BBH 451 Final Exam (cumulative) Practice Test Questions And Answers 100% Pass.

CNS vs PNS - correct answers central nervous system-consists of your brain and spinal cord-the brain communicates with the muscles in creating a plan to accomplish the movement-spinal cord acts as a conduct that carries motor information from the brain to the body and sensory information from the body to the brainperipheral nervous system-made up of all of the nerves that connect the brain and spinal cord with the rest of the body-sending motor signals-extend from the spinal cord to the muscle and stimulate it to contract-somatic nervous system: division of the PNS that is involved in voluntary muscle control; made up of the nerves that stimulate muscles to elicit movement-autonomic nervous system: automatic processes-sympathetic: fight or flight-parasympathetic: rest and digest Structures of neurons & synapses - correct answers -neurons -dendrites -cell body -axon -axon terminal/synaptic boutons neurons - correct answers the most fundamental cellular units of the nervous system dendrites - correct answers the sites on a neuron where information (usually in the form of chemicals called neurotransmitters) is received cell body - correct answers also known as soma, electrical impulses traveling from the dendrites come together in the soma and if they are powerful enough they cause the initiation of a new electrical impulse called an action potential axon - correct answers action potential is transmitted from one end of a neuron to another; axons are also covered in an insulating material called myelin, which helps to prevent the decaying of electrical impulses as they travel down the axon axon terminal/synaptic boutons - correct answers when an action potential reaches the end of a neuron, it will often cause the release of the neurotransmitter to communicate the signal to other neurons; neurotransmitters are released from axon terminals Types of Neurotransmitter Removal - correct answers -diffusion -enzymatic degradation -reuptake diffusion - correct answers a small amount of neurotransmitter will simply diffuse out of the synaptic cleft after it has been released enzymatic degradation - correct answers occurs primarily at synapses for a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine; during enzymatic degradation of a neurotransmitter, an enzyme that is present at the synapse breaks down excess neurotransmitter; the constituent parts of the neurotransmitter can be sent back into the presynaptic neuron to be used to create more neurotransmitter reuptake - correct answers removing excess neurotransmitter; involves a specialized protein called a transporter or transport protein that is present in the synapse; when excess neurotransmitter is present in the synaptic cleft, this protein draws the neurotransmitter to it and then transports it back into the presynaptic neuron What happens when one of the neurotransmitter removal processes is blocked? - correct answers it will cause neurotransmitters to continue to build up in the cleft and interacting with receptors; linger and causing more activity Definition of Pharmokinetics - correct answers -a branch of pharmacology that focuses on the kinetics, or movement, of a drug throughout the body-concerned with what happens to a drug from the time when it is administered until the time it is excreted from the body-four major processes: (1) absorption, (2) distribution, (3) metabolism, (4) elimination ADME: different types of administration and pros/cons - correct answers (enteral) oral: -most common -relatively safe -unreliable and inefficient rectal: -less predictable and efficient -reserved when unable to take a drug through another route of administration (parenteral) inhalation: -quickest way to deliver drugs ti the brain -most common way is smoking intravenous: -rapid way of administrating drug -very efficient -potentially dangerous (dose too high, no way of removing from bloodstream) mucous membranes: -most common: intranasal (snorting) -quick way of delivering to blood supply -not extremely efficient -also can be done by chewing or holding substance in mouth or placing under tongue (sublingual administration) transdermal: -administering through the skin -very gradual absorption into the bloodstream -relatively inefficient, but can be useful when one desires a continuous release of drug over a prolonged period of time ADME: what membranes drugs pass through and what characteristics drugs must have to do so? - correct answers blood-brain barrier: lipid soluble placenta: lipid-soluble Definition of Pharmacodynamics - correct answers -the interaction of the drug with the body-deals with drug effects, and how a drug produces those effects Half-life - correct answers the amount of time it takes for ½ of an administered dose of drug to no longer be bioavailable (due primarily to the body's metabolism of the drug) steady state - correct answers When drugs are being administered therapeutically, often the goal is to reach a point where the blood concentration of the drug remains consistent—not fluctuating too much in one or the other direction*you continue dosage until it begins to level off-never getting too high or low= steady state Know how to calculate half-life & estimate how long until steady state is achieved - correct answers 5-6 half lives till steady state example: drug has a half life of 5 hours, you would reach steady state at 25-30 hours How many half-lives until a drug is considered removed from the system? - correct answers As a general