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Psy 5260 Study Objectives
Ray and Ksir chapters 1, 3, 5
1. Summarize four principles of psychoactive drugs discussed by Ksir, Hart, and Ray in
chapter one.
2. List four pharmacological revolutions that influenced modern attitudes and behavior
regarding drugs and drug use in our society.
3. Identify and briefly describe at least two annual surveys supported by the federal
government that are used to assess the extent of drug use in the United States. Discuss
some of the limitations of these surveys. Summarize some of the key findings of these
surveys since 1970.
4. Identify some of the major correlates of drug use assessed by research.
5. Name some of the risk factors and protective factors for drug use that are related to
family and peer influences.
6. Summarize three major concerns about drugs that led to the initial passage of laws
controlling their availability in the United States.
7. Identify the type of data recorded by the DAWN system. What drugs have received the
most mention in these reports?
8. Define and distinguish the following terms: acute toxicity, chronic toxicity, behavioral
toxicity, physiological toxicity.
9. Define tolerance and dependence. What role do these processes play in substance
abuse and addiction?
10. Summarize and critically evaluate ways that drug use might theoretically be linked to
crime.
11. Summarize the initial requirements of the Pure Food and Drugs Act. When was this
legislation passed?
12. Summarize the initial requirements of the Harrison Act. When was this legislation
passed?
13. Who was Harry Anslinger? Summarize his role in marijuana regulation in the 1930s.
14. Summarize the legislative efforts between the 1930s and 1960s to regulate safety and
effectiveness of drugs.
15. Identify and discuss the reasons behind the 1938 Food Drug and Cosmetic Act and
the 1962 Kefauver-Harris amendments.
16. Summarize the main purposes of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and
Control Act of 1970 (Controlled Substances Act).
17. Distinguish the different drug schedules stipulated by the Controlled Substances Act.
List examples of drugs in each schedule.
18. Describe the three phases of clinical drug testing required before a new drug
application can receive FDA approval.
McKim, Chapter 1
Principles of Pharmacology
1. Identify three ways of naming drugs. Give examples.
2. Identify three ways of classifying drugs. Which classification system is most practical
for our purposes?
3. Define pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.
4. What is typically displayed in a dose response curve? What is typically depicted on
the x-axis and y-axis?
5. Define ED50 and LD50.
6. How is therapeutic index determined? What does it indicate?
7. Define and distinguish efficacy and potency. Draw dose-response curves for
hypothetical substances to illustrate your understanding of efficacy, potency, and
ED50.
8. Identify and describe at least five different routes of drug administration.
9. List advantages and limitations of oral drug administration.
10. List advantages and limitations of drug injections.
11. Identify some of the factors that influence drug absorption and drug distribution.
12. Define pKa and briefly summarize the importance of this factor in determining drug
absorption.
13. How do blood proteins influence drug distribution?
14. What is the blood brain barrier? Identify populations in which the blood brain barrier
is weak. How does this influence an individual’s response to psychoactive drugs?
15. How are most drugs metabolized and eliminated from the body?
16. Define drug half-life. How does knowledge about a drug’s half-life help you make
predictions about its duration of action?
17. Cite examples of age and species differences in drug metabolism and elimination.
McKim, Chapter 2
Research Design and Behavioral Analysis of Drug Effects
1. Distinguish within-subjects and between-subjects designs. Define and give examples
of independent variables and dependent variables.
2. Summarize the importance of placebo control groups in pharmacology research.
3. What is a three groups design?
4. Summarize some of the contributions of behavior analysis to the study of
psychoactive drugs.
5. Identify important distinctions in research strategies between the experimental
analysis of behavior and traditional experimental psychology.
6. Identify at least three categories of tests that measure drug effects on human
performance. Identify specific tests within each category.
7. Identify some simple measures of unconditioned behavior included in assessing drug
effects in nonhumans.
8. Distinguish respondent conditioning and operant conditioning.
9. Identify examples of respondent conditioning models used to in behavioral
pharmacology research.
