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Psychopharmacology.

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Term
Definition
Central Nervous System   includes the brain and the spinal cord  
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Peripheral Nervous System   includes nerves that originate in the spinal cord and that connect the spinal cord to the organs of the body  
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Brain Stem   Portion of the brain, consisting of the medulla oblongata, pons, and midbrain, that connects the spinal cord to the forebrain and cerebrum. Important in the regulation of vital body functions; also involved in behavioral alerting  
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Five Major Sections   Hindbrain (Myelencephalon - Medulla; Metencephalon - Cerebellum & Pons) Midbrain - Mesencephalon and Forebrain (Diencephalon - Thalamus & Hypothalamus; Telencephalon - Cortex/cerebrum, Limbic System, and Basal Ganglia)  
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Cerebellum   necessary for the proper integration of movement and posture  
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Hypothalamus   Principal center in the brain responsible for the integration of our entire autonomic (involuntary or vegetative) nervous system; Specifically, the circadian rhythm, sleep cycles, appetite, and sex drive  
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Dendrites   receive and conduct information to the cell body  
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Axon   removes the electrochemical energy away from the cell body and into the terminal bouton  
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Synapse   The tiny space between nerve cells where neurotransmitter molecules are released  
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Action Potential   The brief change in electrical potential from the cell's resting state  
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Presynaptic Neuron   The neuron that releases the neurotransmitters  
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Postsynaptic Neuron   The neuron that receives the neurotransmitters  
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Conduction transmission   The process of impulse movement along the axon  
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Vesicles   Tiny containers that store the neurotransmitter molecules manufactured in the cell body  
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Receptors   Protein molecules that have been produced in the neuron and are embedded in the cell membrane  
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Ionic actions   Responsible for rapid and transient changes in nerve cell activity  
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Metabotropic actions   Involve gradual changes in neuronal functioning that take place over hours, days, weeks, or even months  
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Cerebral cortex   Highest area of the brain; responsible for much of human perception, complex cognitive processes, reality testing, and initiation of behavior, and judgment  
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Limbic System   Includes the amygdala, septum, cingulate, and hippocampus. It is involved in appraisal of emotional stimuli, initiation of emotional responses, and shutting down reactivity thus returning body to a state of homeostasis  
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Amygdala   Has the capacity to register, perceive, and analyze sensory data; appraisal of environmental stressors is crude  
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Autonomic Nervous System   innervates involuntary organs, such as the heart, smooth muscles, and glands  
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Sympathetic nervous system   Set in motion by the limbic system and hypothalamus, the SNS mobilizes the body to take action in response to dangerous situations  
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Parasympathetic system   Activated at times of relaxation and quiescence, acts to reduce heart rate and blood pressure in an overall attempt to conserve energy  
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Glutamate   Major excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain  
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GABA   Major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain  
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Cortex   Database and processor of external inputs; Converts external and internal sensory signals to recognizable data; stores data  
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Temporal Lobe and Hippocampus   RAM; Involved in memory and attention; Pathway for all information processed in posterior areas of the cerebral cortex  
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Frontal Cortex   Software programs  
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Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex   attending, planning, responding; involved in ADHD  
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Orbiofrontal Cortex   judgment, moderating emotions and behavior, detecting internal danger; hyperactive in OCD  
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Ventral Medial   attention, drive, motivation, mood; involved in depression  
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Amygdala and Basal Ganglia   Processor and Output Functions  
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Amygdala   Attach emotional meaning and affective color to memories; intensifying memory; triggering basic responses of pleasure or flight/fight  
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Basal Ganglia   Processing Function; integrate and modulate information for mood, movement, and cognition  
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Ventral Striatum   Includes the nucleus accumbens; involved in reward, motivation, cognition, and emotion  
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Dorsal Striatum   modulates muscle activity  
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Thalamus   Clock determining the rate of processing; the gate for information going into the cortex; determines the rate of mental activity; protects the cortex from overload  
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Mid-brain   Tune the activity in upper levels of the brain; modulate activity in higher levels of the brain  
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What conditions results from decreased levels of serotonin?   Depression, anxiety (including OCD and Tourette's), and eating disorders  
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What parts of the brain do antidepressants effect?   Frontal cortex-limbic system (mood); Amygdala-midbrain (anxiety); Spinal Cord (antidepressants can interfere with pain and signal transmission.  
