Psychopharmacology Quiz 3

Which of the following describes a neuronal axon?

A small fiber that conducts electric-like impulses from dendrites to terminal.

Which of the following statements is true regarding addiction, including compulsive behaviors such as gambling?

Addiction is a disease analogous to an allergy.

Reversible acetylcholine esterase (AChE) inhibitors are used clinically to treat:

Alzheimer's disease.

The nervous system is composed of all but which of the following?

Answer: the blood vessels the brain the spinal chord the neurons

Select the incorrect statement concerning the hypothalamus.

Because it is isolated, drugs of abuse are less likely to affect the hypothalamus than other brain areas.

The neurotransmitters most clearly implicated in reward mechanisms and orienting responses, respectively, are:

DA and NE.

Acetylcholine esterase (AchE) is the major active ingredient in insecticides and Sarin.

False

The most rapid route of administering a drug to reach the brain is intravenously.

False

The most common inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitters in the brain are, respectively:

GABA and glutamate.

The benzodiazepine anxiolytics and barbiturate sedatives bind to the ligand-gated ion channel for the neurotransmitter:

GABA.

The central nervous system is composed of the spinal cord and the brain.

True

To titrate a drug means to continuously regulate the amount of drug you are receiving.

True

Insecticides produce their effects by:

blocking postsynaptic ACh receptors.

Nerve gases such as Sarin produce their effects by:

blocking postsynaptic ACh receptors.

In neurophysiology, the term exocytosis applies to:

both the presynaptic terminal and the vesicles of the neural cell.

A class of biochemical compounds including norepinephrine and dopamine is called __________.

catecholamines

The diencephalon includes all but the following:

cerebrum.

Inhibition of acetylcholine esterase (AChE) results in:

decreased degradation of ACh.

The most crucial neurotransmitter involved in behavioral addictions, drug use, and drug abuse is...

dopamine

Neurotransmitters that have narcotic-like effects are called __________.

endorphins

The brain stem is involved in all of the following functions, EXCEPT:

filtering.

What part of the brain controls complex behaviors, processes information, and helps make decisions?

frontal cortex

The psychedelic drugs phencyclidine (PCP) and ketamine block receptors for the neurotransmitter:

glutamate.

Which of the following brain regions is most likely to directly regulate the endocrine systems?

hypothalamus

Which of the following is NOT a member of the limbic system?

hypothalamus

There are several routes of administering drugs, and some reach the brain faster than others. Which of the following sequences correctly lists the routes of administration from fastest to slowest for getting drugs to the brain?

inhaling (smoke), injecting (intravenous), mucous membrane absorption (nasal passage), oral ingestion

Which of the following is an accepted therapeutic use of androgens?

replacement in males with abnormally functioning testes

The catecholamines include all of the following neurotransmitters, EXCEPT:

serotonin (5-HT).

Which of the following effects is least likely to be caused by a sympathomimetic drug?

slowed heart rate

The nucleus of a neural cell is found in the:

soma.

A minute gap between the neuron and target cell across which neurotransmitters travel is called a __________.

synaptic cleft

The majority of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine (NE) is ____________; its precursor (that is, the chemical from which it is directly converted) is ____________.

taken back up into the presynaptic terminal; dopamine

Which of the following is most similar to the anabolic steroids often abused by athletes?

testosterone

The brain stem includes all but the following:

thalamus.

Approximately how many neurons are in the brain?

100 billion

When drugs are taken orally, the effects are delayed for approximately how long?

20 to 30 minutes

How much does the average brain weigh?

3 pounds

The neurotransmitter thought to be involved in a variety of processes including sleep, sex, affective disorders, and pain is:

5-HT.

Select the incorrect statement concerning the adrenal glands.

Adrenaline is classified as an anabolic steroid.

LSD is thought to do which of the following?

Cause a deficiency of acetylcholine in the basal ganglia of the brain. Cause a deficiency of norepinephrine in the cortex. Cause a deficiency of dopamine in the basal ganglia of the brain. Answer: have serotonin like chemical effects

Alterations in the function of the following neurotransmitter and/or its receptors typically affect central motor systems:

DA.

Antipsychotic medications chiefly affect the neurotransmitter:

DA.

The name of the primary document that is used in the United States to assess whether a person has a substance-related disorder is called the

Diagnostic Statistical Manual

Select the incorrect statement concerning receptors in the nervous system.

Drugs that are agonists keep the receptor from being activated.

Acetylcholine esterase (AchE) is used clinically as a cognitive enhancer in patients with Alzheimer's disease

False

Acetylcholine esterase-inhibitors break down Ach in the synapse

False

Acetylcholine is a catecholamine neurotransmitter.

False

Acetylcholine is a peptide neurotransmitter.

False

Active transport occurs when fat-soluble drugs pass from an area where there is a higher concentration of a drug to an area of lower concentration.

False

Contact absorption—drug-saturated patches applied to the skin—allow erratic amounts of drugs to be passively absorbed into to the body over an indefinite period of time.

False

Dendritic spines ("memory bumps") grow in the synapse when the nerve is stimulated by sensory input.

False

New norepinephrine (NE) must be synthesized to replace each molecule that is released into the synapse.

