Deck 18: Substance Abuse

Question 1

The drug _______ blocks reuptake of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin.

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

Answer 1

D

Question 2

A drug that affects the GABA and glutamate systems is

A) alcohol.
B) marijuana.
C) LSD.
D) cocaine.
E) nicotine.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Volkow and colleagues, using an imaging technique, reported that release of dopamine in the ________ was increased by human exposure to drug-associated cues.

A) dorsal striatum
B) ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC)
C) hypothalamus
D) hippocampus
E) amygdala

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following is an explanation of why drug abusers prefer heroin over morphine?

A) Heroin is cheaper than morphine.
B) Morphine enters the brain faster than does morphine.
C) Heroin is less lipid-soluble than is morphine.
D) Heroin exerts effects on the brain faster than does morphine.
E) Morphine is cheaper than heroin.

Question 5

With drug use, ___________ are seen in dopamine D1 receptors, which cause excitation and facilitate behavior, and _________ are seen in dopamine D2 receptors, which cause inhibition and suppress behavior.

A) increases; decreases
B) increases; increases
C) decreases; decreases
D) decreases; increases
E) fluctuations; increases

Question 6

Which of the following statements regarding substance abuse is most accurate?

A) Drugs of abuse cause inhibition of synapses in the ventral tegmental area.
B) Drugs of abuse promote changes in the ventral tegmental area that result in the insertion of AMPA receptors, which facilitate learning.
C) Drugs result in inhibition of the dorsal striatum.
D) Drug habits are difficult to form.
E) Drug habits are typically easy to quit.

Question 7

Which of the following is true of the neural substrates of reinforcement?

A) Aversive stimuli do not increase dopamine levels within the accumbens.
B) Release of dopamine within the accumbens is a necessary condition for reinforcement.
C) Damage to brain dopamine systems enhances the reinforcing properties of addictive drugs.
D) Release of dopamine within the accumbens is a sufficient condition for reinforcement.
E) Drugs that increase dopamine by blocking reuptake are not addictive.

Question 8

Early changes in the brain during exposure to addictive drugs involves the insertion of ________ receptors into neuron membranes located within the ________.

A) GABA; hippocampus
B) D2; nucleus accumbens
C) AMPA; VTA
D) glycine; VTA
E) AMPA; amygdala

Question 9

Microdialysis studies indicate that administration of ________ will enhance extracellular dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens.

A) alcohol, PCP, or amphetamine
B) glycine
C) caffeine
D) LSD
E) GABA antagonists

Question 10

Match up the correct pairing of a drug with its site of action.

A) cocaine; blocks reuptake of dopamine
B) ethanol; release of norepinephrine
C) amphetamine; release of acetylcholine
D) ketamine; blocks reuptake of dopamine
E) cannabis; nicotinic ACh receptor agonist

Question 11

The key property of drugs that are frequently abused relates to

A) their capacity to produce tolerance.
B) the withdrawal that follows termination of the drug.
C) their rapid reinforcing effects.
D) their ability to inhibit dopamine in brain.
E) their ability to produce rapidly physical dependence.

Question 12

The drug _______ is an agonist at CB1 receptors.

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

Question 13

Match up the correct pairing of a drug with its site of action.

A) cocaine; nicotinic ACh receptor agonist
B) ethanol; release of norepinephrine
C) amphetamine; release of dopamine
D) ketamine; blocks reuptake of dopamine
E) cannabis; nicotinic ACh receptor agonist

Question 14

Which drug administration route would be least reinforcing?

A) oral administration
B) injection
C) smoking
D) snorting
E) All of these are not reinforcing.

Question 15

The common aspect of all natural reinforcers relates to

A) the release of dopamine within the nucleus accumbens.
B) the release of norepinephrine within the locus coeruleus.
C) the release of dopamine within the lateral hypothalamus.
D) inactivation of the frontal cortex.
E) activation of the medulla.

Question 16

Drugs are reinforcing when

A) they cause good feelings.
B) there is a long interval between a response and the drug onset.
C) the drug onset is slow and steady.
D) they rapidly activate the reinforcement mechanism.
E) the drug has an extremely delayed onset of action.

Question 17

All natural reinforcers that have been studied to date cause the release of ______________ in the nucleus accumbens.

A) dopamine
B) norepinephrine
C) serotonin
D) epinephrine
E) cortisol

Question 18

Activation of neurons within the ________ appears to play a key role in the early reinforcing actions of drugs.

