PSYC 311 Chapter Notes - Chapter 18.9: Opioid Receptor, Opiate, Antipsychotic

• School: McGill University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 311
• Professor: Michalakis Petrides

Document Summary

This drug is not marketed because people may very well drink themselves to death without becoming drunk in the process. Alcohol has potentially fatal effects on all cells in the body, destabilizing cell membranes for example. The reinforcing effect of alcohol is at least partly caused by its ability to trigger the release of endogenous opioids. Several studies have shown that the opiate receptor blockers block the reinforcing effects of alcohol in a variety of species. In addition, endogenous opioids may play a role in craving in abstinent alcoholics. It was found that abstinence increased the number of opiate receptors in the nac. Another drug that people regularly self-administer is thc, the active ingredient in marijuana The site of action of the endogenous cannabinoids in the brain is the cb1 receptors, for which the endogenous ligands are lipids. Blocking these receptors with a drug abolished the high .