PSB-2000 Lecture 10: Drug Applications & Brain's Reward Circuits (Part 1)
Document Summary
A. 1. not neurotransmitters, hormones, nutrients: psychoactive drugs = influence perception + experience. B. 3. do so by affecting n. s. illicit or prescription various routes of administration but must cross the bbb (blood- brain barrier) + change transmission of synapses. B. 3. a) only then does it make a difference. How do drugs of abuse change neural activity: facilitate/inhibit neural transmission. A. 1. ex. psychotropic drugs: one commonality = increase dopamine in nucleus accumbens (in limbic system) B. 1. dopamine travels down the mesolimbic pathway, a part of the reward pathway. B. 1. b) makes sense b/c dopamine helps with reinforcement from ventral tegmental area (vta) in midbrain > nucleus accumbens (b. 1. b. 1) move thru axons to get there! B. 2. other nice experiences cause dopamine release in n. accumbens. B. 2. a) ex. food, sex, gambling dopamine can be released with natural reinforcers : how can we increase dopamine (da) release in n. accumbens? (or stimulate. C. 2. can depolarize these neurons by directly stimulating the pathway.