False

Once a neuron in the brain dies, it is not replaced.

False

Passive transport occurs when water-soluble drugs such as cocaine cross the blood-brain barrier by hitching a ride on molecules that cross the blood-brain barrier.

False

Psychoactive drugs promote homeostatic conditions in the central nervous system.

False

The classical neurotransmitters (ACh, DA, NE, 5-HT) are used by the majority of neurons in the brain.

False

The majority of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) is taken back up into the presynaptic terminal.

False

The majority of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine (NE) is metabolized in the synaptic cleft.

False

The more rapidly a psychoactive drug reaches its central nervous system target, the less the reward and the lower the reinforcing effect.

False

Tolerance to the mental effects of drugs develops at the same rate as tolerance to the drug's physical effects.

False

Anabolic steroids have been classified in which of the following schedules of the Controlled Substance Act?

III

Which statement is true regarding intravenous drug use?

Intravenous drug use is the most dangerous method because it bypasses the body's natural defenses.

Select the incorrect statement.

Most drugs used to treat endocrine problems are given to replace deficient hormones. Sex hormones can affect emotional states. Answer: Testosterone is released from the ovaries and causes female sex changes. Diabetes is usually due to a lack of insulin secreted by the pancreas.

In neurochemistry, the terms alpha and beta refer to subtypes of the neurotransmitter:

NE.

Blockade of the following receptor produces effects ranging from hallucinations to protection from excitotoxicity and head injury:

NMDA.

Drugs that affect the neurotransmitter dopamine (DA) are used clinically to treat:

Parkinson's disease.

Select the incorrect statement.

The Reticular Activating System helps to regulate the brain's state of arousal. Drugs that alter the activity of dopamine-releasing neurons often affect motor activity. Parkinson's disease is due to damage of dopamine neurons in the basal ganglia. Answer: For the most part, drugs of abuse decrease the activity of dopamine in the limbic system.

Which of the following statements is true regarding the use of alcohol and other drugs by a woman who is pregnant?

The placenta is not an effective barrier, so if the mother uses, the baby uses.

A person's level of emotional and physical stress can increase the ability of psychoactive drugs to cross the blood-brain barrier.

True

GABA acts upon both "fast-responding" and "slow-responding" postsynaptic receptors.

True

Regardless of which method a person uses to consume a psychoactive drug, the drug reaches the brain through the bloodstream.

True

Serotonon (5-HT) acts upon both "fast-responding" and "slow-responding" postsynaptic receptors.

True

The compulsive gambler's reward/control pathway in the brain becomes hijacked similar to the ways the brain becomes rewired from alcohol and other drug addiction.

True

The historical and moral conflict between doing what an individual wants to do (primal urges) versus what he should do (common sense, reason) is mirrored in the conflict that arises between the old brain and the new brain when addictive drugs and behaviors are involved.

True

The majority of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) is metabolized in the synaptic cleft.

True

The majority of the neurotransmitter dopamine (DA) is taken back up into the presynaptic terminal.

True

The physical, mental, and emotional effects a person experiences from taking psychoactive drugs are caused by the modification or mimicking of the neurotransmitters' function.

True

Nicotinic receptors are activated by which of the following transmitters?

acetylcholine

All of the following neurotransmitters are taken back up into the presynaptic terminal via an active reuptake mechanism, EXCEPT:

acetylcholine.

Which of the following is not a major nervous system?

adrenal

When the human body is continually challenged by the use of drugs that alter the body's natural balance, a "new normal" is created, known as

allostasis

The emotional center of the brain that is activated when a person with an addiction sees a person, place, or thing that reminds him of their addiction (e.g., needle, slot machine, white powder) is called the...

amygdala

Hormones that are able to convert nutrients into tissue mass are called __________.

anabolic steroids

Which of the following is not a neurotransmitter?

androgen

Agents that antagonize the effects of acetylcholine are called __________.

anticholinergic

Which area of the cortex is the most developed in man?

association areas

The mechanism of action of the MAO inhibitor antidepressants is:

blockade of enzymatic breakdown of neurotransmitter.

Administration of the psychedelic drug scopolamine results in:

blockade of postsynaptic ACh receptors.

The correct sequence for hormone release is the following:

hypothalamus → pituitary gland → target organ.

Inhibition of acetylcholine esterase (AChE) results in:

increased levels of ACh.

Which of the following activities is NOT a function of the spinal cord?

initiating motor commands to "body"

The catecholamines act upon:

multiple subtypes of G-protein-coupled postsynaptic receptors.

The basic cellular unit of the central nervous system is the:

neuron.

The endogenous opoids including the enkephalins and endorphins are ________ neurotransmitters.

peptide

Using drugs to replace, supplement, or counterbalance the effects of a person's drug of choice is known as...

polydrug use

The brain site responsible for producing the majority of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine (NE) in the brain is:

the locus coeruleus.

The hypothalamus is a motivating force behind all the following behaviors, EXCEPT:

the rage response.

The brain site responsible for producing the majority of the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT) in the brain is:

the raphe nuclei.

The correct sequence for the synthesis of norepinephrine (NE) is as follows:

tyrosine; dopa; dopamine; norepinephrine