A) thalamus
B) nucleus accumbens
C) amygdala
D) dorsal striatum
E) hippocampus

Question 19

A substance that is a positive reinforcer

A) increases behavior by adding a positive reward.
B) decreases a behavior by adding a positive reward.
C) increases behavior by taking away something bad.
D) decreases behavior by taking away something bad.
E) is equally as powerful as a negative reinforcer.

Question 20

Activation of neurons within the ________ during repeated drug injection appears to play a key role in the compulsive nature of drug abuse.

A) hippocampus
B) nucleus accumbens
C) amygdala
D) dorsal striatum
E) hypothalamus

Question 21

Persons in the ________ age group are MOST likely to abuse drugs.

A) 10-14
B) 20-30
C) 55-75
D) 15-18
E) 31-54

Question 22

When a drug user experiences withdrawal symptoms and takes the drug to alleviate those symptoms, this is

A) negative punishment.
B) negative reinforcement.
C) positive punishment.
D) positive reinforcement.
E) punishment.

Question 23

Which of the following illustrates the concept of punishment?

A) A man ingests an aspirin to rid himself of a strong headache.
B) A hungry rat presses a lever to obtain a food pellet.
C) A rat presses a lever that results in delivery of a shock through the floor of the chamber.
D) A woman injects heroin into her veins to obtain a "rush."
E) A child is given a cookie after screaming at the dinner table.

Question 24

________ refers to a compulsion to take a drug.

A) Drug tolerance
B) Allostasis
C) Craving
D) Homeostasis
E) Withdrawal

Question 25

Which of the following illustrates the concept of craving?

A) A man ingests an aspirin to rid himself of a strong headache.
B) A hungry rat presses a lever to obtain a food pellet.
C) A rat presses a lever that results in delivery of a shock through the floor of the chamber.
D) A woman injects heroin into her veins to obtain a "rush."
E) An injection of cocaine reinstates responding for intravenous cocaine in a rat that underwent extinction of cocaine responding.

Question 26

Which of the following is true regarding stress and substance abuse?

A) Rats did not demonstrate an increase in drug use based on stressful events, such as being defeated by a dominant rat.
B) Administration of corticotropin releasing hormone can reinstate drug-taking behavior.
C) Administration of corticotropin releasing hormone antagonist can reinstate drug-taking behavior.
D) Isolated baby rats did not readily take cocaine when given the opportunity to as adults.
E) There is no relation between stress and drug use.

Question 27

Long-term drug use can result in

A) elevated dopamine production in the VTA.
B) greater activation of the prefrontal cortex.
C) structural abnormalities of the prefrontal cortex.
D) superior gambling performance.
E) longer life span and better mental adjustment.

Question 28

Which of the following situations would be likely to induce the greatest craving in an alcoholic?

A) talking to a friend who has just been released from drug rehabilitation
B) sitting in his or her favorite bar during happy hour
C) viewing a television commercial for Budweiser
D) riding a bus through his or her childhood town
E) hearing glass break glass

Question 29

Which of the following illustrates the concept of negative reinforcement?

A) A woman injects heroin into her veins to obtain a "rush."
B) A hungry rat presses a lever to obtain a food pellet.
C) A rat presses a lever that results in delivery of a shock through the floor of the chamber.
D) A man ingests an aspirin to rid himself of a strong headache.
E) A child is sent to his room after screaming at the dinner table.

Question 30

During abstinence, the activity of the ___________ prefrontal cortex of people who abused cocaine was lower than that of non-cocaine-using participants.

A) dorsal
B) ventromedial
C) dorsolateral
D) medial
E) rostral

Question 31

Which of the following factors is a predictor of your risk for hospitalization for schizophrenia?

A) your religious preference
B) smoking more than 10 cigarettes per day
C) whether you had served in the military
D) consuming at least 10 diet drinks per day
E) having a friend who developed schizophrenia

Question 32

A rat is trained to self-administer cocaine. Saline is substituted for the cocaine solution, which results in extinction of responding. In this situation, the capacity for a "free" shot of cocaine to reinstate responding for cocaine can be blocked by

A) injection of AMPA into the ventromedial prefrontal cortex.
B) injection of a dopamine agonist into the nucleus accumbens.
C) glutamate induced activation of the ventral tegmental area.
D) injection of a dopamine agonist into the prefrontal cortex.
E) injection of glycine into the ventromedial prefrontal cortex.

Question 33

Which statement below is true?

