PHAC 4001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Locus Coeruleus, Nucleus Accumbens, Compulsive Behavior
12 May 2021
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Phac 4001 lecture 16 february 24, 2021 drugs of abuse i. Objectives: basic knowledge of the reward pathway and mechanisms contributing to tolerance and dependence, describe the mechanism of action of major classes of drugs of abuse, stimulant drugs, cns depressants, hallucinogens. Estimated economic cost to us society due to substance abuse and addiction (2017) Addiction - a disease of the brain: characterized by: Addiction: repeated exposure to a drug of abuse alters, gene expression in specific brain areas, changes in how neurons are responding to the substance because of the repeated exposure, altered expression of genes then mediate altered neural function: Individual neurons and circuits and neural circuits within which these neurons function: widespread changes in the individual"s machinery (the neurons) and how they interact in a neural network, result behavioral changes. Addictive drugs and behaviors engage the reward pathway. This is a simple diagram showing the mesolimbic dopamine pathway (or the reward pathway).
