Deck 5: Drugs, Addiction, and Reward

Question 1

Which of the following is the defining feature of addiction?

A) whether or not the opiate system is involved
B) the severity of the withdrawal symptoms
C) whether or not the drug has a reinforcing effect
D) being preoccupied with a drug, compulsive use, and high likelihood of relapse

Answer 1

being preoccupied with a drug, compulsive use, and high likelihood of relapse

Question 2

Withdrawal symptoms produced by abstaining from a drug are ______.

A) seen only in narcotics
B) extremely severe in all cases
C) what maintains a drug habit
D) often opposite to the effects of the drug itself

Answer 2

often opposite to the effects of the drug itself

Question 3

Carrie was getting less sleep during midterms, so she began drinking one cup of coffee in the morning to feel more alert. By the end of the semester, Carrie was drinking three cups of coffee each morning to get the same sense of alertness. What has happened to Carrie?

A) Her nervous system has likely compensated to her prior coffee consumption by reducing sensitivity of receptors for caffeine.
B) She is experiencing withdrawal when she drinks coffee.
C) Coffee is no longer an agonist for her.
D) Coffee is no longer an antagonist for her.

Answer 3

Her nervous system has likely compensated to her prior coffee consumption by reducing sensitivity of receptors for caffeine.

Question 4

Carrie was getting less sleep during midterms so she began drinking one cup of coffee in the morning to feel more alert. By the end of the semester, Carrie was drinking three cups of coffee each morning to get the same sense of alertness. What has happened to Carrie?

A) She is experiencing tolerance to coffee.
B) Her nervous system is increasing her body's response to coffee.
C) She is experiencing withdrawal when she drinks coffee.
D) She will no longer crave coffee because its effects are diminished.

Question 5

Which phenomenon best accounts for overdoses seen in long-term users of drugs such as heroin?

A) withdrawal
B) addiction
C) tolerance
D) antagonism

Question 6

Opiates produce euphoria, which means they can ______.

A) induce sleep
B) make someone feel sad
C) make someone feel happy
D) increase anxiety

Question 7

Drugs that have been made to act on the same nervous system receptors as opiates are called ______.

A) opioids
B) hypnotics
C) nonaddictive opiates
D) heroin

Question 8

Brady recently broke a bone in his arm and underwent surgery to have the bone repaired. What type of drug would Brady's doctors have prescribed to treat his postoperative pain?

A) a stimulant
B) a depressant
C) an opiate
D) an opioid

Question 9

In a long-term study of heroin users, about ______ of the subjects were dead by age 46, with drug overdose being the most common cause of death.

A) 25%
B) 50%
C) 75%
D) 90%

Question 10

Eliza woke up in the emergency room, much to her surprise. The physician told her she was lucky that she had been found unconscious in her car. It didn't make sense to Eliza; she had shot up her usual dose, the same as yesterday, from the same old supplier, but she had never, ever administered her heroin in her car. Eliza had overdosed because ______.

A) she had panicked and the adrenaline reduced her tolerance
B) she had administered the drug in a novel environment
C) the heroin was most likely contaminated with another drug
D) the heroin was a designer drug to which she had no cross-tolerance

Question 11

Which of the following is true of heroin use?

A) Users experience intense euphoria followed by relaxation.
B) It rarely leads to conditioned tolerance.
C) Drug overdose is uncommon for this drug.
D) It often leads to withdrawal symptoms that are very severe.

Question 12

Depressants have which of the following effects?

A) stimulant
B) analgesic
C) euphoric
D) sedative

Question 13

Depressants ______ activity in the central nervous system.

A) reduce
B) increase
C) stabilize
D) multiply

Question 14

George describes himself as shy but finds that he feels much more confident in social situations after he has consumed a couple of beers. What property of beer is George experiencing?

A) sedative effect
B) anxiolytic effect
C) depressant effect
D) hypnotic effect

Question 15

Which of the following is likely to occur once a person reaches a BAC level of .46%?

A) They will commit a violent crime.
B) They will be arrested if found driving a car.
C) They will vomit.
D) They will die.

Question 16

Kelly went out drinking with her friends on Friday night. After one beer, she was feeling pretty energized, so she and her friends went to another bar, where she drank three more beers. By 1:00 a.m., Kelly was tired and caught a Lyft to her apartment. What will the remainder of Kelly's night be like?

