7: Neurobiology of addiction behaviours Flashcards Preview

Psychiatry Week 1 2018/19 > 7: Neurobiology of addiction behaviours > Flashcards

Flashcards in 7: Neurobiology of addiction behaviours Deck (27)
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1
Q

What is dependence?

A

Strong desire to take a substance, with difficulty stopping, and persistent use despite evidence of harm

Developing a tolerance to a substance

Neglect of alternative hobbies

Going into a withdrawal state when going cold turkey

2
Q

Does addiction/dependence only apply to substances?

A

No

gambling, adrenaline junkies, games, social media

3
Q

What is incentive salience?

A

Process which attributes ‘want’ to a stimulus

i.e activates your reward pathway for doing something

4
Q

Which three parts of the brain are involved in incentive salience and the reward pathway?

A

VTA (ventral tegmental area)

Nucleus accumbens

Pre-frontal cortex

5
Q

Which neurotransmitter is released from the ventral tegmental area and the nucleus accumbens in incentive salience?

A

Dopamine

6
Q

What is the function of incentive salience?

A

‘Reward’ for behaviours which keep you alive / pass down your genes

so food, shelter, sex

7
Q

___ drugs affect the reward pathway.

A

Addictive

8
Q

Addictive drugs e.g nicotine, alcohol and opiates cause the release of which neurotransmitter in the brain?

A

Dopamine

9
Q

Which process do addictive drugs hijack by releasing dopamine in the brain?

A

Incentive salience

10
Q

Why do people who are addicted to certain drugs or behaviours begin to neglect other interests?

A

Incentive salience

other activities can’t compete with dopamine release

11
Q

Dopamine receptors are downregulated in response to repeated exposure to an addictive drug.

What process is this an example of?

A

Tolerance

12
Q

What is the only way to experience reward when you have tolerance to an addictive drug?

A

Take a higher dose of the drug

13
Q

How long does tolerance take to wear off when you’re abstinent from a drug?

What does this mean in the interim?

What does this predispose the patient to?

A

Significant period of time

Reward threshold is still raised, normal life seems boring by comparison

Relapse

14
Q

The feeling of reward experienced by initially taking a drug is an example of ___ reinforcement.

A

positive reinforcement

15
Q

Feeling crap unless you take a drug is an example of ___ reinforcement.

A

negative reinforcement

16
Q

Which part of the frontal lobe is responsible for executive function?

A

Pre-frontal cortex

17
Q

Which part of the brain regulates your decision making, memory and behaviour?

A

Frontal lobe

pre-frontal cortex

18
Q

When does the pre-frontal cortex finish developing?

A

20s

So emotions > executive function when you’re younger

19
Q

The younger you experiment with drugs, the (more / less) likely you are to be addicted to them.

A

more likely

20
Q

What is the proper name for the reward pathway?

A

Mesolimbic pathway

21
Q

The brain makes associations between visual and audio ___ and addictive drugs.

A

cues

22
Q

Which parts of the brain are responsible for memory and learning?

A

Hippocampus

Amygdala

23
Q

Which parts of the brain are responsible for reward?

A

Ventral tegmental area

Nucleus accumbens

24
Q

Which part of the brain regulates the signals coming from the reward pathway?

A

Pre-frontal cortex

25
Q

Which part of the brain is involved in motivation?

A

Orbito-frontal cortex

26
Q

Which neurotransmitter is released in response to stress?

A

Dopamine

27
Q

How does

a) acute
b) chronic

stress affect drug addiction?

A

a) Acute stress - dopamine release; cue to use drug
b) Chronic stress - chronic dopamine release; upregulation of dopamine receptors; threshold for reward increased; more likely to reach that by using drugs
i. e all bad