10. Identify examples of operant conditioning models used in behavioral pharmacology
research.
11. What does rate-dependency mean? Cite examples of drugs that exhibit rate dependent
effects.
12. How might the escape-avoidance task be used to screen psychoactive drugs. Identify
drugs that block avoidance responding without suppressing escape behavior.
13. Cite examples of drugs that have anti-punishment effects.
14. Summarize the use of drug discrimination procedures and drug self-administration
procedures in behavioral pharmacology research.
McKim, Chapter 4
Drug Actions on the Nervous System
1. Define membrane potential and summarize the key factors that contribute to the
resting membrane potential.
2. Define action potential and summarize the changes in ion distribution across the
membrane responsible for an action potential.
3. Define postsynaptic potential and differentiate IPSPs and EPSPs with respect to the
direction of change in the membrane potential.
4. Distinguish hormones and neurotransmitters and list some examples of each.
5. Identify the components of a neurochemical synapse.
6. Summarize the steps involved in neurochemical synaptic transmission.
7. Distinguish between ionotropic and metabotropic receptor activation.
8. Identify and briefly describe two ways that neurotransmitters may be deactivated at
the synapse.
9. Define the terms agonist and antagonist with respect to drug actions in the nervous
system.
10. Identify and distinguish the two divisions of the autonomic nervous system. Identify
specific drugs that influence the functions of this system.
11. Summarize some of the key functions of the hypothalamus and relate these functions
to psychoactive drug effects.
12. Identify at least two structures within the limbic system and summarize their main
functions? Note some reasons why these structures of importance in the study of
psychoactive drugs.
13. List and give examples of the major classes of neurotransmitters.
14. List three monoamine neurotransmitters and two amino acid neurotransmitters.
15. Identify the neurochemical pathways and the key neurotransmitter most widely
studied in neurobiological theories of drug dependence/addiction.
16. Identify a class of neuropeptides and specific examples of these neuropeptides that
are involved in the body’s natural response to stress and pain.
17. Describe at least five different ways that drugs may alter neurochemical transmission.
Give specific examples.
McKim, Chapter 3
Tolerance and Sensitization, Conditioning of Drug Effects
1. Define drug tolerance. Explain how you might depict evidence for tolerance by
graphing dose response functions.
2. Cite some of the empirical evidence that multiple mechanisms appear to be
responsible for the development of tolerance.
3. Define cross tolerance. If an organism developed tolerance to morphine, to what other
drugs would you expect them to exhibit tolerance? Why?
4. Define dispositional tolerance and summarize possible mechanisms responsible for
this type of tolerance.
5. Define pharmacodynamic tolerance and summarize possible mechanisms for this type
of tolerance.
6. Define behavioral tolerance. Summarize some of the processes that may be involved
in the development behavioral tolerance.
7. Summarize at least one example of behavioral tolerance based on respondent
conditioning and discuss the role of conditioned compensatory responses in the
development of tolerance.
8. Summarize the experimental methods and key findings of Shepard Siegel’s classic
research on conditioned tolerance to morphine.
9. Summarize some of the clinical implications of Siegel’s research on conditioned
tolerance.
10. Summarize at least one example of behavioral tolerance based on operant
conditioning. Discuss these findings with respect to the role of reinforcement.
11. Define drug sensitization. Summarize evidence for conditioned sensitization.
12. Identify other factors (besides drugs) that have been shown to produce sensitization to
the activating effects of drugs.
13. Identify brain mechanisms that may be responsible for sensitization of behavioral
arousal.
McKim, Chapter 5
Dependence/Addiction and Drug Self-Administration
1. List three models that have been proposed for explaining substance abuse/addiction.
2. Identify key historical developments that contributed to the establishment of the
disease model of addiction.
3. Summarize some of the key strengths and problems or limitations of the disease
model.
4. Summarize the physical dependence model. Note some of the limitations of this
model.
