Deck 9: Psychotherapeutic Agents

Question 1

Which of the following environmental factors may contribute to mental illness?

A) Drug abuse
B) Trauma
C) Stress
D) Bacterial or viral infection
E) All the above

Answer 1

E

Question 2

The typical or first generation antipsychotic drugs are thought to work, at least in part, by doing which of the following?

A) Blocking GABA receptors
B) Increasing dopamine levels in the brain
C) Antagonizing dopamine receptors in the brain.
D) Significantly lowering serotonin levels
E) Suppressing adrenergic activity throughout the body

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Side effects of antipsychotic drugs that are referred to as extrapyramidal effects can mimic which disease?

A) Alzheimer's disease
B) Parkinson's disease
C) Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS)
D) Senile dementia
E) Muscular dystrophy

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following is one of the major, problematic side effects of second-generation "atypical" antipsychotic drugs?

A) Inability to sleep
B) Significant loss of appetite
C) Constipation and bloating
D) Unhealthy weight gain
E) Deterioration of vision

Question 5

The benzodiazepines are a fairly large class of drugs with varying degrees of which properties?

A) Anxiolytic properties
B) Anti-convulsant properties
C) Muscle relaxant properties
D) Sedative properties
E) All of the above

Question 6

Benzodiazepines bind and alter the activity of which of the following?

A) GABA_A-receptor
B) Dopamine D₂ receptor
C) Serotonin 5-HT₂ receptor
D) Norepinephrine transporter (NET)
E) Muscarinic receptor

Question 7

What is one of the most prevalent inhibitory neurotransmitters in the brain?

A) Dopamine
B) Serotonin
C) Epinephrine
D) Norepinephrine
E) GABA

Question 8

At certain synapses in the brain, antidepressant drugs selectively do which of the following?

A) Increase GABA
B) Increase serotonin
C) Increase epinephrine
D) Decrease dopamine
E) Decrease serotonin

Question 9

The costs associated with mental illness are only a fraction of the costs associated with cardiovascular disease.

Question 10

Many of the drugs available to treat mental illness effectively cure the disease.

Question 11

Genetic approaches are helping to resolve many of the issues associated with diagnosing mental illness and developing potential new treatments.

Question 12

Normal anxiety, often experienced under stressful conditions, can lead to enhanced productivity or motivation.

Question 13

Aged rats have fewer benzodiazepine binding sites in their brain than young rats and exercise can reverse this trend.

Question 14

Patients on benzodiazepines can fail field sobriety tests if pulled over while driving, because their poor driving can be similar to driving under the influence of alcohol.

Question 15

Rates of depression worldwide are decreasing due to better awareness and better drug treatment.

Question 16

Antidepressant drugs increase BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) in the brain and BDNF is an important mediator of neurogenesis.

Question 17

In rats, exercise increases BDNF levels and stimulates neurogenesis in brain regions similar to that stimulated by antidepressant drugs.

Question 18

Lithium prevents relapses of manic and depressive episodes, although it may take time to effectively dose the patient.

Question 19

The brain has the capacity to undergo significant change including neurogenesis, a process referred to as ___________.

Question 20

A generic term used for many types of mental disorders that are manifested by the loss of contact with reality is ___________.