CAS PS 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Adenosine Receptor, Opioid Overdose, Nootropic

• School: Boston University
• Department: Psychological & Brain Sciences
• Course: CAS PS 101
• Professor: Robert Reinhart

Document Summary

Chemical substances that cross the blood-brain barrier, and act to alter brain functioning. The effects of a particular drug depends on which neurotransmitter system it activates. Depressants: decrease state of mind (painkillers, heroin, alcohol, sleeping pills) Stimulant: increase state of mind (methamphetamine, cocaine, ritalin, tobacco, caffeine). Drug addiction: drug use that remains compulsive despite its negative consequences. Tolerance: increasing amounts of a drug needed to attain intended effect. You need more drugs to satisfy your need. Withdrawal: psychological state characterized by feelings of anxiety, tension, and cravings for the addictive substance. 90% of the adult population uses caffeine in some form or another. Caffeine is a stimulant that increases alertness, and is viewed by some as a potential cognitive enhancer. Adenosine: a neurotransmitter that slows down neural activity, causing sleepiness". Caffeine binds to these adenosine receptors, w/o decreasing neural activity. (caffeine binds to the adenosine receptors that cause sleepiness, and also drowsiness, and blocks them).