5. Identify key discoveries that contributed to the development of the positive
reinforcement model. Summarize key strengths and limitations or problems with this
model.
6. Describe the animal model accepted as the “gold standard” for assessing abuse
liability of psychoactive drugs.
7. Identify some drugs that are readily self-administered by nonhuman species and some
that are not typically self-administered by nonhumans.
8. Note examples of drugs that have been shown to function as negative reinforcers in
nonhuman species.
9. Summarize the key neural components of motivation and reinforcement mechanisms.
10. Discuss how research on the neural pathways of motivation and reinforcement has
contributed to our understanding of the neurobiology of addiction.
11. Note similarities and differences that have been reported between nonhumans and
humans with respect to drug self-administration.
12. Summarize some of the methods used to assess the incentive value of drugs.
a. Note some of the limitations of using response rate as a measure of the incentive
value of drugs.
b. Describe progressive ratio schedules and define breaking point. How are these
schedules used to characterize incentive value of drugs.
c. Summarize choice procedures and how they may be used to assess incentive
values of drugs.
13. Identify and discuss examples of other variables that have been examined in drug
self-administration research. Summarize at least one research finding for each
variable discussed.
14. Summarize some of the research methods that have been employed to examine
conditioned incentive and conditioned reinforcing effects of drugs.
a. Summarize the place conditioning model.
b. Summarize the use of second order schedules.
15. Summarize the Incentive Sensitization Theory proposed by Robinson and Berridge
(1993). Discuss how this model has been used to explain substance abuse/addiction.
16. Summarize the matching law and discuss drug use/abuse from this perspective.
17. Define behavioral economics. Discuss the use of behavioral economics in the
investigation of environmental factors that influence drug self-administration.
18. Summarize some of the research findings by Carroll (1993) using a behavioral
economics approach to investigate PCP consumption in rhesus monkeys.
McKim, Chapter 6
Alcohol
1. Describe examples of alcohol use in human history.
2. Define BAC and explain how it is typically expressed.
3. Identify at least three factors that influence alcohol absorption from the
gastrointestinal system.
4. Define "first pass metabolism". Identify the enzyme responsible for this.
5. Where in the body is the majority of alcohol metabolized? Summarize the metabolic
pathways involved in the breakdown of alcohol in the body.
6. Discuss some of the factors that might account for different BACs in different
individuals following the same amount of alcohol consumption. In particular, specify
gender differences in alcohol distribution and metabolism.
7. Describe some of the neurochemical mechanisms of action of alcohol in the brain.
What is RO 15-4513 and what has this substance revealed about alcohol’s mechanism
of action?
8. Describe the acute physiological effects of alcohol. Include the effects of alcohol on
peripheral blood vessels and on antidiuretic hormone and note how these effects
account for heat loss and water loss induced by alcohol.
9. Summarize the behavioral effects of alcohol at different BACs. For example,
compare the effects at 0.05 % to 0.20 %. How might regular alcohol use influence the
effects observed at different BACs?
10. Summarize research findings regarding the effects of alcohol on physiological and
subjective measures of sexual arousal in males and females.
11. Describe the four major stages of alcohol withdrawal.
12. Discuss the rationale behind using other CNS depressants to assist alcohol
detoxification. Which type of depressant is preferred in the clinical management of
alcohol withdrawal symptoms and why?
13. Describe the major symptoms of alcohol hangover. Discuss at least three factors that
might contribute to the experience of a hangover.
14. Identify and describe three stages of liver disease caused by chronic excessive alcohol
use.
15. Summarize the effects of chronic heavy alcohol use on the CNS. Describe the
symptoms and pathology of Korsakoff's Syndrome.
16. Summarize the effects of chronic alcohol consumption on the reproductive system.
17. Summarize the cardiovascular effects of chronic excessive alcohol use.
18. Discuss evidence for potential health benefits of moderate alcohol use.
19. What is FAS? Identify and describe the characteristic features of FAS.
McKim, Chapter 7 & 8
Barbiturates, Benzodiazepines, Inhalants
1. Identify three CNS depressants commonly used in the 19th century. Discuss the
reasons for discontinuation of their use.
