Term
| What is a stimulus that causes pleasure and is actively desired |
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Definition
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Term
| What is a stimulus that, as a consequence of a behavioral response, increases the future probability of that response |
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Definition
| reinforcer (operational definition we can measure in lab) |
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Term
| Direct stimulation of brain, as in Olds and Milner experiment, increases levels of what neurotransmitter in the nucleus accumbens? |
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Definition
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Term
| What area of the brain is one of the most critical in that it contains the dopamine cell bodies that distribute dopamine to downstream areas such as nucleus accumbens and the prefrontal cortex |
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Definition
| Ventral Tegmental Area or VTA |
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Term
| What area of the brain has dopamine-containing cells which tend to project more to the dorsal areas of the striatum and the caudate putamen |
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Definition
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Term
Which part of the brain is important for memory?
Emotional processing?
executive function? |
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Definition
the hippocampus is very important for memory.
The amygdala important for emotional processing.
The pre-frontal cortex for executive function |
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Term
Dopamine neurons in the VTA project to what part of the brain to release dopamine?
What other structures sends information to this structure? |
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Definition
nucleus accumbens
amygdala, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex |
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Term
After receiving info from the VTA, pre-frontal cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala, what type of projections does the nucleus accumbus send out to downstream motor structures?
What are the brain motor structures that it sends to? |
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Definition
GABAergic
the ventral pallidum (VP), the lateral hypothalamus, and the substantial nigra
(nucleus directly influences motor structures) |
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Term
In an experiment, when an animal does not expect a reward but receives it, when does the dopamine go up?
When the animal learns that the reward is paired with a cue, and the reward is given after the cue, when does dopamine go up?
When the animal learns that the reward is paired with a cue but doesn't receive the reward, when does the dopamine go up?
What does this prove? |
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Definition
when they receive the reward
When they see the cue
When they see the cue. Goes DOWN when it doesn't receive reward
dopamine doesn't just respond to pleasure but can change its physiological activity = used as a learning signal |
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Term
True or false:
initially dopamine signals increase when the reward is delivered. But if you train the animal to correlate the cue with the reward, now the cue itself evokes dopamine and the reward no longer does. |
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Definition
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Term
| What neuron activation is required for learning? |
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Definition
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Term
If you block the VPA and the ability of the dopamine neurons to fire, what is a patient unable to do?
See
Speak
Learn
Walk
Coordination |
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Definition
| learn (dopamine is required for learning) |
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Term
True or false:
Dopamine is required for learning but is not sufficient for learning. |
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Definition
False
Dopamine neuron activation is sufficient for learning
(Just by stimulating dopamine you can train an animal to learn something. ) |
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Term
| What area of the brain serves as an “interface” between limbic areas (dopamine) and motor systems (glutamate) - good for taking information about rewards and turning it into motivated action. |
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Definition
| The nucleus accumbens (nucleus accumbens neurons/medium spiny neurons) |
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Term
| What happens when dopamine, the neurotransmitter, binds to its receptor? |
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Definition
| G-protein coupled receptor changes activity of a G protein which creates a whole set of signaling cascades within the cell (doesn’t influence directly the activity of the cell but rather modulates what’s going on at these incoming glutamatergic inputs from these other brain areas) |
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Term
| What are the different classes of dopamine receptors in the brain and nucleus accumbens? |
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Definition
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Term
Which family of dopamine receptors are linked to stimulatory G-proteins that increase levels of cAMP inside cells
Which is coupled to inhibitory G-proteins and decreases levels of cAMP? |
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Definition
D1 family
D2 family (D2, D3, D4) |
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Term
| What are the 2 reasons as to why the D1 and D2 receptor actions don't cancel each other out? |
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Definition
1. they have different projection targets/send axons to different places in the brain/control different areas of the brain
2. D2 has a high affinity for dopamine so almost always occupied while D1 has low affinity (needs large surges in dopamine that you see with rewards and cues) |
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Term
D1 or D2 cell:
project directly back to motor areas like the substantia nigra |
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Definition
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Term
D1 or D2 cell:
project indirectly to motor areas through the globes pallidus and subthalamic nucleus |
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Definition
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Term
substance dependence or substance abuse?
physical symptoms that occur with prolonged drug abuse |
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Definition
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Term
substance dependence or substance abuse
symptoms that affect work, home life, interpersonal relationship, etc. |
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Definition
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Term
| What schedule is a substance that has no accepted medical use in the US and has a high abuse potential (heroin, marijuana, LSD, MDMA (ecstasy)) |
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Definition
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Term
What schedule is a substance that has some therapeutic utility and has a high abuse potential.
Examples: cocaine, methylphenidate (ritalin), amphetamine, morphine, codeine, oxycodone (Oxycontin), methadone, adderall |
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Definition
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Term
What schedule is a substance that has therapeutic utility and moderate to high abuse potential.
Example: anabolic steroids, Tylenol with codeine |
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Definition
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Term
What schedule is a substance that has therapeutic utility and moderate abuse potential.
Examples: Diazepam (Valium), alprazolam (Xanax), Zolpidem (Ambien) |
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Definition
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Term
What schedule is a substance with low abuse potential, currently accepted medical use.
Example: codeine preparations such as Robitussin A-C |
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Definition
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Term
| How is it that all of the drugs are addictive and will be abused by people, but create such different proximal neurochemical effects on the brain? |
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Definition
| they all have the effect of increasing dopamine levels in the system |
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Term
| How does nicotine increase dopamine? |
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Definition
| directly activating nicotinic acetylcholine receptors at dopamine neurons |
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Term
What drug does NOT increase dopamine via suppressing GABAergic input onto dopamine neurons, thus exciting the dopamine neurons?
opioid
cannabinoids
cocaine
none of the above |
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Definition
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Term
Which drug does NOT increase dopamine by directly affecting dopamine containing cells through the dopamine transporter?
cocaine
opioids
amphetamines
all of the above |
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Definition
| opioids (suppress GABAergic input onto dopamine neurons) |
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Term
True or false:
Drugs act at separate endogenous receptor sites in the CNS, but all have the effect of increasing dopamine |
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Definition
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Term
What drug enters through dopamine transporter and release dopamine out in the synaptic vesicles inside a cells to cause dopamine to pour out into the synapse rapidly?
opioid
cocaine
amphetamine
nicotine |
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Definition
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Term
What drug binds to dopamine transporters and inhibit dopamine reuptake?
opioid
cocaine
amphetamine
nicotine |
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Definition
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Term
True or false:
A natural reward and drug award release the same amount of dopamine. |
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Definition
False
natural reward is small
drug reward gets a massive increase of dopamine |
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Term
True or false:
Nearly all addictive drugs promote conditioned place preference (test) |
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Definition
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Term
True or false:
Everyone that tries a drug becomes addicted. |
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Definition
False
cocaine only 15-20% become addicted |
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Term
| Will there be an increase or decrease in the number of spines on the medium spiny neurons with cocaine or amphetamine? |
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Definition
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Term
| Can you induce synaptic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens 1 week after giving cocaine? |
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Definition
No
synapses are already so potentiated that the experimenters can't produce a higher level of potentiation (goes away ~1 month) |
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Term
| After depotentiating synapses in cocaine-treated animals (normalize synaptic plasticity levels on cortical to accumbens synapses), will they show an increase or decrease sensitization response to cocaine? |
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Definition
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Term
True or false:
Drugs can alter gene expression |
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Definition
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Term
Both animals and humans will quickly learn to press a lever or button that produces
a)dopamine release in the cerebellum
b)glutamate release in the nucleus accumbens
c)dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens
d)GABA release in the VTA |
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Definition
| c) dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens |
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