A) Kelly will wake up a couple of hours after going to sleep.
B) Kelly will sleep so soundly that she will sleep through her alarm in the morning.
C) Kelly will be unable to go to sleep at all.
D) Kelly will sleep soundly but will experience dreams with very strange, almost hallucination-like qualities.

Question 17

Which of the following is true of Korsakoff's syndrome?

A) It results from long-term use of marijuana.
B) It can occur after using a drug for only a couple of weeks.
C) It involves severe memory loss.
D) It involves a vitamin D deficiency.

Question 18

Which of the following is true of delirium tremens?

A) It is a behavioral condition in which individuals exhibit anxiety, uncontrollable sweats, and a bad body odor.
B) It is an abnormal form of alcohol withdrawal.
C) It is seen in withdrawal from chronic opiate use.
D) It is characterized by hallucinations, delusions, and confusion.

Question 19

Seizures that occur during alcohol withdrawal are likely the result of ______.

A) compensatory increases in glutamate receptors after one-time alcohol use
B) compensatory increases in GABA receptors after long-term alcohol use
C) compensatory increases in glutamate receptors after long-term alcohol use
D) reductions in serotonin receptors after long-term alcohol use

Question 20

The relaxing effects of alcohol consumption result from the effects alcohol has on which receptors?

A) serotonin and dopamine
B) cannabinoid and serotonin
C) dopamine and GABA
D) GABA and glutamate

Question 21

The pleasurable feeling following alcohol consumption results from the effects alcohol has on which receptors?

A) serotonin and cannabinoid
B) GABA and glutamate
C) dopamine and GABA
D) acetylcholine and glutamate

Question 22

Alcohol exerts its major effects on the ______ receptor, a complex that has at least five kinds of receptors.

A) GABA_A
B) GABA_B
C) dopamine
D) serotonin

Question 23

What is likely to occur if someone consumes alcohol while also taking benzodiazepines?

A) reduced effectiveness of the benzodiazepines
B) reduced relaxation from the alcohol
C) increased sedative effects and possible death
D) mania

Question 24

Alison told her mother to mind her own business; even if she was pregnant, a single glass of wine was safe. Her mother bit her tongue, but she knew that ______.

A) mothers of babies diagnosed with FAS only drink slightly more alcohol than mothers of babies who do not develop FAS
B) FAS has been reported in babies whose mothers only consumed alcohol once during pregnancy
C) Alison's age made FAS more likely
D) red wine is particularly likely to produce FAS effects

Question 25

Which of the following is true of barbiturates?

A) They are currently the drug of choice for treating anxiety.
B) They are like alcohol in that they cause the release of glutamate.
C) They selectively act to inhibit behavior at high doses.
D) They are preferred over benzodiazepines because they are less dangerous.

Question 26

Problems that may be encountered with barbiturates use include ______.

A) addiction, if taken improperly
B) addiction, even when taken properly
C) aggression
D) vomiting

Question 27

Why did benzodiazepines replace barbiturates?

A) Benzodiazepines are not GABA agonists.
B) Benzodiazepines also have analgesic properties.
C) Benzodiazepines are less likely to produce an accidental overdose.
D) Barbiturates became difficult to obtain.

Question 28

Which of the following is true about Valium?

A) It works on the GABA_B receptor complex.
B) It is a barbiturate.
C) It directly opens chloride channels in the GABA receptor.
D) It can produce mental confusion.

Question 29

While benzodiazepines reduce anxiety, they can also produce which of the following undesirable effects?

A) amnesia
B) seizures
C) constipation
D) delirium tremens

Question 30

Marco had been having panic attacks and was experiencing high levels of anxiety. In addition to psychotherapy, his doctor also prescribed which type of medication to assist Marco?

A) alcohol
B) a benzodiazepine
C) a barbiturate
D) an opiate

Question 31

Marlena was at a party with her friends when she started to feel confused and tired. She had been drinking soda, not alcohol, but she passed out. Her friends took her to the hospital, and her doctors discovered that she had unknowingly consumed ______.

A) bath salts
B) methamphetamine
C) cocaine
D) Rohypnol

Question 32

Which of the following is a characteristic of stimulants?

A) analgesia
B) depression
C) an increase in arousal
D) anxiety reduction

Question 33

Cocaine produces which effect?

