DRUGS AND BEHAVIOUR, PSYC 450 EXAM QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED SOLUTIONS LATEST UPDATE 2026

DRUGS AND BEHAVIOUR, PSYC 450 EXAM QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED SOLUTIONS LATEST UPDATE 2026 Compare and contrast the function of autoreceptors and transporters. - Answers Autoreceptors, located in the membrane of presynaptic nerve cells. Autoreceptors can be found on any part of the cell membrane, the Soma, dendrites, axon, or axon terminal. Auto receptors are usually G protein-coupled receptors, therefore act via a second messenger rather than gated ion channels. It is only sensitive to the neurotransmitters or hormones released by the neuron on which the autoreceptor sits. Transporters, proteins that carry neurotransmitters across cell membranes. Synaptic Transporters remove neurotransmitters and halt their actions, but Transporters can also carry neurotransmitters into the synapse, allowing them to bind to receptors and cause and effect. Name the major serotonin cell clusters in the brainstem and describe their projection pathways. - Answers Most of the serotonergic neurons in the central nervous system are found along the middle of the brainstem associated with cell clusters called the raphe nuclei. The dorsal raphe nuclei and the median raphe nuclei send serotogenic fibers to almost all of the areas in the forebrain. Almost all forebrain regions, including the neocortex, striatum and nucleus accumbens, thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus and amygdala, receive serotonin supply from the raphe nuclei. Distinguish between short-term excitotoxic effects of glutamate and the delayed type of cell death called apoptosis. - Answers Excitotoxicity: when nerve cells are damaged by prolonged exposure to glutamate,(necrosis). Excessive exposure to glutamate can damage and sometimes kill nerve cells through depolarization of the cell. However, if overexposure to glutamate, or the amount of time the cell is exposed is reduced, the cells return to a normal state. In humans, excitotoxic cell death can be caused by ingesting food contaminated with demonic acid or through stroke and traumatic brain injury. Traumatic cell death. Apoptosis, a delayed cell death which involves disruption of the cell nucleus and breakdown of DNA. It's a biochemical process of programmed cell death. Occurs normally during fetal brain development. Excitotoxic treatments may also activate apoptosis. Biologically controlled cell death. Define the therapeutic index and describe how it is calculated and why it is important. - Answers The therapeutic index calculate drug safety. It compares the amount of drug that causes a therapeutic effect to the amount that causes toxicity in most people. The therapeutic index is determined by taking the ED50 ( the dose of a particular drug that produces 50% of the maximum effect) and comparing it with the TD 50, 50% toxic dose, or the dose at which 50% of the population experiences a Toxic effect. This information is plotted on a dose-response curve. The therapeutic index is important when considering the benefits versus risk of serious side effects for people who might use the drug. Name and briefly describe the functions of the four lobes of the cerebral cortex - Answers Occipital lobe, the primary visual cortex. Visual reception and interpretation. Perietal lobe, primary somatosensory cortex. Sense of touch, taste and smell. Spatial perception. Temporal lobe, primary auditory cortex. Understanding language. Frontal lobe, primary motor cortex. Movement and executive planning. Explain what is meant by face, predictive, and construct validity. Which is most important for the development of clinically useful medications - Answers Construct validity refers to the extent to which there is evidence that a test measures a specific hypothetical construct. IE the extent to which animal behavioral measurement tools actually measure the target behavior in the animal. Face validity refers to the degree to which an assessment or test appears to measure the variable it is supposed to measure. Being able to transfer testing / results from inside the lab to other environments with similar results. IE blood pressure tests on lab animals, resemble those tests used for humans. Predictive validity refers to the extent to which a score on a scale or test predict scores on a Criterion measured. I e drug effects observed in a lab predict clinical effect of the drug. Describe the components of the cyclical pattern of pathological drug use and how it can lead to addiction. Be specific with regard to how the DSM-5 criteria fit into this model. - Answers Pattern has three components: 1, periods of preoccupation with drugs and anticipation of upcoming use. 2, periods of drug intoxication that may be associated with binging on the drug. drug. 3, periods following drug use that are marked by withdrawal symptoms and negative effect. Overtime, repeating this cycle, as well as taking drugs and larger amounts than intended and development of drug tolerance, leads to a downward spiral that can ultimately result in addiction. Nearly taking a drug does not indicate a substance use disorder. The use must be maladaptive, or cause harm to the user, as indicated in the DSM. The cyclical Model includes some of the features that represent criteria for substance dependence in the DSM, there are 11 criteria, of which two must be present, in addition to a maladaptive pattern of substance use over a 12-month period. Describe three procedures researchers can use to produce relapse to drug-seeking behavior in animal - Answers In animals that have been trained to self administer a drug by performing an operant response, and then have been extinguished on that response, relapse or renewed responding, can be provoked by: 1. administering a priming dose of the drug 2. Presenting a stimulus q that was previously paired with drug delivery. 