Drugs & the Brain
This protective system prevents many chemicals in the blood from entering the CNS.
What is the blood–brain barrier?
Nicotine acts as an agonist at these receptors.
What are acetylcholine receptors?
Circadian rhythms follow a cycle of approximately this length.
What is 24 hours (a day)?
This theory proposes that we experience emotion after we notice our physiological reactions (e.g., “I’m afraid because my heart is racing”).
What is the James-Lange Theory?
These brief seizures appear as sudden “staring” episodes with reduced awareness.
What are petit mal (absence) seizures?
The process by which liver enzymes convert drugs into inactive chemicals.
What is metabolism?
The clinical name for taking a drug to the point that it harms health or relationships.
What is substance use disorder (SUD)?
Difficulty falling or staying asleep.
What is insomnia?
This idea proposes that activating facial muscles involved in an emotion can influence the emotional experience itself.
What is the facial feedback hypothesis?
This term describes the area of compromised but still salvageable tissue surrounding a stroke’s core.
What is the penumbra?
A decreased sensitivity to a drug after repeated exposure.
What is tolerance?
Tolerance to one drug due to exposure to another drug.
What is cross-tolerance?
This pineal hormone helps regulate sleep–wake cycles.
What is melatonin?
This theory argues that an expression is “Duchenne” only when it includes activation of the orbicularis oculi (“crow’s feet”).
What is the Duchenne's smile?
Dysfunction of this brain system (particularly excessive dopaminergic activity) is linked to Tourette’s syndrome.
What is the basal ganglia?
This type of tolerance results from receptor-level changes in the target tissue.
What is functional tolerance?
This reward-related brain region is central to reinforcement and addiction.
What is the nucleus accumbens?
The brain region that promotes sleep via inhibitory GABAergic projections.
What is the VLPO (ventrolateral preoptic area)?
The final stage of Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome, when resistance collapses.
What is exhaustion?
This therapy forces use of a weakened limb after stroke to improve motor recovery.
What is constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT)?
This drug increases serotonin by reversing transporter flow and blocking reuptake.
What is MDMA?
Alcohol withdrawal can include this severe, potentially lethal syndrome.
What are delirium tremens?
A deficiency in this neuropeptide is strongly associated with narcolepsy.
What is orexin (also called hypocretin)?
According to Darwin, emotional expressions evolved because they communicate survival-relevant information to others, an idea called this.
What is the principle of antithesis?
The involuntary, dance-like movements seen in Huntington’s disease are called this.
What is chorea?