2. Which CNS depressants were introduced in the early 20th century? Which CNS
depressants were developed in the 1960s? Name specific examples of each of these
two pharmacological classes of CNS depressants.
3. Identify the first benzodiazepine synthesized. Name at least three other
benzodiazepines and distinguish them with respect to the onset and duration of action.
4. Describe the pharmacological mechanism of action of benzodiazepines. What
neurotransmitter system is involved in their actions? Name specific brain regions
where these receptors are found.
5. Identify four clinical uses of CNS depressants. What is the main difference among
these substances that determines their specific clinical uses?
6. Identify key differences between barbiturates and benzodiazepines. Specifically,
address the risks of fatal overdose and the development of dependence. Which of
these drug classes is generally considered safer and why?
7. Discuss the primary disadvantages to using barbiturates to treat insomnia.
8. Describe the withdrawal symptoms following chronic barbiturate use.
9. Summarize the results of self-administration research with barbiturates and
benzodiazepines in nonhumans.
10. Identify and discuss some of the harmful effects of barbiturates and benzodiazepines.
Explain how their effects may be potentiated by the use of alcohol in combination
with these substances.
11. Identify at least two CNS depressants labeled as “club drugs” or “date rape” drugs.
How are these drugs similar and different from other CNS depressants?
12. Name the main categories of inhalants and list examples of each.
13. Identify some of the commercial products containing inhalants and name some of the
chemical ingredients in these products.
14. Identify at least three inhalants used medically either in the past or currently.
15. What have behavioral studies indicated about inhalants in comparison to other CNS
depressants?
16. Summarize some of the harmful effects of solvents and nitrites on the central nervous
system.
McKim Chapters 9 & 10
Nicotine and Caffeine
1. Identify the various forms of tobacco use throughout history.
2. What is the approximate half-life of nicotine? Identify factors that contribute to
individual differences in the metabolism of nicotine.
3. Describe the pharmacological mechanism of action of nicotine.
4. List physiological effects of nicotine.
5. Summarize research evidence regarding the cognitive effects of nicotine. Specify its
effects on concentration, attention, and performance on certain tasks.
6. Summarize and discuss evidence from laboratory studies in nonhumans regarding the
positive reinforcing effects of nicotine. What conditions may contribute to the
reinforcing effectiveness of nicotine?
7. List the symptoms associated with nicotine withdrawal. How long do these symptoms
typically last?
8. How does nicotine withdrawal differ from withdrawal from other substances? What
treatments reduce nicotine withdrawal symptoms?
9. Summarize laboratory research evidence regarding reinforcing properties of nicotine.
10. Identify and discuss the three primary causes of death associated with cigarette
smoking.
11. Summarize the harmful effects of smoking on the cardiovascular and respiratory
systems. Identify the key causes of cardiovascular toxicity caused by smoking.
12. Describe the fetal effects of smoking during pregnancy.
13. List three drugs belong to the chemical class known as methylxanthines. For what
medicinal purposes have substances historically been used?
14. List some of the current medical uses of caffeine. Identify at least three types of
commercial products containing caffeine.
15. Describe the mechanism of action and the neurophysiological actions of caffeine.
16. Differentiate the effects of caffeine on the cardiovascular system and the
cerebrovascular system.
17. Summarize the physiological effects of caffeine as a treatment for headache.
18. Describe evidence for caffeine dependence and list the symptoms of caffeine
withdrawal.
19. Define and describe the symptoms of caffeinism.
20. Summarize laboratory research evidence regarding caffeine self-administration.
21. Summarize findings from drug discrimination studies of nicotine and caffeine in
comparison to the psychomotor stimulants, cocaine and amphetamine.