A) an increase in appetite
B) relaxation
C) a sense of calmness
D) euphoria

Question 34

Which of the following is true about cocaine?

A) At one time it could be purchased as an over-the-counter medication.
B) It was used as a general anesthetic.
C) It has only been used as a drug since the early 1900s.
D) Sigmund Freud was one of the first people to caution about the dangers of cocaine.

Question 35

How is cocaine usually administered?

A) by rubbing it on your skin
B) by smoking the freebase form
C) by baking it into food products such as brownies
D) by mixing the powder with alcohol and drinking it

Question 36

Which of the following is an accurate statement about dopamine?

A) It has an excitatory effect on the brain.
B) It enhances the effects of the cortex on lower brain structures.
C) It increases in the synapse when cocaine blocks its reuptake.
D) It is probably not involved in the stimulant effects of cocaine.

Question 37

Jerecho obviously did something in the bathroom at the club. While he was moody and tired when we went in, he came out very happy, alert, and aware of everyone staring at him. It was immediately obvious that he took ______ in the bathroom.

A) benzodiazepines
B) marijuana
C) PCP
D) cocaine

Question 38

Cocaine blocks reuptake of ______ at the synapses, producing stimulant effects.

A) serotonin and GABA
B) serotonin and dopamine
C) glutamate and GABA
D) dopamine and glutamate

Question 39

Why is treatment for cocaine abuse difficult?

A) The withdrawal symptoms are extreme.
B) There is little social pressure to decrease cocaine use.
C) Cocaine poses few health risks, so users do not see a need to quit.
D) Many addicts also have psychological disorders.

Question 40

Cocaine produces selective tolerance, meaning that a user ______.

A) can feel little high from cocaine but still be at risk for an overdose
B) will need to take much more cocaine than needed to obtain psychological effects in order to be at risk of an overdose
C) may feel little psychological high from cocaine but will also be protected against an overdose
D) is very likely to overdose during one of their first times using cocaine

Question 41

In one rodent study of drug use, 90% of rats that self-administered ______ died of drug overdose compared to only 36% of rats that self-administered heroin.

A) marijuana
B) cocaine
C) alcohol
D) barbiturates

Question 42

Which of the following is especially risky about cocaine use, based on what is known from research with rodents?

A) Cocaine has a high risk of addiction due to its extreme withdrawal symptoms.
B) Cocaine has a low risk of addiction due to its mild withdrawal symptoms.
C) Cocaine has a high risk of overdose due to its use by those with psychological disorders.
D) Cocaine has a high risk of overdose due to its selective tolerance.

Question 43

After years of using cocaine, John no longer seemed like the same person to his family. He showed poor ability to make decisions and had difficulty resisting the urge to act impulsively. If we examined John's brain, what would we expect to see that would account for cocaine's impact on John's behavior?

A) John will have less activity than expected in his prefrontal cortex.
B) John will have less activity than expected in his temporal lobes.
C) John will have more gray matter than expected in his prefrontal cortex.
D) John will have more gray matter than expected in his temporal lobes.

Question 44

Taking amphetamines causes increased release of the neurotransmitters ______.

A) norepinephrine and dopamine
B) serotonin and norepinephrine
C) GABA and glutamate
D) glutamate and dopamine

Question 45

Carly was brought to the hospital due to erratic behavior. She was convinced that her cat was trying to kill her. At first, the doctor thought that Carly might be suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, but when drug paraphernalia was found, the doctor decided that Carly had taken ______.

A) amphetamines
B) cocaine
C) marijuana
D) benzodiazepines

Question 46

The immediate effects of amphetamines are to energize behavior, but once coming down from the "high," users experience depression. Which impacted neurotransmitter accounts for this depression?

A) norepinephrine
B) epinephrine
C) dopamine
D) GABA

Question 47

Law enforcement officials have recently been concerned about people using ______ as drugs, which can result in decreased appetite, increased activity, hallucinations, paranoia, anxiety, seizures, and even death.

A) cocaine
B) alcohol
C) bath salts
D) cigarettes

Question 48

Overall, about ______ of people who try to stop smoking are still smoke free after 2 years.

A) 0%
B) 10%
C) 20%
D) 50%

Question 49

Which of the following is true about nicotine's effects?