rule of thumb, this usually takes about 5-6 half-lives Why do psychotropic medicines need to be lipophilic? - correct answers the blood-brain barrier is reinforced by non-neuronal cells called glial cells; to pass through this layer of glial cells, substances must be lipid soluble since glial cells form a fatty layer Down-regulation vs. Up-regulation - correct answers down regulation: -may occur if neurotransmitter activity is higher than your brain is used to -remove GABA receptors up regulation: -may occur if neurotransmitter activity is lower than your brain is used to -adds more receptors Agonism - correct answers When a drug binds to a receptor and activates the receptor, producing a similar biological response to the neurotransmitter that normally binds to that receptor Partial agonism - correct answers While an agonist is a substance that binds to a receptor and activates it in a manner similar to how the neurotransmitter that typically binds there activates it, a partial agonist binds to that receptor and causes only a partial effect Antagonist - correct answers When a drug binds to a receptor and blocks the receptor, keeping the endogenous ligand from being able to bind there; makes a receptor less capable of being activated Competitive antagonist - correct answers Some drugs will not only bind to and block a receptor, but they will compete with other substances for binding sites on that receptor. In the process, they may cause other substances to be removed from their binding sites on the receptor Allosterism - correct answers Also known as neuromodulation when we are talking about neurons, allosterism is when a drug binds to a receptor in a different location from where the neurotransmitter typically binds. The drug then influences either the likelihood of a neurotransmitter binding (e.g. by changing the shape of the receptor to make the binding site more available) or the effect it has when it does bind. Allosterism can cause the effects of a neurotransmitter to be increased or decreased. Inverse agonist - correct answers binds to a receptor and causes the opposite effect of the typical ligand Ionotropic vs. G-protein coupled/metabotropic receptors - correct answers ionotropic: -rapid acting -neurotransmitter or drug binds to receptor and causes a channel to open immediately and allows charged particles to enter the neuron G-protein coupled receptors: -activates G-protein -slower action but effects can be more amplified and widespread on the cell Dose response relationships i) Potency, efficacy, & slope - be able to define these terms and interpret dose-response graphs - correct answers x axis- increase in dose y- increase in response/effectiveness Potency: how much of the drug is required to produce an effect -the further to the left a drug is the more potent it is -if a drug takes more doses to produce an effect- its less potent Efficacy: how capable the drug is in producing an effect -maximal efficacy: 100% response Slope: change in response due to unit change in dose -comparing how much an increase in dose can increase the response -can give some indication on how safe a drug is -steeper slope= not as safe -not that steep= safer drug (can increase dosage and not cause any major problems) Safety & toxicity i) ED50, LD50, therapeutic index - know how to calculate therapeutic index - correct answers -The ED50 refers to the dose that is needed to elicit a response in 50% of the population; thus, it is the median effective dose (ED). WORKS -The LD50 refers to the dose that results in the death of 50% of the population; it is the median lethal dose (LD) KILLS -The therapeutic index, or TI, is determined by making a ratio between the LD50 and the ED50 -you want LD as high as you can make it compared to ED trials for prescription drugs (characteristics of each phase) - correct answers Phase 1: testing for safety -When a drug company has developed a new drug that, based on extensive experimentation, they believe may be beneficial to offer to people on a large scale, they must submit an application to the FDA to begin clinical research with the drug. If approved to do so, they embark on a multi-stage process to prove to the FDA that the drug is safe, effective, and valuable -During this phase of the study, participants are closely monitored to watch for adverse reactions, as up to this point all of the research on the drug may have been conducted only in animals and there is some unpredictability involved with attempting to translate such studies to humans Phase II: testing for effectiveness -researchers are now ready to begin looking at how well the drug works. -usually randomized placebo-controlled studies. Thus, they involve random assignment and a good placebo. Many of them are also double-blind studies, so they typically make use of all of the components of a good clinical trial Phase III: testing against a standard- something that is already available -provides further confirmation of the safety and efficacy of the drug, usually by comparing the drug to some other commonly-used treatment. These are larger studies that typically also involving randomization and blinding -If a drug passes through the first three phases successfully, it will be approved by the FDA for sale to the public Phase IV: post-marketing -The final phase of clinical trials in drug development comes after the drug has already been approved for sale -One goal of these studies might be to optimize doses or to examine administration of the drug to specific populations (e.g. pregnant women). Another