MCB 62 Midterm 1 Study Guide

Lecture 1
Physical Materialism: Understanding everything is in terms of atoms molecules cells
organisms
William James (1842-1910): First professor of psychology (Harvard) in the US. In 1890 wrote
Principles of Psychology, radical empiricism. Varieties of Religious Experience in 1902, you can
tweak consciousness w/ chemicals.
Radical empiricism: What is empirically measurable, everything is fair ground for exploration.
Drug: An exogenous (outside-the-body) chemical, which in relatively small amounts has effects
on physiology, that is, on the functioning of the organism. Drug from old English word droog
or drogge which means dried/dried plant.
Psychoactive drug: A chemical that has effects on human behavior (actions, mental process, etc)
via its effects on the nervous system, has effects on the psyche=mind (thoughts, feelings,
perceptions, consciousness, etc)
Pharmacology: The study of how drugs interact w/ the body includes absorption, distribution,
mechanisms of action, metabolism, elimination, etc
Psychopharmacology: The study of how psychoactive drugs interact w/ the body
Pharmako: Pharmaco from the Greek pharmako meaning both medicine AND poison
Medicine: Substance used for treating disease, has beneficial effects on state of health
Poison: A dangerous or deadly substance, generally has negative effects on health
Botany: Study of plants
Ethnobotany: Study of relationship between plants and the people who have come to know
them/use them food, medicine, ritual, etc
Plant medicines:
Power plants: Perhaps the most ancient of cultivated plants. Old world: cannabis, tea, coffee,
opium, spices; New world: tobacco, coca, cacao. Knowledge from plants is supposedly
dangerous/forbidden and contains severe punishment.
Allies:
Paracelsus (1493-1541): Founder of Western medicine, discovered infection and prevention
Lecture 2
Drug absorption: Absorption of drugs into the circulatory system
Routes of administration: Oral/digestive, enters the stomach and intestines, takes about 20
minutes to reach the brain
Hepatic portal system: Vessels that carry blood from the stomach and intestines to the liver.
They are scattered all over the digestive system. Goes everywhere.
First-pass metabolism: Possible biotransformation (change chemical structure) by liver. Trying
to make it more water-soluble and able to be excreted.
Parenteral routes: Par = beyond, enteron = intestine. Bypass the digestive system, increases
speed of onset, and keeps chemical intactness. Best for water-soluble substances, used commonly
in medicine, but has the most danger potential. Inhalation / smoking is the fastest route to the
brain at about 10 seconds. Intravenous IV takes about 20 seconds. Intraoral / buccal (cheek) /
sublingual (tongue), intranasal / insufflation / snorting, rectal, intramuscular and intraperitoneal

take about 3 minutes, transdermal / contact absorption takes many minutes to hours.
Elimination of drugs from body: Liver, blood, kidneys, bladder, urine, chemical
transformation, excretion, lifetime or half-life in body
Blood-brain barrier: The junction between cells forming the blood vessel walls. The brain is
different and has no gaps, it has tight junctions. Astrocytes seem to be involved in secreting some
unknown substance that maintains the blood-brain barrier. 2 ways to cross the blood-brain
barrier: 1) Transport: molecules inside the blood can be transported across the membrane layer of
the blood vessel cells and move into the interior of the cell, then to the outside of the cell.
Transport is via proteins w/in walls of cells that are specific to move certain molecules. 2)
Diffusion: moving from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration. Matter
tends to do that. Issue though is the blood vessels wall only some things can diffuse.
Lecture 3
Chemistry: The study of transformations of matter
Alchemy: Transformations of matter and psyche. Al Kamia: Old name for ancient Egypt = black
earth land, rich, fertile, creative, transformative.
Atoms and molecules: Molecules are atoms joined together by covalent chemical bonds
(sharing of electrons).
Polarity: Separation of charge, opposites attract
Polar: Charge/electrons are concentrated
Nonpolar: Want the same amount of electrons equally
Hydrophobic: Things that dont like to be around water and tend to be non-polar
Lipids are non-polar and fatty/oily, lipophobic.
Hydrophilic: Things that like to be around water and tend to be polar/charged things, lipophilic
Linus Pauling (1901-1994): Invented a molecular model known as Pauling Model
Molecular structures: Molecular model for the purposes of teaching chemistry and also to help
think about the 3-D shape of molecules
Phospholipids, lipid bilayer membrane: Phospholipid has a polar head and a non-polar tail(s)
and head always has phosphate in it. When placed in water, phospholipids line up because the
tail groups are unhappy. Water is on both sides. If anything is going to cross through it has to be
able to pass through the lines/wall and has to be sufficiently non-polar such as psychoactive
drugs. Lots of Carbons and Hydrogens typically will cross the blood-brain barrier, lots of
Oxygens wont. Alkaloids will not cross either because they have N+
Lecture 4
Brain:
Neurons: Axons and Dendrites (appendages of nerve cells) send messages and information. 1011
= 100,000,000,000 One Hundred Billion nerve cells. Connections between dendrites and axons
are called synapses.
Glia: 5-10x as many glia cells than nerve cells. 1012 1,000,000,000,000 One Trillion Glia cells.
More in the CNS, involved with the synapse and form myelin sheaths
Cerebral cortex: Outer layer of brain, top
Synapse: Neurotransmitters are released when a nerve impulse is sent. (Re)uptake transporters
clear the way for new messages. Astrocyte glial cell helps too.

