Chapter 4. Psychopharmacology
Highlighted sections
Intro, pples of psychopharmacology
Sites of drug action
Specific Neurotransmitters: Use lecture handout as a guide for what is important and
what is not
Acetylcholine
Monoamines: Dopamine, noradrenaline, adrenaline, serotonin
Glutamate
GABA
Peptides (opioids) & cannabinoids
Highlighted Figures (for both 8th and 9th edition)
1, 3, 4, 5, 6
Synaptic Transmission
1. Summarize the sequence of events that occurs when a synapse is activated, from
the arrival of an action potential at the axon terminal to the release of
neurotransmitter and the effect on the post-synaptic membrane
2. Explain what is meant by (a) agonist, (b) antagonist, (c) up-regulation, (d) downregulation, (e) degradation, (f) reuptake, resting membrane potential, (c) selective
membrane,
3. Name four neurotransmitters.
4. Describe the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in detail. Be as specific as possible
(for example, you can include the type of receptors it acts upon, drugs and/or
diseases that affect the system, parts of the body the neurotransmitter acts upon,
its function, etc.)
5. Describe the neurotransmitter dopamine in detail. Be as specific as possible (for
example, you can include the type of receptors it acts upon, drugs and/or diseases
that affect the system, parts of the body the neurotransmitter acts upon, its
function, etc.)
6. Draw a terminal button. Diagram four ways that drugs can affect synaptic
transmission, and give examples of two of them.
Pharmacology
1. Explain what is meant by (a) pharmacodynamics, (b) pharmacokinetics, (c)
agonist, (d) antagonist, (e) competitive blocker, (f) non-competitive blocker
2. Explain what is meant by a ligand, and provide a classification based on their
action on the receptor.
3. Name four sources of administration.
4. Name four factors that influence the pharmacokinetics of drugs.
5. Draw a dose-response curve to explain the effect of competitive blockers.
Compare it to the effect of a non-competitive blocker. Make sure to label the x
and the y-axes.
6. Draw a dose-response curve to explain the therapeutic index. Draw a ‘side effect’
dose-response curve for a drug that has a high therapeutic index, and a ‘side
effect’ curve for a drug that has a low therapeutic index. Make sure to label the x
and the y-axes.
7. A drug that has a low therapeutic index is _________ (safer/more dangerous) than
a drug with a high therapeutic index.
8. Compare direct and indirect agonists in their mechanisms of action
9. Define drug tolerance. Discuss a pharmacokinetic mechanism of tolerance and a
pharmacodynamic mechanism of tolerance.
10. Explain how lipid solubility affects the rate at which psychoactive drugs reach
the site of action. Explain how proteins in the bloodstream affect the rate at which
psychoactive drugs reach the site of action (book)
11. Survey some of the mechanisms by which drugs can alter pre-synaptic function.
Provide one example.
12. Survey some of the mechanisms by which drugs can alter post-synaptic function.
Provide one example.