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Immediate effects of antidepressants   activation, hypomanic symptoms, agitation or akithisia, immediate antidepressant effect, immediate incidental (adverse) effects  
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Mechanisms to increase neurotransmitters   Reuptake inhibitors, monoamine oxidase inhibition, autoreceptor inhibition  
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What is an adequate trial of a particular antidepressant med?   Above average dosage for at least 6 weeks  
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What are the universal adverse effects of antidepressant meds?   Activation, hypomanic systems, agitation or akithisia, and suicidal ideation  
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Pharmacokinetics   Describes the time course of a particular drug's actions - the time to onset and the duration of the effect. (ADME - absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination)  
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Enternal routes   Refer to administration involving the gastrointestinal tract (orally or rectally)  
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Parenteral routes   Refer to administration that does not involve the GI tract (injected, inhaled, absorbed through skin, absorbed through mucous membranes)  
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Soluble   Means that a drug is able to dissolve; required in order for drug to be effective  
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Prodrug   Must undergo chemical conversion by metabolic processes before becoming an active pharmacological agent  
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Passive diffusion   passing from an area of high concentration into an area of low concentration  
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Kidneys   Excrete most of the products of body metabolism. They closely regulate the levels of most of the substances found in body fluids  
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Cytochrome P450 enzyme family   Major system involved in drug metabolism physically located in hepatocytes  
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Tolerance   develops as the blood level for a given amount taken falls more rapidly than would be expected if tolerance had not developed  
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Adverse effects of serotonin?   sexual dysfunction, insomnia, weight gain, GI sx  
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Adverse effects of norepinephrine?   Anxiety, weight loss, restlessness, tremor, insomnia, hypertension  
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Adverse effects of anticholinergic?   dry mouth, cognitive impairment, tachycardia, constipation, urinary retention  
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Adverse effects of anti alpha adrenergic?   hypotension  
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Adverse effects of Antihistaminic?   Drowsiness and inattention  
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Parietal/Occipital Cerebral Cortex   Harddrive; converts external sensory signals to recognizable data; stores data for long term  
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Putamen and Caudate   Related to reward and motivation  
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Locus Coeruleus   Flight/fight behaviors (located in brainstem)  
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Periaquaductal nucleus   freezing/avoidance behaviors (located in brainstem)  
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Two pathways cortisol is increased by amygdala?   Hypothalamus and adrenal cortex  
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How does the amygdala impact basal forebrain?   promote attention and concentration  
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How does the amygdala impact brainstem?   Activates the sympathetic nervous system and cortisol levels  
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How does frontal lobe counteract anxiety?   It processes sensory information that is coming in to the individual and discriminates whether the situation is truly dangerous or not  
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What impact does serotonin neurons have on anxiety?   Turns off the amygdala and brainstem  
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What neurotransmitter does the sympathetic nervous system use?   Norepinephrine  
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How does the amygdala impact the hippocampus?   When there is a sense of fear it just keeps reinforcing the trauma  
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Two ways beta blockers are helpful with individuals who have anxiety?   helps diminish the intensity of the body and minds reaction to danger (also takes away physiological symptoms - ex. shakiness)  
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What are medications to help new memories?   Cycloserine and Prazosine  
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What happens when the autoreceptor is active?   Less neurotransmitter released  
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What happens when the autoreceptor is blocked?   Allows more of the neurotransmitter to be released  
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What is the difference between fear and anxiety?   Fear is of current danger, while anxiety is of future danger  
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Psychomotor hyperactivity   Fast thoughts, fast speech, high energy, and very active  
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Astrocytes   Responsible for controlling access between blood stream and brain (establishes blood brain barrier by tight connections around capillaries) inactivate neurotransmitters  
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