Synaptic components: Some (cell body), dendrites, axon hillock, axon, myelin, axon terminals
Neurotransmitter Receptor: Receive the neurotransmitters and cause an action
Agonist: A molecule that binds to a neurotransmitter receptor and activates it (key to a lock)
Antagonist: A molecule that binds to a neurotransmitter receptor and blocks it
Central Nervous System: Brain, spinal chord
Somatic: Part of peripheral nervous system, controls muscle, sensory, and enteric
Autonomic: Part of peripheral nervous system, regulates things like the heart and lungs
Sympathetic: Sympathetic (fight or flight, prepares for crisis), increases heart rate, increases
blood pressure, dilates lung airways, dilates pupils of eyes, constricts bladder, decreases
intestinal motility. Neurotransmitter = Norepinepherine
Parasympathetic: Parasympathetic (opposite, rest and recuperation), decreases heart rate,
decreases blood pressure, constricts lung airways, constricts pupils, stimulates bladder, and
stimulates intestinal motility. Neurotransmitter = Acetylcholine
Lecture 5
Sympathomimetic: behaving like the sympathetic nervous system, activates the sympathetic
nervous system (Antagonists and agonists)
Sympatholytic: Blocks the sympathetic nervous system, activates the parasympathetic nervous
system
Parasympathomimetic: stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system
Parasympatholytic: Drug that blocks the parasympathetic nervous system
Solanaceous plant family, genus Solanum: Latin solamen = quieting. More than 75 genera
and more than 2000 species. Tell tale sign is the flower,, which is usually funnel shaped, five
fused petals. Most Solanaceous plants come from South America.
Carl von Linn, Linnaeus (1707-1778): Popularized the Latin binomial naming system (Genus
species)
Alkaloid: organic chemical that contains a basic nitrogen atom (N+), extremely poisonous and
has a bitter taste (Plants manufacture alkaloids as a defense against insects and other predators)
Acetylcholine (ACh) receptors: muscarinic & nicotinic: Muscarinic brain, parasympathetic
system, Nicotinic brain, neuromuscular system.
Tropane alkaloids: atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine: Powerful psychoactive plants
(atropa belladonna, mandragora officinarum, hyoscyamus niger, datura, brugmansia and
brunfelsia). CNS effects include impaired memory, amnesia, dreamy state of consciousness,
sleep, disorientation, confusion, hallucination, respiratory paralysis, seizures, and death
Muscarinic ACh antagonism: Reduces activity in the parasympathetic nervous system
(Parasympatholytic effects) and kick-starts the sympathetic nervous system (Increased heart rate,
dilation of lung airways, pupil dilation, reduction of saliva = dry mouth, difficulty urinating,
slowed intestinal mobility/constipation, possible cardiac instability/death). Used in contemporary
medicine (slows intestinal motility, pupil dilation for eye exams, asthma, anti-motion sickness)
Lecture 6
Hallucination: Hallucination from hallucinari, which means to wander in the mind. Atropine
alkaloids are some of the strongest hallucinogens around