A) Nicotine is the ingredient in cigarettes that causes increased cancer risk.
B) Nicotine inhibits dopamine neurons.
C) Nicotine stimulates the acetylcholine receptor.
D) Nicotine stimulates the endorphin receptor.

Question 50

Angel just went to her car for her lunch-break cigarette. Afterwards, she was in a much better mood, likely due to the effects of nicotine on ______.

A) nicotinic acetylcholine receptors
B) nicotinic dopamine receptors
C) serotonin receptors
D) opiate receptors

Question 51

The muscle twitching that may occur following cigarette smoking is the result of ______.

A) stimulating nicotinic acetylcholine receptors
B) blocking serotonin receptors
C) stimulating nicotinic dopamine receptors
D) shutting down epinephrine in the peripheral nervous system

Question 52

Which of the following are true of caffeine withdrawal symptoms?

A) They are permanent.
B) They include headaches and fatigue.
C) They are often severe.
D) They can be safely treated with alcohol.

Question 53

Which of the following is true of caffeine?

A) It is an illegal drug.
B) It is not considered a drug.
C) It is an abused stimulant.
D) It is an abused depressant.

Question 54

Anita just drank a 16-oz. latte and is feeling energized. What effects of caffeine have resulted in her increased energy?

A) blocking dopamine and acetylcholine receptors
B) additional release of adenosine
C) increased activity of adenosine at receptors
D) increased release of dopamine and acetylcholine

Question 55

MDMA acts as a stimulant at low doses, while it has ______ effects at higher doses.

A) hallucinatory
B) opiate
C) depressant
D) anxiolytic

Question 56

Dissociative psychedelics act on ______ receptors.

A) NMDA
B) serotonin
C) GABA
D) opiate

Question 57

Phencyclidine was developed as an anesthetic but abandoned for clinical use in humans because it ______.

A) destroys serotonergic neurons in the hindbrain
B) causes permanent memory loss, even at low doses
C) wasn't a strong enough anesthetic to be effective
D) produces schizophrenic symptoms

Question 58

Which of the following is true of PCP's impacts on the nervous system?

A) It excites all impacted receptors.
B) It inhibits all impacted receptors.
C) It has some excitatory and some inhibitory effects.
D) It only acts on dopamine receptors.

Question 59

PCP acts on which neurotransmitter systems?

A) glutamate and dopamine
B) dopamine and serotonin
C) GABA and glutamate
D) GABA and acetylcholine

Question 60

Which of the following is true about marijuana?

A) A mild form of marijuana is called hashish.
B) Its major psychoactive ingredient is THC.
C) Its major psychoactive ingredient is nicotine.
D) It is a synthetic drug.

Question 61

Which of the following best characterizes THC?

A) It is a stimulant.
B) It primarily acts on opiate receptors.
C) It acts on the same receptors as endogenous chemicals anandamide and 2-AG.
D) It primarily acts on GABA receptors.

Question 62

What effect will marijuana have on the nervous system?

A) It will reduce the reuptake of serotonin in the synapse.
B) It will increase release of dopamine.
C) It will bind to opiate receptors.
D) It will compete with other drugs for access to GABA receptors.

Question 63

Cannabinoid receptors ______.

A) in the hippocampus are responsible for the memory effects of cannabinoids
B) that are involved in muscle control are found in the frontal cortex
C) are most highly concentrated in the brain stem
D) are not found in the basal ganglia

Question 64

Why are patterns of brain activity due to drug use different than normal brain activity?

A) They shut down excitatory areas and stimulate inhibitory areas.
B) Drugs are things that are unnatural and do things the brain doesn't do.
C) Anything that creates withdrawal is causing damage to the brain.
D) They affect wide areas of the brain indiscriminately.

Question 65

If cannabinoid receptors were no longer located in the frontal cortex, which aspect of marijuana's effects would change?

A) Marijuana would no longer result in reduced muscle coordination.
B) Marijuana would no longer result in altered time perception.
C) Marijuana would no longer result in memory problems.
D) Marijuana would no longer result in movement impairments.

Question 66

Why are researchers particularly concerned about the effects of heavy marijuana smoking on the user, based on recent studies?