3. Stressing the animal. describe the ways males and females differ with regard to the effects of alcohol. - Answers 1. The prevalence of alcoholism is higher in men(20%) than in women (5-6%). 2. Alcohol induced organ damage and related medical issues are more severe in women and develop more quickly and female alcoholics have a higher death rate than male alcoholics. 3. Less efficient gastric metabolism and smaller fluid volume in women causes more rapidly rising and higher BAC for equivalent doses of alcohol. Higher BAC means that women experience more effects, including increase memory impairment, greater probability of blackouts and increased motor impairment. Describe the serious physical consequences that chronic or high-dose cocaine use can have on various systems of the body what have Imaging and postmortem studies shown about the effect of heavy cocaine use on the - Answers Stroke and seizure, abnormalities in gray and white matter, cardiovascular problems including heart attack, damage to other organ systems and possible abnormalities in the development of Offspring exposed to cocaine prenatally. Panic attacks and onset of paranoid psychotic responses. Perforation of the nasal septum. Neuroimaging has found that cocaine dependence subjects show abnormal prefrontal cortical functioning and that cocaine-related cues elicit dopamine release. Describe the composition of a typical cigarette and explain how the psycho active component is delivered to the body and brain. Where in the brain does nicotine exert its primary effects - Answers about 1-3 mg of nicotine reaches a smoker's blood stream. The nicotine is vaporized by the high temperatures of the tip of a cigarette and the vapors are delivered to the lungs on a tiny tar particles. Once on the lungs, the nicotine is absorbed into the blood and quickly reaches the brain. The primary mechanism of nicotine's action is to stimulate the nicotine receptors in the brain and the anatomic nervous system. The nicotinic acetylcholine receptors are located at nerve terminals and in central neurons either at synapses in ganglia or within the brain. Describe the neural mechanisms that underlie both the reinforcing and adversive aspects of cannabis administration. - Answers Shown to depend on the CB1 receptor and may also involve dopamine since cannabinoids stimulate the firing of dopamine neurons in the VTA and enhance dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. There are also close interactions between the cannabinoid and opioid systems which also plays a role in reinforcement. THC can produce drug seeking behaviors in monkeys and reinforcing in squirrel monkeys. Reduce dopamine cell firing and endocannabinoid system changes contribute to withdrawal symptoms. Identify two pharmacological treatment approaches and two non drug treatment approaches for addressing the problems of cannabis dependence. Why are most of these therapies not typically successful? - Answers Pharmacological treatments, antidepressant and mood stabilizer drugs, oral THC. Non drug treatment options, outpatient programs that involve CBT, relapse prevention and motivational enhancement therapy, incentive programs. Most of these therapies are not typically successful because most cannabis users do not become dependent and do not seek treatment. Distinguish between PCP and ketamine in terms of their pharmaceutical development, safety and effects. Are these drugs used recreationally? - Answers Both PCP and ketamine are known as dissociative anesthetics. PCP was originally developed for use as an anesthetic, but use of the drug put patients into a catatonic State, that's a less potent form of the drug ketamine was developed. PCP is no longer use clinically because of its adverse side effects, but ketamine is used in Veterinary and human mostly children medicine. Both PCP and ketamine produce effects that include sensory distortions, altered body image and cognitive disorganization. High doses of ketamine produce a k-hole, where the user feels disconnected from his body. Both PCP and ketamine are reinforcing to animals and ketamine produces pleasurable effects in humans. The recreational use of ketamine is on the rise. Chronic use of PCP and ketamine leads to various adverse effects including cognitive deficits, Urological symptoms, brain abnormalities and altered dopamine function. Recent studies suggest that ketamine may have novel application in the treatment of major depression and pain relief How is GHB