Psychopharmacology: Drugs, the Brain, and Behavior: Chapter 1
with comprehensive Questions and Answers
absorption✔️✔️Movement of a drug from the site of administration to the circulatory system.
acute tolerance✔️✔️Rapid tolerance formed during a single administration of a drug, as is the case
with alcohol.
additive effects✔️✔️Drug interactions characterized by the collective sum of the two individual
drug effects.
affinity✔️✔️Attraction between a molecule and a receptor.
area postrema✔️✔️Area in the medulla of the brain stem that is not isolated from chemicals in the
blood. It is responsible for inducing a vomiting response when a toxic substance is present in the
blood.
astrocytes✔️✔️Star-shaped cells of the nerve tissue that have numerous extensions and that
modulate the chemical environment around neurons, metabolically assist neurons, and provide
phagocytosis for cellular debris.
behavioral tolerance✔️✔️The reduced effectiveness of a drug administered chronically that
involves learning: either instumental or classical conditioning.
bioavailability✔️✔️Concentration of drug present in the blood that is free to bind to specific target
sites.
biotransformation✔️✔️Inactivation of a drug through a chemical change, usually by metabolic
processes in the liver.
, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)✔️✔️Fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, providing
cushioning that protects against trauma.
classical conditioning✔️✔️Repeated pairing of a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus.
Eventually the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus and elicits a (conditioned)
response that is similar to the original unconditioned response.
competitive antagonist✔️✔️Drug that binds to a receptor but has little or no efficacy. When it
competes with an agonist for receptor sites, it reduces the effect of the agonist.
concentration gradient✔️✔️Difference in the amount or concentration of a substance on each side
of a biological barrier, such as the cell membrane.
cross-tolerance✔️✔️Tolerance to a specific drug can reduce the effectiveness of a another drug in
the same class.
cytochrome P450 (CYP450)✔️✔️Class of liver enzymes, in the microsomal enzyme group,
responsible for both phase 1 and phase 2 biotransformation of psychoactive drugs.
depot binding✔️✔️Type of drug interaction involving binding to an inactive site, such as to
proteins in the plasma, to bone, or to fat.
dose-response curve✔️✔️Graph used to display the amount of biological change in relation to a
given drug dose.
double-blind experiment✔️✔️Type of experiment in which neither the patient nor the observer
knows the treatment received by the patient.
down-regulation✔️✔️Decrease in the number of receptors, which may be a consequence of
chronic agonist treatment.
with comprehensive Questions and Answers
absorption✔️✔️Movement of a drug from the site of administration to the circulatory system.
acute tolerance✔️✔️Rapid tolerance formed during a single administration of a drug, as is the case
with alcohol.
additive effects✔️✔️Drug interactions characterized by the collective sum of the two individual
drug effects.
affinity✔️✔️Attraction between a molecule and a receptor.
area postrema✔️✔️Area in the medulla of the brain stem that is not isolated from chemicals in the
blood. It is responsible for inducing a vomiting response when a toxic substance is present in the
blood.
astrocytes✔️✔️Star-shaped cells of the nerve tissue that have numerous extensions and that
modulate the chemical environment around neurons, metabolically assist neurons, and provide
phagocytosis for cellular debris.
behavioral tolerance✔️✔️The reduced effectiveness of a drug administered chronically that
involves learning: either instumental or classical conditioning.
bioavailability✔️✔️Concentration of drug present in the blood that is free to bind to specific target
sites.
biotransformation✔️✔️Inactivation of a drug through a chemical change, usually by metabolic
processes in the liver.
, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)✔️✔️Fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, providing
cushioning that protects against trauma.
classical conditioning✔️✔️Repeated pairing of a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus.
Eventually the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus and elicits a (conditioned)
response that is similar to the original unconditioned response.
competitive antagonist✔️✔️Drug that binds to a receptor but has little or no efficacy. When it
competes with an agonist for receptor sites, it reduces the effect of the agonist.
concentration gradient✔️✔️Difference in the amount or concentration of a substance on each side
of a biological barrier, such as the cell membrane.
cross-tolerance✔️✔️Tolerance to a specific drug can reduce the effectiveness of a another drug in
the same class.
cytochrome P450 (CYP450)✔️✔️Class of liver enzymes, in the microsomal enzyme group,
responsible for both phase 1 and phase 2 biotransformation of psychoactive drugs.
depot binding✔️✔️Type of drug interaction involving binding to an inactive site, such as to
proteins in the plasma, to bone, or to fat.
dose-response curve✔️✔️Graph used to display the amount of biological change in relation to a
given drug dose.
double-blind experiment✔️✔️Type of experiment in which neither the patient nor the observer
knows the treatment received by the patient.
down-regulation✔️✔️Decrease in the number of receptors, which may be a consequence of
chronic agonist treatment.