A) Daily use reduces the volume of the hippocampus and amygdala.
B) It causes memory deficits that persist at least a year after ceasing to smoke.
C) It causes major psychotic symptoms.
D) It produces cognitive deficits that are irreversible, regardless of length of use.

Question 67

Which of the following is true of the effects of marijuana on prenatal development?

A) They are evident at birth.
B) They have not been observed in animal studies of marijuana exposure.
C) They are too mild to warrant any restrictions on marijuana use by pregnant women.
D) They include later deficits in memory and language comprehension.

Question 68

Which of the following drugs produces effects from prenatal exposure that are the most difficult to detect?

A) cocaine
B) marijuana
C) alcohol
D) nicotine

Question 69

Which of the following is a possible medical use for marijuana that has some scientific support?

A) treatment for Parkinson's disease
B) treatment for hearing loss
C) pain relief
D) cognitive enhancer

Question 70

Which of the following supports the view that addiction should not be defined only by the user's desire to avoid withdrawal symptoms?

A) Only drugs of abuse produce withdrawal symptoms.
B) Many users purposely go through withdrawal to reset their tolerance level.
C) Severity of withdrawal symptoms is correlated with the degree to which a drug is addictive.
D) Addiction only occurs when a drug has already produced withdrawal symptoms.

Question 71

Which of the following is true of withdrawal symptoms?

A) They can be artificially produced by electrically stimulating the VTA.
B) They are modulated through the cerebellum.
C) They can be terminated by administration of an antagonist.
D) They are due to mechanisms separate from the mechanisms of addiction.

Question 72

Dr. Miller was lecturing on dopamine as the key neurotransmitter of reward and addiction; her main points were that rats will not press a lever for amphetamines or cocaine if given a drug that ______ dopamine activity, and the same drug will block the rewarding effects of ESB.

A) facilitates
B) agonizes
C) antagonizes
D) modulates

Question 73

Which of the following brain areas, when stimulated using ESB, results in reward?

A) occipital lobe
B) nucleus accumbens
C) thalamus
D) superior colliculus

Question 74

Which of the following brain areas is part of the mesolimbocortical dopamine system?

A) hippocampus
B) amygdala
C) septum
D) ventral tegmental area

Question 75

Cathy just gave her pet rat a Froot Loop as a special treat. How is the rat's brain likely responding to the enjoyable properties of this treat?

A) by decreasing serotonin reuptake in the cortex
B) by increasing dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens
C) by blocking acetylcholine levels in the hippocampus
D) by modulating GABA levels in the amygdala

Question 76

In what way are drugs and ESB different from natural rewards such as food, water, and sex?

A) Drugs and ESB have greater effects on dopamine in the mesolimbic pathway.
B) Drugs and ESB result in less dopamine increase in the nucleus accumbens than natural rewards do.
C) Drugs and ESB do not have rewarding effects through the mesolimbic pathway.
D) Animals are less likely to work to receive ESB or drugs than they are for natural rewards such as food.

Question 77

Which of the following supports a role of dopamine in addiction to drugs?

A) All drugs of abuse bind to dopamine receptors.
B) Dopaminergic neurons are located in the cortex of the brain.
C) Humans with the greatest drug-related increases in nucleus accumbens dopamine also experienced the most intense effects of drugs.
D) Dopaminergic neurons have been identified in the brains of rats, people, and nonhuman primates.

Question 78

Jackson suffered a stroke that severely damaged his nucleus accumbens. How will that impact his behavior?

A) Jackson will be more likely to become addicted to stimulant drugs.
B) Jackson will experience more relaxation from alcoholic beverages than he did before the stroke.
C) Jackson will experience more euphoria from caffeinated beverages than he did before the stroke.
D) Jackson will experience less euphoria from caffeinated beverages than he did before the stroke.

Question 79

Karen started using meth when she was 15. Now she is 35 and continues to use meth. What is true of Karen?

A) Karen no longer finds food or sex very exciting.
B) Karen is not addicted to meth.
C) Karen also uses psychedelic drugs.
D) Karen no longer gets much dopamine increase from the places where she uses meth.

Question 80

Which of the following is one way that the brain's reward system changes in response to long-term drug use?

A) Overall dopamine levels are increased in this system.
B) The brain shows hyperfrontality.
C) Parts of the brain that are involved in decision making and inhibition show reduced activity.
D) Ending drug use quickly reduces activity in the amygdala.