typically consumed? Explain how the effects of GHB have led to its use as a date rape drug. Name two other drugs that are also used in this manner. What can be done to protect against this type of threat? - Answers GHB is a powdered material, but it's usually sold in a solution in water. It is odorless, clear and almost tasteless. GHB is a central nervous system depressant that can include unconsciousness and high doses. It's colorless and odorless which facilitates used by perpetrators of drug-facilitated sexual assault. It is known as the date rape drug because of its intoxicating and heavily sedated effects at high doses. Rohypnol, a powerful sleep inducing agent and in some instances ketamine and alcohol are also used in drug facilitated sexual assault. Safety measures include not leaving your beverage unattended and not accepting a beverage that has been opened. Manufacturers are changing old Rohypnol formulations that were colorless, to ones that turn blue when absorbed in liquid. Also, test strips and coasters that test beverages for traces of drugs are being produced. Explain how anxiety can be both important and Mal adaptive for survival. In your answer describe the three-component model of anxiety. - Answers It can be important to survival when it warms of danger and activates the fight or flight response, or when we need motivation to prepare for a difficult task. Anxiety becomes maladaptive when, as in the three-component model of anxiety, stress and Deuces the cyclical interaction of bodily responses such as shallow breathing, rapid heartbeat, and tense muscles, as well as ineffective behaviors such as Escape, avoidance, and aggression and also upsetting thoughts such as anger, fear, and self-doubts. Each of the three components influence the other and escalate the effects of anxiety. Anxieties also maladaptive when stressors are seen as a threat, instead of being perceived as a challenge that may influence more constructive Behavior. Explain why the nature of the disorder makes multiple sclerosis so unpredictable and so varied from Patient to Patient. - Answers Multiple sclerosis is thought to be an autoimmune disorder and results in a chronic attack on the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves, in particular the myelin produced in the parasympathetic nervous system. The symptoms of the disease course Very and are even more widely varied across patients depending on the location of the immune attack. Common symptoms can lead to secondary and tertiary symptoms of the disease the symptoms of multiple sclerosis can mimic the symptoms of other disorders. Explain the current thinking on the biopsychosocial etiology of schizophrenia, including the early latent and late stages. - Answers Biopsychsocial etiology of schizophrenia embrace an interactive basis for the disorder that depends on biological and biochemical abnormalities and environmental or social factors that challenge the susceptible individual beyond his or her capacity to deal with the stress. Early-stage: genetic predisposition, environmental insults including viruses, toxins, birth complications, neurodevelopmental abnormalities including neuron formation, pruning, and apoptosis. Latent Stage: motor abnormalities, social withdrawal, deficits in attention and information processing tasks. Late Stage: excessive synapse pruning in adolescence leads to abnormal neuronal connectivity and function, later environmental insults such a stress and substance use, greater impairment of cognitive functioning. After Drug Administration has occurred, the amount of drug in the blood that is free to bind at specific Target sights is referred to as - Answers Bioavailability Which of the following about drug clearance by first order kinetics is false - Answers Molecules of drug are cleared at a constant rate regardless of drug concentration. While pharmacokinetics describes how the body deals with drugs what describes how drug molecules interact with their targets? - Answers Pharmacokinetics describe how drugs move in, through and out of the body. Pharmacodynamics describes how drug molecules interact with their targets. Which of the following does not cause tolerance? - Answers . Neurons responsible for converting environmental stimuli into neural signals are known as - Answers Sensory neurons many ion channels are not normally open but must be gated or opened by some event. Which of the following is not a typical means of opening ion - Answers Enzymatic reactions. Which of the following about local potentials is false? - Answers They are current only if threshold is reached. The most common types of synapses in the brain are what kind of synapses? - Answers Axodendritic Which of the following about ionotropic receptors is false - Answers G proteins are activated upon binding of neurotransmitters. Neurotropic factors are generally involved in regulating - Answers Long-term changes, such as gene expression. Releasing hormones from the___________ enter the bloodstream in the median Eminence and act on the____________ causing the release of various - Answers Hypothalamus, anterior pituitary. Fill in the blank. - Answers In a recent human drug discrimination study, baclofen was