A) Withdrawal symptoms and tolerance are the result of compensatory mechanisms.
B) The withdrawal symptoms that occur in heroin addicts are less dangerous than those that occur in alcoholics.
C) Withdrawal symptoms are usually less intense versions of the drug effect.
D) Drug abuse is caused by physical dependence.
E) Cocaine abuse is the result of physical dependence.

Question 34

______________________ occurs when an organism performs a behavior to avoid a negative consequence. For example, a child may clean his or her room to avoid getting in trouble with his or her mother.

A) Negative punishment
B) Negative reinforcement
C) Positive punishment
D) Positive reinforcement
E) Punishment

Question 35

Which of the following is a model for the study of drug craving?

A) intravenous self-administration
B) the homeostasis model
C) incentive salience conditioning
D) the reinstatement model
E) the rapid acquisition model

Question 36

An important comorbidity of schizophrenia is

A) depression.
B) mania.
C) gambling disorder.
D) substance abuse disorder.
E) borderline personality disorder.

Question 37

Neurons within the ________ facilitate drug craving.

A) medial prefrontal cortex
B) hippocampus
C) dorsal anterior cingulate cortex
D) hypothalamus
E) cerebellum

Question 38

Imaging studies suggest that the activity of the _______ is inversely proportional to the amount of cocaine that users take each week.

A) medial prefrontal cortex
B) hypothalamus
C) dorsal anterior cingulated cortex
D) nucleus accumbens
E) ventral tegmental area

Question 39

Studies by Volkow indicate that cocaine addicts exhibit ________ during withdrawal from cocaine.

A) increased activation of the orbitofrontal cortex
B) increased blood flow in the prefrontal cortex
C) increased blood flow in the anterior cingulate cortex
D) decreased activation of the medial prefrontal cortex
E) decreased dopamine production in the nucleus accumbens

Question 40

Infusions of the neuropeptide ________ into the ________ reinstates drug taking that was previously extinguished.

A) leptin; orbitofrontal cortex
B) insulin; nucleus accumbens
C) glycine; VTA
D) glutamate; nucleus accumbens
E) orexin; VTA

Question 41

Imaging studies indicate that greater consumption of cocaine produces

A) increased activation of the orbitofrontal cortex.
B) increased blood flow in the prefrontal cortex.
C) increased blood flow in the anterior cingulate cortex.
D) decreased activation of the medial prefrontal cortex.
E) decreased dopamine production in the nucleus accumbens.

Question 42

Which statement regarding alcohol is most accurate?

A) Twin studies suggest that alcohol abuse is not genetic.
B) Alcohol is not used to reduce anxiety.
C) The gene that regulates production of alcohol dehydrogenase may attribute to alcoholism susceptibility.
D) Alcoholism is purely genetic.
E) In the U.S., 10 percent of people drink 100% of the alcohol.

Question 43

The experience of stress has been found to

A) increase the amount of cocaine self-administered by rats.
B) reduce the high produced by cocaine.
C) render rats resistant to the reinforcing effects of cocaine.
D) block the craving for cocaine in abstinent addicts.
E) inactivate orexin neurons in the lateral hypothalamus.

Question 44

Administration of a drug that is an agonist at only mu receptors would be expected to produce

A) hyperthermia.
B) arousal.
C) sedation.
D) reinforcement.
E) dysphoria.

Question 45

Research suggests that ______________ may be used to decrease the rewarding effects of cocaine.

A) dopamine agonists
B) dopamine antagonists
C) serotonin agonists
D) sirtuin agonists
E) sirtuin antagonists

Question 46

Match up the correct pairing of opiate receptor and opiate effect. Question is same as previous; previous answer (kappa; aversive) is also included here, but is not identified as the correct answer this time.

A) mu; sedating
B) delta; aversive
C) kappa; aversive
D) mu; aversive
E) mu; reinforcing

Question 47

Opiate receptors are located in a variety of areas in the brain. Which brain area and resulting effect of opiates match?

A) periaqueductal gray matter; hypothermia
B) mesencephalic reticular formation; hypothermia
C) mesencephalic reticular formation; sedation
D) preoptic area; sedation
E) periaqueductal gray matter; sedation

Question 48

Opiate receptors in the ________ are responsible for the analgesia caused by opiate drugs.

A) nucleus accumbens
B) preoptic area
C) periaqueductal gray matter
D) mesencephalic reticular formation
E) ventral segmental area

Question 49

Susceptibility to alcoholism is most likely linked to variability in

A) family patterns of alcohol abuse.
B) emotional dependence.
C) reactivity to environmental stressors.
D) lack of guilt about drinking.
E) metabolism of alcohol.

