Drugs and Behavior
General Issues
Chapter 1
WHAT ARE DRUGS?
Drug – A Definition
• A chemical or mixture of chemicals that
alters biological function when
administered
• Psychotropic drug – Any chemical that
alters behavior, cognition or emotion
• Psychoactive drug – For our purposes, the
same as the above
Names of Drugs
Drugs have many names, most commonly:
Brand, trade, ‘proprietary’ name: e.g., Desoxyn®
different preparations, companies, etc.
Generic, trivial, ‘nonproprietary’ name:
e.g., methamphetamine
Chemical name: N,alpha-dimethylphenethylamine
Street name: e.g. ‘ice’ or ‘crank’ - same name may
refer to different several different drugs.
Mostly I will use the generic name.
The Science of Drugs
• Pharmacology – The scientific study of
drugs and drug action
• Psychopharmacology – The subfield of
pharmacology concerning the effects of
drugs on behavior, emotion, and cognition
Classifying Drugs
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Therapeutic vs. non-therapeutic
Legal vs. illegal
Recreational vs. medicinal
Mechanism of action
Site of action
By origin
By chemical structure
Behavioral effects
Classifying Drugs
• Ultimately, as practiced, the classification
of drugs is political/social as much as it is
scientific.
• Two main classifications
– Scheduling
– Behavioral effects
Schedule of Controlled Substances
• Current schedule system has 5 schedules
based on:
– Safety
– Medical use
– Abuse potential
Schedule I
• Includes heroin, LSD, marijuana, MDMA
– The drug or other substance has a high potential for
abuse.
– The drug or other substance has no currently accepted
medical use in treatment in the United States.
– There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or
other substance under medical supervision.
Schedule II
• Includes morphine, cocaine, Ritalin, amphetamine,
methamphetamine, OxyContin
– The drug or other substance has a high potential for
abuse.
– The drug or other substance has a currently accepted
medical use in treatment in the United States or a
currently accepted medical use with severe restrictions.
– Abuse of the drug or other substance may lead to severe
psychological or physical dependence.
Schedule III
• Includes anabolic steroids and Marinol.
– The drug or other substance has a potential for abuse
less than the drugs or other substances in Schedules I
and II.
– The drug or other substance has a currently accepted
medical use in treatment in the United States.
– Abuse of the drug or other substance may lead to
moderate or low physical dependence or high
psychological dependence.
Schedule IV
• Includes most benzodiazepines (Valium,
Xanax, Ativan) and prescription sleep aids
– The drug or other substance has a low potential for
abuse relative to the drugs or other substances in
Schedule III.
– The drug or other substance has a currently accepted
medical use in treatment in the United States.
– Abuse of the drug or other substance may lead to
limited physical dependence or psychological
dependence relative to the drugs or other substances in
Schedule III.
Schedule V
• Includes codeine-containing cough medicines
and some antidiarrheals.
– The drug or other substance has a low potential for
abuse relative to the drugs or other substances in
Schedule IV.
– The drug or other substance has a currently accepted
medical use in treatment in the United States.
– Abuse of the drug or other substance may lead to
limited physical dependence or psychological
dependence relative to the drugs or other substances in
Schedule IV.
NC Schedule VI
• No currently accepted medical use in the United
States
• Relatively low potential for abuse in terms of risk
to public health and potential to produce psychic
or physiological dependence liability based upon
present medical knowledge
• Need for further and continuing study to develop
scientific evidence of its pharmacological effects.
Behavioral Effects Classification
• Classified by effects on behavior and/or central
nervous system
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Depressants
Stimulants
Narcotics/Analgesics
Psychedelics
Depressants
• Depress CNS activity leading to decreased
physiological activity and sedation
– Alcohol – Legal, Non-therapeutic
– Barbiturates – Legal, Therapeutic
– Benzodiazepines – Legal, Therapeutic
Stimulants
• Stimulate CNS leading to increases in
physiological processes and motor behavior
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Cocaine – Illegal, Therapeutic
Amphetamine – Illegal, Therapeutic
Caffeine – Legal, Non-therapeutic
Nicotine – Legal, Non-therapeutic
Narcotic Analgesics (Opiates)
• Act to increase activity in the endogenous opiate
system leading to pain suppression, feelings of
euphoria, well-being, and respiratory depression
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Heroin – Illegal, Therapeutic
Codeine – Legal, Therapeutic
Morphine – Legal, Therapeutic
Vicodin, Percocet, etc. – Legal, Therapeutic
Psychedelics
• Alter mood state and perception via action
on the CNS. Group by convenience. All
illegal, some with therapeutic use.
– LSD (acid)
– Psylocibin (mushrooms)
– Phencyclidine (PCP)
Marijuana
• In a class by itself
– Complex behavioral effects
– Main effect is on cannabinoid neurotransmitter
system
– Better fit with other classification systems
• Origin - Alkaloid
• Mechanism of action – Cannabinoid agonist
Take-Home Message
• Ultimately we create our own “classification
system”
• A combination of many systems
• We base this system on who we are, where we
come from, and how drugs make us feel
• With VERY few exceptions, everyone uses some
kind of drug
• At the same time, too many people take too much
drugs
Video
• http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=
C1387DACE613B755&playnext=1&playne
xt_from=PL