goal might be to further examine the safety of the drug now that it is being used by large numbers of people. A variety of other goa Experimental designs i) Treatment vs. control groups ii) Random assignment, blinding (know different types), & placebos - correct answers i) treatment vs. control: -One group receives an intervention, which involves exposing them to the independent variable (aka exposure), which is hypothesized to have some effect on the dependent variable (aka outcome). This group is known as the treatment or experimental group -The other group, which is known as the control group, does not receive the intervention ii) Random Assignment, Blinding Placebos -random assignment: the method in which participants in an experimental study are assigned to the treatment or control group. If they are assigned using a non-random method, it can create differences between the two groups, which could confound researchers' ability to attribute any post-exposure differences between the groups to the independent variable -placebos: something that is thought to have no therapeutic value that is given to the control group in place of the active intervention -blinding: Blinding involves concealing the group assignment of participants in an experiment from either the participants themselves, the investigators, or the individuals analyzing the data of an experiment. When one group of individuals (e.g. participants or investigators) is blinded, we call that single blinding. When two groups are blinded, we call it double blinding. When all three are unaware of group assignments, that is called triple blinding clinical trials - correct answers a term that refers to studies that are conducted to determine if a treatment is safe and effective for use in humans Placebo effects - correct answers describes a benefit someone receives from taking a placebo-The placebo effect has been recognized for a long time as playing a potential role in the perceived effectiveness of many treatments Definition of Pharmacogentics - correct answers involves the study of genetic differences that can influence a patient's response to a drug How do genetically-determined differences in receptor and enzyme levels influence and individual's response to a drug? - correct answers -an allele causes enzyme levels to be higher or the enzyme to work more efficiently, they might metabolize the drug very rapidly. If that is the case, then the drug would be likely to have less of an effect on them-Depending on the drug, the increased sensitivity caused by high levels of receptors and low levels of enzyme activity could do more than just increase the effects of a drug—they could also make a person more likely to experience toxic effects. And if you take someone with such polymorphisms (i.e. variations) in both genes (enzymes & receptors), then the effects could be additive and make taking that drug especially dangerous Why is dopamine is not thought to be responsible for creating pleasure - correct answers dopamine is activated before reward is received and before causing pleasure Pharmacokinetic tolerance and example - correct answers a type of tolerance induced by changes in rates of enzyme metabolism; these changes help the body to maintain homeostasis by ridding it of a foreign substance, at the same time influencing the drug's pharmacokinetics in such a way that it has less of an effect on the individual ex) when you drink alcohol repetitively, the levels of dehydrogenase enzymes go up, as this level goes up, less alcohol can reach the brain, so an individual must take in more alcohol to get the amount of it to the brain they are used to Pharmacodynamic tolerance and example - correct answers occurs due to changes in the way drugs interact with their receptors; these changes are typically undertaken in an attempt to regulate levels of neurotransmitter activity and to maintain homeostasis ex) with alcohol, the drug increases activity at receptors for the neurotransmitter GABA, the brain recognizes that the levels of GABA activity are higher than normal, so the brain down-regulates the GABA receptors, to increase the GABA activity someone must take in more alcohol than they did previously Cross tolerance - correct answers tolerance for a substance one has not taken before as a result of using another substance similar to it anhedonia - correct answers inability to experience pleasure hypofrontality - correct answers changes of brain function in addicted individuals such that they display less activity in their frontal cortex Changes in response to chronic drug use - correct answers -increased sensitivity of the reward system -increased susceptibility to withdrawal effects -anhedonia -hypofrontality roles of stress hormones - correct answers associated in withdrawal effects; contribute to increased feelings of stress and anxiety; this may contribute to the individual wanting to return to using the drug to get relief from the negative effects of withdrawal Routes of administration for cocaine - correct answers primarily intranasal and inhalation; injection used less frequently and oral can be used with coca leaves Cocaine: half-life, major metabolite, enzymes that metabolize it - correct answers half-life: 50 minutes metabolized by: butyrylcholinesterase metabolite: benzoylegonine L- vs D-amphetamine - correct answers -D-amphetamine is much more potent than amphetamine -D-amphetamine is more commonly sed both recreationally and therapeutically -Amphetamine is usually sold as either D-amphetamine or a racemic mixture