Question 50

Which of the following is true of opiate reinforcement?

A) Opiates cause release of dopamine within the hippocampus.
B) Injections of opiates into the spinal cord are reinforcing.
C) Injections of opiates into the VTA are reinforcing.
D) Natural rewards involve cholinergic and opiate systems.
E) Naloxone blocks cocaine reinforcement.

Question 51

Alcohol consumption is not distributed equally across the population; in the United States, _____ percent of the people drink _____ percent of the alcohol.

A) 10; 50
B) 50; 10
C) 15; 25
D) 25; 50
E) 50; 25

Question 52

You would expect that an injection of an opiate drug into the ________ would activate dopamine neurons in the nucleus accumbens.

A) ventral tegmental area
B) medial septal region
C) periaqueductal gray matter
D) preoptic area
E) cingulate cortex
Difficulty 2

Question 53

Match up the correct pairing of opiate receptor and opiate effect.

A) mu; sedating
B) delta; aversive
C) kappa; aversive
D) mu; aversive
E) kappa; reinforcing

Question 54

The analgesic effect of opiates is due to activation of neurons within the

A) cerebellum.
B) medulla.
C) periaqueductal gray matter.
D) preoptic area.
E) spinal cord.

Question 55

A common factor that promotes relapse in recovered drug addicts is

A) the experience of stress.
B) taking up smoking.
C) going on a diet for weight loss.
D) inactivation of the central nucleus of the amygdala.
E) taking on a new career.

Question 56

Administration of an opiate drug that is an agonist at only kappa receptors would be expected to produce

A) hypothermia.
B) analgesia.
C) sedation.
D) reinforcement.
E) an aversive state.

Question 57

Which of the following is true of opiate abuse?

A) Heroin use is legal to use under medical supervision.
B) The opiate habit is inexpensive.
C) Opiates are not addictive.
D) Needle-using opiate addicts are at risk for contracting HIV.
E) Rats will self-administer morphine but not heroin.

Question 58

Administration of an opiate

A) decreases locomotor activity.
B) raises body temperature.
C) induces pain.
D) causes arousal.
E) results in reinforcement.

Question 59

Nicotinic ACh receptors that contain the α5 subunit, found on neurons in the medial habenula, play a role in ______________ the reinforcing effects of nicotine.

A) inhibiting
B) exciting
C) stabilizing
D) having no effect on
E) stimulating

Question 60

Opiate receptors in the ________ are responsible for the sedation caused by opiate drugs.

A) nucleus accumbens
B) preoptic area
C) periaqueductal gray matter
D) mesencephalic reticular formation
E) ventral segmental area

Question 61

Which of the following is true of cocaine?

A) Crack cocaine may be the most effective reinforcer of all available drugs.
B) Cocaine produces the same physical and behavioral effects as heroin.
C) Cocaine abuse causes strong physical dependence.
D) Cocaine is the least addictive of the psychostimulant drugs.
E) Cocaine is a dopamine antagonist.

Question 62

Alcohol use produces negative reinforcement by

A) stimulating the emesis center in the brainstem.
B) activating dopamine receptors within the VTA.
C) loosening inhibitions.
D) activating a hypothalamic satiety mechanism.
E) relieving anxiety.

Question 63

The capacity of smoking to reduce appetite may result from

A) inhibition of lateral hypothalamic MCH neurons.
B) potentiation of dopamine cell activity in the ventral tegmental area.
C) release of glutamate in the lateral hypothalamus.
D) activation of lateral hypothalamic GABA receptors that excite MCH neurons.
E) activation of cells of the insula.

Question 64

A person who is admitted to a hospital with symptoms of paranoid psychosis may actually suffer from

A) opiate abuse.
B) a chemical imbalance involving the dopamine system.
C) damage to the orbitofrontal cortex.
D) excessive use of caffeine.
E) excessive use of amphetamine or cocaine.

Question 65

Which of the following statements is true of nicotine abuse?

A) Nicotine is addictive but is a harmless habit.
B) "Nicotine use is a habit, not an addiction."
C) Most smokers smoke every other day.
D) Smokers often continue to smoke after lung cancer or heart attacks.
E) Animals do not self-administer nicotine.

Question 66

The primary mode of action by which alcohol can produce apoptosis is as a(n)

A) direct agonist at GABA_A receptors.
B) agonist at α1 adrenoceptors.
C) direct antagonist at GABA_A receptors.
D) indirect antagonist at glycine receptors.
E) cholinergic agonist.