McKim Chapter 11
Psychomotor Stimulants (Cocaine and Amphetamine)
1. Summarize the primary use of cocaine prior to the 19th century.
2. Identify at least three individuals who contributed to the popularity of cocaine in the
19th century. Summarize the primary uses of cocaine in that century.
3. List and briefly describe at least three different preparations of cocaine. Discuss the
influence of administration route on cocaine’s abuse potential.
4. Note the similarities among coca paste, freebase, crack and ice. Distinguish crack and
ice.
5. Compare and contrast cocaine and amphetamine with respect to pharmacokinetics.
6. Summarize the neurochemical actions of cocaine and those of amphetamine.
7. Summarize the acute and chronic toxicities of amphetamine and cocaine.
8. Why are cocaine and amphetamine considered Schedule II substances? Identify and
discuss their respective medical uses.
9. Discuss the use of stimulants in the management of weight reduction. To what extent
are these substances useful for treating obesity? Does tolerance develop to the
anorectic effects of amphetamine?
10. Summarize the effects of stimulants on performance. On what kinds of tasks do
stimulants appear to improve performance?
11. Describe the withdrawal symptoms associated with cocaine and amphetamine
dependence. How do these withdrawal symptoms differ from alcohol withdrawal?
12. Summarize and discuss laboratory research evidence for the positive reinforcing
effects of cocaine and the amphetamines.
13. Summarize the scientific rationale behind pharmacotherapy for cocaine addiction.
Identify some of the drugs that have been examined for this type of treatment and
note whether any been proven effective.
McKim Chapter 12
Opiates and Opioids
1. Define the terms opiate, opioid, and narcotic.
2. Identify the two main chemicals extracted from opium and indicate when they were
first isolated.
3. What is diacetylmorphine and when was it first synthesized? Under what name and
by what German company was it first marketed? How does this drug differ from
morphine?
4. Identify the main ingredients of laudanum. For what medicinal purposes was this
substance used?
5. Distinguish opioid use before and after the Harrison Act. Specify examples of users
and the forms and patterns of opioid use in the 19th century in contrast to present day
use.
6. What are endorphins? List the three families of endorphins.
7. List the opioid receptor types. Identify key brain regions where opioids produce their
actions. Which receptor type is mainly responsible for the euphoric effects and abuse
liability of opioids?
8. Summarize the main mechanism of action of morphine.
9. Identify at least two opioid antagonists. What are primary medical uses of these
substances? Identify the effects of an opioid antagonist in an opiate-dependent person.
10. Describe the acute physiological effects of morphine.
11. Identify and summarize the medical uses of morphine and related opioids.
12. Summarize the behavioral effects of morphine from nonhuman laboratory studies.
Specify its effects on unconditioned behavior and operant behavior.
13. Summarize results of laboratory studies of morphine self-administration.
14. Summarize the acute and chronic toxicities associated with morphine use.
15. Distinguish maintenance therapies from antagonist therapies in the treatment of
opioid dependence. Identify and distinguish at least three drugs approved for
maintenance therapies.
McKim Chapters 13 & 14
Antipsychotics & Antidepressants
1. List and differentiate three names given to the class of drugs used to treat
schizophrenia/psychosis. Which of these names is most appropriate and refers to the
therapeutic benefits of these drugs?
2. List three categories/types of antipsychotic drugs and identify at least two examples
of drugs in each category.
3. Identify the first antipsychotic drug discovered and briefly summarize the history of
its discovery.
4. Briefly summarize some of the consequences for society following the discovery of
psychiatric medications.
5. Compare and contrast chlorpromazine (Thorazine), clozapine (Clozaril) and
olanzapine (Zyprexa) with respect to their neuropharmacological actions, the
symptoms effectively managed by each drug, and the side effects/toxicities associated
with each drug.
6. Identify some unique characteristics of the third generation antipsychotic drugs
ziprasidone, aripiprazole, and amisulpride. (Indicate other disorders for which these
drugs are used besides schizophrenia.)