subjectively experienced to be similar to THC. There are multiple examples of accidents of nature that help researchers understand the relationship between brain damage and behavior in humans. Which of the following is not one of these accidents of nature? - Answers Psycho-surgery. Fill in the blanks. - Answers In radio ligand binding studies B-Max represents the number of binding sites and KD is an indication of receptor affinity. Fill in the blanks - Answers Drug action refers to specific molecular changes that occur when a drug binds to a particular Target site or receptor, while drug effects are the resulting widespread alterations in function. Fill in the - Answers Biotransformation of drugs can result in the formation of active metabolites which enter the circulation and cause prolonged drug action. most drugs and neurotransmitters act on - Answers Membrane-bound receptors. Fill in the - Answers Pharmacodynamic tolerance occurs as a result of cellular adaptation to the presence of a specific drug. Fill in the blanks - Answers Neurons rely on glial cells for protection, metabolic support and insulation. The primary immune response in the central nervous system comes from the action of - Answers Microglia Fill in the blanks. - Answers Action potentials are first generated at the axon hillock because this is where voltage-gated sodium channels are located. Fill in the blanks - Answers Clusters of cell bodies in the central nervous system are called nuclei and their Associated bundles of axons are called tracts. Otto Lowisvexperiments with frog hearts was important because it demonstrates that - Answers The idea of chemical neurotransmission is correct. Fill in the blanks. - Answers Ligand gated ion channels are fast, ionotropic, G protein-coupled receptors are slow, metabotropic. The primary treatment for Parkinson's Disease is the administration of l-dopa because this drug - Answers Is the synthetic precursor to dopamine. Fill in the blanks - Answers Steroid hormones bind to intracellular receptors which act as transcription factors when activated, and regulate gene expression. Which of the following drugs will animals not self-administer? - Answers Antidepressants. If a researcher wanted to disrupt a specific neurotransmitter pathway, which method would be most useful? - Answers 6 hydroxy dopamine Situ hybridization is used - Answers For detection of messenger RNA molecules. Which of the following is not a catecholamine? - Answers Glutamine. (Dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine) Dopamine transporter knockout mice are hyperactive relative to wild-type mice because - Answers The dopaminergic neurons cannot remove dopamine from the synaptic cleft. fill in the - Answers B1 and B2 receptors stimulate adenylyl cyclase, while A2 receptors inhibit adenylyl cyclase The treatment of generalized anxiety with B receptor antagonists is effective because beta blockers - Answers Reduce some of the physical symptoms associated with anxiety. Serotonin as the culprit in many disorders or conditions. Which of the following is not one of them? - Answers ADHD. Fill in the blanks. - Answers Pharmacologists have identified at least 14 different receptor subtypes for serotonin, most of which are metabotropic. Fill in the blanks - Answers Anti migraine drugs known as triptans act as 5HT 1B/1D agonists and cause constriction of blood vessels. Fill in the blanks. - Answers Cholinergic function and enhancement of learning and memory can result from the administration of 5-HT 4 Agonist, which serve to depolarize the postsynaptic cell. Which of the following about curare is false? - Answers Curate CAN NOT be used as an adjunct anesthetic and sedatives for surgical procedures. Fill in the blanks. - Answers Cells require binding of two molecules of Ach and are composed of two a1 subunits, a B1 subunit, one y and either a o or e subunit. Which of the following drug action pairings is incorrect? - Answers Physostigmine DOES NOT inhibit choline reuptake. Which of the following about the nmda receptor is false? - Answers NMDA receptors are NOT blocked by nbqx. Which of the following about Doogie mice is false - Answers They show decreased sensitivity to pain. The Gaba receptor - Answers Is stimulated by the intoxicant drug mucimol. Fill in the blanks. - Answers According to the 2011 National survey on drug use and health, 133 million Americans drink alcohol and more than 68 million Americans use tobacco. Fill in the blanks. - Answers Through classical conditioning, environmental stimuli associated with withdrawal States can cause rapid relapse via conditioned withdrawal and craving. Fill in the blanks. - Answers The concept of incentive sensitization distinguishes between drug liking and Drug wanting. Fill in the blanks. - Answers According to the impaired inhibition and salience attribution model of addiction the hot functions of the ventral prefrontal cortex take over during periods of intoxication and binging giving the go signal to the addict. The first alcoholic - Answers Mead. Limited, less than three drinks per day, May improve cognitive function by, - Answers Increasing blood flow, and thus oxygen, to the brain. Alcohol increases synaptic levels