Atropa belladonna: Native to Europe, Africa, Asia. Name from the 3 fates, last one, Atropos,
cuts thread of life, controlled death. Belladonna, beautiful woman, eyes get larger and see
woman as more beautiful
Mandragora officinarum: Native to Europe, Africa, Asia, looks like a human. Mandrake,
aphrodisiac.
Hyoscyamus niger: Henbane, Native to Europe, Africa, Asia
Datura: Native to Europe, Africa, Asia, Jimson weed, Thorn apple / Datura stramonium. Native
to Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia. Used to treat back pain. Shiva wore garland of Datura
blossoms
Brugmansia: Native to South America, angels trumpet
Nicotiana tabacum, Tobacco, shamanic uses, early history of USA: Native to South America,
Mayan priests smoked it about 600 years ago. The primary shamanic plant of the Americas.
Aromatic, cleansing herb, holy smoke to bind friendships (peace pipe), sealed covenants, had
healing and medicinal properties. It was possibly the oldest cultivated plant in the Americas,
predating cultivation of food plants. Routes of administration include smoking/inhalation,
chewing tobacco (oral-buccal), dry snuff/intranasal insufflation, oral-digestive and rectal.
Thanatopathia: Thanatopathia thanatos = death, made up
Jean Nicot (1530-1600): French ambassador. Around 1560, learned of tobacco from Portuguese
botanist, brought it to France. Nicotine and Nicotiana named after him
Richard Evans Schultes (1915-2001): Pioneering ethnobotanist from Harvard University
Nicotine: Nicotine is the primary (?) psychoactive alkaloid from tobacco, isolated from tobacco
in 1828. One of first medicinal molecules identified.
Nicotinic ACh receptor: Nicotine is an agonist at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors
Acute medicinal effects of tobacco and nicotine: stimulation and relaxation
Lecture 7
Acute toxic effects of nicotine: CNSstimulantandrelaxant,increasedalertnessandfocusof
attention,anxiolytic(disruptingnervousness)/grounding,enhancedREMsleepanddreaming,
increasedheartrateandbloodpressure,increasedmetabolicrate,startsinthebrainandgets
propagateddowntotheparasympatheticnervoussystem,nausea,andvomiting
LD-50: lethaldosefor50%ofthepopulation=thedosethatwillkillhalfofthepopulationof
thestudy.Fornicotine,theLD50is60milligramsinhumans(enoughin1packofcigarettesor
1cigartokillsomeone,butmostofitisburnt,expelledotherwaysandnotconsumed)
Tolerance: Tolerancedevelopstomanyofthetoxiceffectsofnicotine,suchasnauseaand
dizzinessandincreasedheartrate
Tobacco-related mortality: About430,000deathsperyearofthetotalannualUSdeathsper
yearof2.3million.
Chronic toxic effects of nicotine and tobacco: NicotineBiggesteffectoncardiovascular
system,increasedheartrate,vasoconstrictionandbloodpressure.Chroniccardiovascularstress,
precipitates/exacerbatescardiacarrhythmia,hypertension,atherosclerosis.Peripheralvascular
disease(impairedbloodflowtoextremities),increasedoccurrenceofheartattacksandstrokes.
TobaccoBiggesteffectisonlungs.Smokecontainsnumerouscarcinogenicmoleculestars,
increasedriskofrespiratoryinfections,bronchitis,COPD,emphysemaandlungcancer.
Increasedriskofcancersinthemouth,throat,andlarynx

Cardiovascular, carbon monoxide, respiratory disease: CarbonmonoxideBiggesteffectis

intheblood.Extremelypoisonous,outcompotesoxygenforbindingtohemoglobininredblood
cells,reducedoxygenationofentirebodyandcanresultinirreversiblebraindamagefromlossof
myelin
Light smoking and health: Norwegianstudyof43,000menandwomeninterviewedin1970s,
publishedin2002smoking14cigarettesperdaywerestillatahigherriskofdeath.
2009 Congressional Bill regulating tobacco: Light,lowtarandmilddoesntreallyexist
andcouldntbeadvertisedasbeingsafer.Also,flavoredcigaretteswerebanned
Effects of fetal and neonatal health: Decreasedfertilityinwomenwhosmoke,50%lower
chanceofpregnancyfromsmoking10+cigarettes/day,50%increaseinriskforspontaneous
abortion/miscarriage.FTSFetalTobaccoSyndrome,decreasedbirthweightandsizeatterm.
Increasedincidencesofprematurebirthandperinatalmortality.Unexplainedneonataldeath:
SIDS=SuddenInfantDeathSyndrome
Second-hand smoke: AKAEnvironmentalTobaccoSmoke(ETS),Sidestreamsmoke,or
PassiveSmoking.Canleadtocardiovasculardiseaselungdisease,asthma,bronchitis,
pneumonia(especiallyinchildren),Lowbirthweightofinfants,orSIDS.35,000+deathsper
yearintheUS
Addiction and addictive potential: theinabilitytocontrolonesuse.Oftenassociatedwith
withdrawalaffectsandadverseconsequencesinoneslife.Veryhighaddictivepotential.
Combinationofpharmacologic(chemicalway)andpsychosocialfactors.Doesnotinterferewith
functioningandisacceptedinsociety,easytoobtain,heavilyandsexilyadvertised
Nicotine withdrawal: Irritability,nervousness/anxiety/restlessness,difficultyconcentrating,
depressedmood,insomniaandothersleepdisturbances,increasedappetiteand/orweightgain
Additives to cigarettes: 599chemicalsubstancesaddedtotobaccoproductsrevealedin1994
Lecture8
Genetic susceptibility to nicotine addiction:
Rewarding aspects of tobacco use: Mentalstimulant,grounding/relaxing/calming/anxiolytic,
rapiddeliverytobrainwitheverypuff,manualandoralmanipulation(highleveloftouch
receptors),mindfulyogicattentiontothebreathsensualbreathing,socialbonding/ritualuse,or
antisocialescape
Tips for quitting smoking:
1)Decidepositivelythatyouwanttoquit(putyourheartintoit)
2)Pickaspecificquitdate
3)Tellothersaboutyourplan(thisputsonasocialpressure)
4)Conductaquittingritualthrowawayallyourparaphernalia
5)Planwaystodealwithcravings(chewgum,drinkwater,briskwalking,BREATHE)
6)Avoidtemptingsituations(thishelpstopreventcravings)
7)Learnandpracticenewskillsandbehaviors
8)Getsupportandencouragement
9)Rewardyourselffornotdoingit
10)Bepreparedforrelapse(mostsuccessfulquittershaveattemptedseveraltimes)

