✔✔Pharmacodynamics - ✔✔How drugs impact the body
✔✔Agonist - ✔✔Increases the production of a neurotransmitter
✔✔Antagonist - ✔✔Decreases the effect of a neurotransmitter caused by agonists by
blocking open transmitter sites
✔✔Therapeutic Window - ✔✔Amount of drug required to produce clinical efficacy
without dangerous side effects
✔✔Anxiolytics - ✔✔Drugs used to treat anxiety
✔✔Benzodiazepines - ✔✔Enhance GABA to produce a relaxation response; used to
treat most anxiety disorders
✔✔SSRIs - ✔✔Category of drug replacing benzodiazepines to treat anxiety disorders
✔✔Barbiturates - ✔✔Category of drug used to be used as a relaxation medication;
replaced by benzodiazepines due to this category's dangerous side effects
✔✔Tricyclic Antidepressants - ✔✔TCAs - used to treat depression but have dangerous
side effects
✔✔Norepinephrine - Dopamine Reuptake Inhibitors - ✔✔Newer drugs used to treat
depression; Wellbutrin
✔✔Dystonia - ✔✔Repetitive twisting or abnormal posture
✔✔Akathisia - ✔✔State of agitation, distress, and restlessness caused by antipsychotic
medication
✔✔Typical Antipsychotics - ✔✔First generation anti-psychotics which were created in
the 1950s; dopamine blockers; can result in movement disorders
✔✔Atypical Antipsychotics - ✔✔Second generation anti-psychotics which were created
in the 1990s; blocks both dopamine and serotonin; can result in metabolism disorders
✔✔Serotonin Syndrome - ✔✔Toxic levels of serotonin
