Deck 6: Abuse and Addiction to Barbiturates and Barbiturate-Like Compounds

Question 1

Which of the following statements is most true?

A) Barbiturates continue to be a relatively popular drug of abuse.
B) Some physicians are now starting to prescribe barbiturates to avoid the paperwork associated with the prescription of other controlled compounds.
C) Barbiturates are frequently abused by professional football players for the drug's ability to control the stress that they experience in major games.
D) Barbiturates are a minor ingredient of "energy drinks" to counteract the effects of the caffeine that are their main component.

Answer 1

Some physicians are now starting to prescribe barbiturates to avoid the paperwork associated with the prescription of other controlled compounds.

Question 2

Which of the following statements is most accurate of the anxiety disorders?

A) They are collectively the most common form of psychiatric diagnosis.
B) They are the third most common form of psychiatric diagnosis after depression and psychotic disorders.
C) They have no relationship to the sufferers' lifestyles.
D) They are always reflected in obsessive-compulsive disorders.

Answer 2

They are collectively the most common form of psychiatric diagnosis.

Question 3

At the height of their popularity

A) more than one million pounds of barbiturate compounds were manufactured in the United States each year.
B) more than one million pounds of barbiturate compounds were manufactured globally.
C) barbiturates were only a laboratory curiosity for chemists, without medical application.
D) barbiturates were never rejected as an agent for lethal injection.

Answer 3

more than one million pounds of barbiturate compounds were manufactured in the United States each year.

Question 4

Barbituric acid has been found to be

A) a potent hallucinogenic.
B) twice as strong as diazepam as an anxiolytic compound.
C) difficult to digest when consumed with foods that are highly acidic.
D) biologically inactive.

Question 5

Barbiturate withdrawal is potentially life threatening.

Question 6

Barbiturates should not be mixed with

A) alcohol.
B) MAO inhibitors.
C) antihistamines.
D) all of these answers.

Question 7

The bromide salts were initially introduced as

A) a treatment for insomnia, and later, when it was discovered they also have anti-seizure effects, as an anticonvulsant.
B) a treatment for seizures, and later, when it was discovered they help calm the user, as a treatment for anxiety.
C) a treatment for gastric distress caused by impure water, until it was discovered they had anti-seizure effects.
D) a method of self-discovery by Elizabethan drug abusers.

Question 8

According to your text, chloral hydrate is technically

A) a natural cannabinoid.
B) a prodrug.
C) safe to use in persons with gastric disorders.
D) relatively nonaddictive.

Question 9

Each year in the U.S., approximately of the population will experience at least transitory symptoms of insomnia.

A) 33 percent
B) 10 percent
C) 50 percent
D) 25 percent

Question 10

When barbiturate molecules are circulated throughout the body, the highest concentrations are found in the

A) kidney.
B) liver.
C) brain.
D) liver and brain.

Question 11

The dose-dependent effect of the early anxiolytic/hypnotic drugs means they could produce in the user.

A) sedation
B) sleep
C) death
D) all of these

Question 12

Barbiturates are helpful to people with ADHD.

Question 13

Individuals with problems with their are especially at risk of experiencing "barbiturate hangovers."

A) liver
B) kidney
C) heart
D) lungs

Question 14

Which of the following is one of the major disadvantages of paraldehyde?

A) Cardio-suppressant effects
B) Noxious taste and odor on breath
C) Staining properties on the user's teeth
D) Addictive effects (about half those of) alcohol

Question 15

When an individual overdoses on a barbiturate, they will most likely experience

A) a stroke.
B) respiratory depression.
C) a manic episode.
D) a seizure.

Question 16

Bromide salts are no longer available in the United States.

Question 17

Jorge has just discontinued use of barbiturates that he was using regularly to help him sleep. He is likely to experience

A) deeper sleep than ever before.
B) REM rebound.
C) a lack of dreams during his sleep.
D) decreased anxiety.

Question 18

When used at higher than recommended doses, diphenhydramine can induce a state of

A) impaired hearing.
B) tardive dyskenisia.
C) delirium.
D) anemia.

Question 19

Barbiturates are used as part of the lethal injection for the death penalty.

Question 20

The use of barbiturates is discouraged because of

A) their narrow therapeutic window.
B) their inefficacy as a sedative or a hypnotic drug.
C) their high lethality in overdose situations.
D) their narrow therapeutic window and high lethality in overdose situations.

Question 21

According to your text, the barbiturates

A) have a very limited role in modern medicine.
B) typically exacerbate seizure disorders in patients predisposed to such conditions.
C) are not contraindicated for commercial or civilian pilots.
D) are the drug of choice for the aggressive treatment of GABA/NMDA inhibition disorders.

Question 22

Compare and contrast the different classifications of barbiturates.

Question 23

Discuss some of the early treatments for anxiety and insomnia.

Question 24

Barbiturates can

A) induce an amphetamine-like state of mania.
B) induce respiration arrest at high dosage levels.
C) increase respiration to the point at which it triggers an anxiety attack in persons with ADHD.
D) not induce tolerance.

Question 25

Describe some of the barbiturate­like drugs that have developed since the 1950s. Why were they developed?

Question 26

Following medical convention, your text groups the barbiturates together on the basis of their

A) degree of NMDA antagonistic action.
B) ability to force the GABAa ion channel to remain open.
C) ability to enhance the effects of GABAa at the receptor site.
D) duration of effect.

Question 27

A(n) is occasionally encountered after a patient takes a barbiturate, even at recommended doses.

A) increase in heart rate to possibly dangerous levels
B) paradoxical increase in theta wave activity on the EEG while the patient is awake
C) increase in respiration to possibly fatal levels
D) paradoxical rage reaction

Question 28

What are the subjective effects of barbiturates at normal dosage levels?

Question 29

Barbiturates can when used as a hypnotic.

A) cause a paradoxical increase in theta wave activity on the EEG while the patient is asleep
B) cause an increase in "spindles" and "spikes" seen on the EEG during Stage II sleep
C) help the user pass from Stage I to Stage II sleep more easily
D) interfere with normal REM sleep

Question 30

What are some of the potential drug interactions involving barbiturates?