PS268 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Peripheral Nervous System, Autonomic Nervous System, Somatic Nervous System
Document Summary
Basic principles of drug effects on the brain and body. Lesson 3: basic principles of drug effects on the brain and body. This is a process known as homeostasis, and it underlies some of the effects of psychoactive drugs you have already read about, including tolerance, psychological dependence, and physical dependence. As (cid:455)ou(cid:859)ll (cid:396)ead a(cid:271)out i(cid:374) chapte(cid:396) 4, ps(cid:455)(cid:272)hoa(cid:272)ti(cid:448)e d(cid:396)ugs e(cid:454)e(cid:396)t thei(cid:396) effe(cid:272)ts o(cid:374) the (cid:271)(cid:396)ai(cid:374) because they act on receptors that are already present in the brain but these receptors are normally used for normal brain functions. When they drug acts on specific receptors, those receptors must change how they function so that the brain processes that they contribute to can return to their normal levels. So if a drug is taken, and stimulates a certain type of receptor, those receptors may decrease in number in the way the drug effect is minimized and the brain can function normally.