Pharmacologic aids: Nicotinereplacementtherapies(slowlygivelessandlessnicotine)Over

thecounter/nonprescriptionnicotinegum,nicotinetransdermalpatch,PrescriptionNicotine
nasalspray,nicotineinhaler.Chantixvareniclinetartrate,nicotinicacetylcholinereceptor
agonist.Allthingsworkbetterwhencouplesw/behavioral/supportprogram
Hookah: waterpipe,originIndiainthe1500s1600s.PeoplethoughtIfyoupasssmoke
throughwateritislesstoxic.Toxiceffectsasinothertobaccosmoking,perhapsgreater
toxicity?Coolsthesmokebutthemoleculesarentwatersoluble.Thecoolnessletsitbe
absorbedbettertoo
Clove cigarettes: Indonesia.Tobaccoflavoredwithoilofclove.Smokemaycontainhigher
concentrationsofnicotine,tarandcarbonmonoxide.Cloveisananesthetic,easiertosmoke
more,possiblymoretoxic
Pituri: Duboisiahopwoodii.SolanaceousplantnativetoAustralia.Containsnicotine.Leavesare
roasted,chewed,andsometimessmoked.Usedforpsychoactiveandmedicinalaffectsin
aboriginalculture
Prevalence: Percentofpopulationaffectedwithaparticularconditionorengaginginaparticular
behavior.Prevalenceofdiabetesorprevalenceofcocaineuseforexample.
National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH): surveysprevalenceofdrug
useforages12+annuallysince1971.About70,000peopleperyear.Prevalenceoftobaccouse,
25%=62millionAmericansages12+Ages2125havethehighestlevelofsmoking.1829is
wheretobaccousemosthappens.Aswomengetolder,pregnantwomensupportsmokingless,
buttheprevalenceishigheramongyoungerwomen(22andbelow).Educationlevelisastrong
predictorofcigarettesmoking.<Highschoolgrad35%;Highschoolgrad32%;Some
college28%;Collegegrad14%(decreased34%in1965)
Monitoring the Future data: MonitoringtheFuturesurveys812thgradersaboutdruguse.
8th -12th grade prevalence of tobacco use: Highestprevalenceamonghighschoolkids,ithas
overallrecentlydecreased.Studentsaremoreawareoftheriskofsmoking1+packaday
Alcohol use prevalence: 30%ofpeopleusealcoholbetweenages1220.Age2125,75%
peopledrinking,1820hasabout50%percentofuse.After2125,itstayshigh.Currentuse=at
leastonedrinkinthepast30days(includesbingeandheavy).Bingeuse=5+drinksonthe
sameoccasionatleastonceinthepast30days.Heavyuse=5+drinksonthesameoccasionon
5+differentdaysinamonth.Ages2125hastheheaviestamountofheavyalcoholuseandbinge
use
Alcohol laws in the USA: 1984NationalMinimumDrinkingAgeAct,allstatesspecify21as
theminimumdrinkingage.Otherwise,therewouldbelossofsomefederalfundingforhighways
EventhoughitiseverywhereaccordingtoNationalMinimumDrinkingAgeAct,itisillegalto
PURCHASEalcoholundertheageof21,butconsumptionislessregulated.