of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens by, - Answers Increasing the firing rate of cells in the VTA. Disulfiram makes consumption of alcohol unpleasant because it, - Answers Blocks the conversion of acetaldehyde to acetic acid All the following are effects of the class of drugs called narcotic analgesics except for, - Answers Unconsciousness. The opioid propeptides, - Answers Are processed by proteases in both opiate and non opiate peptides. Both early and late pain activate the, - Answers Secondary somatosensory cortex. Which of the following is not a reason why methadone is an effective treatment for opiate drug abuse? - Answers It has no reinforcing effect, even if it ministered intravenously. Which of the following is a sympathomimetics effect of cocaine? - Answers Vasoconstriction. Cocaine binges, - Answers Result in a period of exhaustion, depression, and cravings. Amphetamine and related psychostimulants in the amphetamine like family, - Answers Resemble the neurotransmitter dopamine in their chemical structure. Tobacco leaves, - Answers Could be smoked in pipes, chewed, or even snorted in a form called snuff. Which of the following is not a symptom of the nicotine abstinence? - Answers Weight loss. Which of the following statements about caffeine is false? - Answers About 50% of adults consume caffeinated beverages. Fill in the blanks. - Answers Caffeine's antagonism of both A-1 and A2a receptors especially in the striatum, is important in the arousing and activating effects of the drug. Which of the following is not a form of marijuana or cannabis derivative? - Answers Anandamide Concerning the time course of THC levels and route of administration, - Answers Plasma levels of THC Peak more rapidly following injection or smoking than oral administration of the drug. All of the following are withdrawal symptoms observed following long term heavy marijuana use except, - Answers Increased sleep. Which of the following health effects of chronic marijuana use is least substantiated? - Answers Decrease resistance two viral infections. Fill in the blanks - Answers Most hallucinogens resemble either phenetylamines, or indoleamines in their chemical structure. Which of the following is not a way that PCP or ketamine is typically administered? - Answers Transdermally. Studies involving chronic PCP or ketamine Administration to non-human primates and rodents have demonstrated all of the following neurobiological changes except, - Answers Increased receptor binding in the prefrontal cortex. Which of the following is not an effect of inhalants on the central nervous system? - Answers They inhibit the activity of glycine receptors. Which of the following is not a symptom experienced following high doses of GHB? - Answers Rapid respirations. What pattern of steroid use might an endurance athlete or a sprinter choose? - Answers Low doses. Fill in the blanks. - Answers Endocrine disruptors that act as thyroid hormone mimics can produce hyperthyroid like effects by acting on target tissues or hypothyroid like effects by providing negative feedback to the pituitary and ultimately decreasing T3 and T4 In children, acute high-dose OP poisoning typically produces, - Answers Seizures and coma. Fill in the blanks. - Answers Disruption of protein synthesis appears to be the neurotoxic effect of mercury in the adult brain, while in the developing brain is likely to be disruption of neuronal migration. Fill in the blanks. - Answers In addition to the central nucleus of the amygdala, the BNST appears to play an important role in initiating sustained emotional responses of anxiety when danger signals are unclear. Which of the following has not been implicated as a risk factor or triggers in panic disorder? - Answers Breathing air with decreased amounts of carbon dioxide. The duration of action of benzodiazepines - Answers Depends partly on whether drugs are redistributed to fat and muscle depots. Which of the following is not a symptom of mania? - Answers Decrease in goal-directed activity. Fill in the blanks. - Answers Recently developed models of mania include sleep deprivation and the creation of mutant mice targeting genes involved in the circadian clock. All of the following are potential side effects of the tricyclic antidepressants except, - Answers Hypertension. Which of the following is not a subtype of schizophrenia, according to kraepelin? - Answers Delusional. (Catatonic, undifferentiated, paranoid) What model of schizophrenia integrates the neurochemical data with the neuroanatomical findings concerning the disorder? - Answers The neurodevelopmental model. The newest antipsychotic medications are - Answers Dopamine system stabilizers. Fill in the blanks. - Answers Parkinson's disease dementia affects approximately 70% of patients after 15 years of disease progression. Which of the following is the correct order of degeneration in Alzheimer's disease? - Answers Entorhinal cortex, hippocampus, neocortex. The rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of catecholamine is - Answers Tyrosine hydrolase Which of the following regarding D2 dopamine receptors is false? - Answers They do not act as a normal postsynaptic receptor