SUBSTANCE MISUSE
SYNAPSE
TOLERANCE
PHYSICAL DEPENDENCE
PSYCHOLOGICAL DEPENDENCE
WITHDRAWAL
CRAVING
The intake of drugs in quantities that are
potentially damaging to physical or
mental health.
The junction between two neurons.
Neurotransmitters are released by the
neuron on one side of the gap and then
taken up by the neuron on the other side.
Refers to the way the body continues to
adapt to a substance. To have the same
affect more and more of the substance is
needed.
Body becomes used to the drug and needs
it for normal functioning.
When people feel compelled to take a
substance - they rely on it to help them
feel good.
The term for miserable symptoms that are
experienced when someone stops using a
substance on which they have become
physically or psychologically dependent.
A strong desire to consume a substance.
REWARD PATHWAY
The part of the brain which becomes
inhibited with continued heroin use
DOPAMINE
The key neurotransmitter involved in
rewards and feelings of pleasure
STIMULANT
HALLUCINOGEN
Drugs which increase the frequency of
nerve impulses and make you feel more
alert and energised
These drugs change a person’s perception
of the world, distorting what is heard or
seen, or leading to a person experiencing
things that do not really exist
SEDATIVE
NEUROTRANSMITTER
DENTRITE
HEROIN
OPIATES
ITCHY BLOOD
A drug that induces calmness or sleep
chemicals that transmit signals from a
neuron to a target cell across a synapse
A short branched extension of a nerve
cell, along which impulses received from
other cells at synapses are transmitted to
the cell body
A drug which is a natural substance
extracted from the opium poppy, acts as a
strong painkiller.
The name for types of drugs which are
made from the opium poppy
A symptom which results in heroin
addicts continuously scratching their skin
causing cuts and bruises.
PRO-SPECIESISM
The idea that we must do all that we can
to protect our own kind
Anthropomorphism
The attribution of human characteristics
or qualities or behaviour to animals
REDUCTIONISM
NICOTINE
SMACK
In animal testing, this means reducing
animals to inconsequential beings as parts
that are tested on rather than whole
animals
A highly addictive drug that is the main
component of tobacco.
A street name for heroin
SELF-ADMINISTRATION
BREEDING
STRESS
PETA
METHADONE
MONOZYGOTIC
MAINTENANCE
The method used in Olde and Milner’s
study linking rats behaviour to addiction
in humans
High rates of this is a key reason why
rodents are most commonly used in
animal research
The independent variable used in
Najaraja’s research on ethanol intake.
The most well-known organisation who
campaign against the use of animals in
research
Synthetic drug used to treat heroin
addiction
The name for identical twins, which are
often used in evidence for/against
genetics as a theory
The opposite of abstinence and a
common treatment for drug addiction to
prevent negative withdrawal