Question 67

Which of the following may explain why smokers obtain more pleasure from smoking in the morning than late in the afternoon?

A) Nicotine receptors are in the open state in the morning.
B) Nicotine receptors are in the closed state in the evening.
C) Abstinence from nicotine has reset their nicotine receptors to the closed state.
D) Smoking decreases the number of nicotine receptors in the brain.
E) Smoking decreases the number of nicotine receptors outside the brain.

Question 68

Cocaine and amphetamine both increase dopamine action. Cocaine specifically _______________ and amphetamine __________________.

A) blocks the dopamine transporter; stimulates the autoreceptor
B) stimulates the release of dopamine; stimulates the autoreceptor
C) blocks the dopamine transporter; stimulates the release of dopamine
D) stimulates the release of dopamine; blocks the dopamine transporter
E) stimulates the autoreceptor; blocks the dopamine transporter

Question 69

The drug rimonabant

A) stimulates CB2 receptors in the brain.
B) facilitates nicotine self-administration in rats.
C) increases the release of dopamine with the nucleus accumbens.
D) blocks nicotine receptors.
E) diminishes craving for smoking during smoking cessation.

Question 70

Infusion of an inhibitory drug into the ____________ would be expected to reduce nicotine self-administration in rats.

A) dorsomedial PFC
B) anterior cingulate cortex
C) insula
D) hippocampus
E) amygdala

Question 71

Chronic abuse of methamphetamine reduces the number of dopamine transporters in the brain, which may explain why these addicts

A) are rarely overweight.
B) develop depression while using this drug.
C) are more prone to develop Parkinson's disease as they age.
D) move on to "harder" drugs as they get older.
E) are less prone to Parkinson's disease as they age.

Question 72

Rats are made dependent on morphine and then given an injection of naloxone while housed in a novel cage. You would expect these rats to express

A) an aversion to the cage in which naloxone caused withdrawal.
B) fewer kappa receptors in the forebrain.
C) more mu receptors in the forebrain.
D) an attraction to the cage in which naloxone caused withdrawal.
E) more consumption of water in the home cage.

Question 73

________________ has effects that are so potent and rapid that it is probably the most effective reinforcer of all available drugs.

A) Crack cocaine
B) Ecstasy
C) Alcohol
D) Heroin
E) Ketamine

Question 74

Which of the following statements is true of cocaine?

A) Cocaine administration decreases dopamine within the nucleus accumbens.
B) Damage to the amygdala impairs cocaine reinforcement.
C) Cocaine abuse can produce obsessive-compulsive disorder.
D) Drugs that block GABA receptors within the nucleus accumbens impair cocaine reinforcement.
E) Rats will self-administer cocaine into their vascular system.

Question 75

The reinforcing effect of nicotine appears to be caused by _________ of nicotinic receptors in the ______________.

A) activation; ventral tegmental area
B) activation; nucleus accumbens
C) inactivation; nucleus accumbens
D) inactivation; ventral tegmental area
E) activation; lateral hypothalamus

Question 76

Evidence from individuals who suffered a stroke and easily quit smoking afterwards suggests that the ____________ is involved in nicotine abuse.

A) vmPFC
B) ventral tegmental area
C) accumbens
D) insula
E) hippocampus

Question 77

At low doses, alcohol

A) inhibits cerebellar function.
B) has an anxiolytic effect.
C) reduces body temperature.
D) decreases GABA activity.
E) inhibits the spinal cord, thereby blocking incoming pain messages.

Question 78

Research using antagonist-precipitated withdrawal indicates that the ________ plays a key role in producing opiate withdrawal symptoms.

A) amygdala
B) orbitofrontal cortex
C) hypothalamus
D) locus coeruleus
E) reticular formation

Question 79

When an individual uses opiate drugs,

A) he or she will not need to take more opiates to achieve the same high with repeated use.
B) she risks creating dependency on opiates in her unborn child if she is pregnant when she uses.
C) opiate receptors in the amygdala respond.
D) they do not typically result in abuse.
E) it causes stimulation, much like a stimulant.

Question 80

Which statement regarding nicotine use is most accurate?

A) Approximately a quarter of the adult population of the world smokes.
B) Smoking by pregnant women is potentially worse for the fetus than cocaine usage.
C) Many smokers are able to smoke few cigarettes a day.
D) The abuse potential of nicotine is low.
E) Nicotine is less addictive than is LSD.