7. Identify and summarize some of the potential health risks associated with the use of
atypical antipsychotic drugs.
8. Summarize the symptoms of major depressive disorder and differentiate major
depression from bipolar disorder.
9. Summarize current conceptualizations regarding the pathophysiology of depression.
Contrast the current model with early neurotransmitter deficiency models.
10. Identify the two main classes of “first-generation” antidepressants and list examples
of each.
11. Identify examples of the “second-generation, atypical” antidepressants.
12. List some of the commonly prescribed SSRIs and briefly describe differences among
them with respect to pharmacokinetics and common prescribed uses.
13. Distinguish SSRIs from the first-generation of antidepressant drugs with respect to
pharmacological mechanisms of action and with respect to side effects and toxicity.
14. What are dual-action antidepressants? List examples. Discuss the rationale behind the
development of these drugs?
15. Summarize the historical developments that led to the use of lithium in the
management of bipolar disorder.
16. Besides lithium, identify at least two other classes of drugs used in the treatment of
bipolar disorder. Identify specific drugs in each class.
17. Identify major organ systems affected by lithium and the major side effects associated
with each system.
18. Identify the risks of antimanic drugs on pregnancy and fetal development in women
with bipolar disorder.
19. Identify some of the major anticonvulsants used in the treatment of bipolar disorder.
Discuss advantages and disadvantages of each.
McKim Chapter 15
Marijuana
1. Describe early uses of the cannabis sativa. How have its uses changed over history?
2. Describe early uses of cannabis for therapeutic purposes in China, Europe, and the
United States.
3. List various names of cannabis preparations and their respective origins.
4. Identify the class of chemicals found in cannabis that have psychoactive effects.
Name the specific chemical to which the psychoactive effects of marijuana are
primarily attributed.
5. What is known about the neuropharmacological mechanism of action of THC? In
what brain regions are cannabinoid receptors most densely distributed?
6. Summarize the behavioral effects of THC in nonhuman laboratory studies. Specify its
effects on unconditioned behavior and operant behavior.
7. Summarize findings from drug discrimination research with THC. What do the results
of these studies suggest about THC in comparison to other psychoactive drugs?
8. What do the results of self-administration studies with THC indicate regarding its
abuse potential?
9. Identify and critically evaluate some of the proposed medical uses of marijuana.
10. Summarize some of the known or suspected health risks of marijuana use.
McKim Chapter 16
Hallucinogens
1. List four different categories of hallucinogens and identify examples of each.
2. Summarize the history and origin of LSD
3. Describe LSD’s neurochemical mechanism of action.
4. Summarize the effects of LSD on perception and human performance.
5. Summarize findings regarding the discriminative stimulus effects of LSD
6. Summarize findings from laboratory studies regarding self-administration of LSD.
7. Compare and contrast LSD and psilocybin with respect to their origins and their
neurochemical actions.
8. To which category of hallucinogens is MDMA structurally related?
9. Describe MDMA’s neurochemical mechanism of action.
10. Summarize the psychological effects of MDMA.
11. Summarize findings regarding the discriminative stimulus effects of MDMA.
12. Summarize findings from laboratory studies regarding self-administration of MDMA.
13. Summarize the health risks of and toxicities associated with MDMA use.
14. For what medical use was phencyclidine (PCP) originated? Name another popular
“club drug” similar to PCP.
15. Describe PCP’s neurochemical mechanism of action.
16. Summarize the psychological effects of PCP and other dissociative anesthetics.
17. Summarize findings regarding the discriminative stimulus effects of PCP
18. Summarize findings from laboratory studies regarding self-administration of PCP.
19. List toxicities associated with PCP.
20. Compare and contrast LSD, MDMA, and PCP with respect to their mechanisms of
action, their behavioral effects, abuse liability and associated toxicities.
21. Summarize the proposed psychotherapeutic use of hallucinogens. Specify which
hallucinogens are currently in clinical trials for these purposes.