Neurotransmitters & Mental Health: Exploring Psychotic Disorders, Depression, & Addiction , Study notes of Biology

Download Neurotransmitters & Mental Health: Exploring Psychotic Disorders, Depression, & Addiction and more Study notes Biology in PDF only on Docsity! Chapter 13 Fill in the blank  In 1950, the drug chlorpromazine, thorazine was developed to help allergies but was found to have a profound effect people with psychotic diseases.  Electroconvulsive therapy, where an electrical current is passed through the brain and acts as a reset mechanism, is used today to treat patients with sever depression who fail to respond to all other treatments.  Manic depression is a type of mental illness where the patient suffers from severe mood swings of extreme highs and extreme lows.  During a depressive episode the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin is deficient.  During a manic depression low episode, the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin is deficient.  Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors or SSRI’s , a class of drugs were developed to prevent the removal of serotonin in the synapse.  Alzheimer’s disease results from the accumulation of protein aggregates known as amyloid plaques.  The first region of the brain affected by the accumulation of the protein aggregates is the hippocampus.  The brain of Alzheimer’s patients have characteristics amyloid plaques and protein fibrils, which will prevent neural transmission and eventually cause the cell death. Short Answer  3 main types of treatments used in the first half of the 20th century to try and cure mental illness-explain.  Explain how the discovery of the psychiatric drugs helped revolutionize treatment for severely ill mental patients.  In 1963 a deinstitutionalization policy was enacted. Explain what the deinstitutionalized policy was and why it didn’t work they people thought it would.  ECT has become a last resort treatment for some people with severe depression. The exact physiological mechanism by which it works remains unclear. Explain what is thought to happen when ECT is administrated.  Manic depression is characterized by 2 distinct phases, describe each phase.  Explain what is happening to people who have Alzheimer’s. Chapter 14 Fill in the blank  Methamphetamine is produced from the main ingredient in cold medicines known as Pseudoephedrine.  All abused substances exert their effects by mimicking or modulating the effects of neurotransmitters.  One of the worst abused substances in modern society is derived from opinion it is known as heroine.  The active ingredient in heroine is morphine.  Indicated by cave paintings dating to 1879 B.C. humans have been using opium for many things.  Hans Kusterlitz discovered a natural brain chemical that has the same biological function as morphine known as endorphin  Robert Heath discovered the pleasure center of the brain to be located in a group of neurons known as nucleus accumbens.  Morphine from heroine and endorphin both bind to the same type of neural receptor.  Stimulation of the pleasure center of the brain results in the release of a particular neurotransmitter known as dopamine.  The most well known function of dopamine is its production of the pleasure that is associated with fulfillment of hunger and sexual desire.  The part of the brain associated with the emotional fulfillment sensation caused by dopamine is the ventral tegmental area or VTA.  Drugs like methamphetamine cause neurons of the VTA to release dopamine at very high levels.  Cocaine results in an increase in dopamine levels in the synapses by binding to and thus blocking the action of dopamine receptors.  Both cocaine and methamphetamine increase dopamine levels, resulting in a sense of euphoria or pleasure.  When a person falls in love the brain experiences an increase in dopamine levels.  The sweaty palms and flushed cheeks that accompany falling in love ultimately result from the neurotransmitters known as norepinephrine or noradrenalin.  Phentlethylamine is a neurotransmitter involved in love and is also found in chocolate.  The nuerological process of falling in love occurs in the part of the brain known as the limbic system or midbrain.  Long term memory relationships are maintained by the production of a neurotransmitter known as oxytocin.  Parkinson’s disease results from decreased dopamine production by neurons of the substantia nigra.  Dopamine also plays a role in a serious mental disorder characterized by personality changes, hallucinations and psychotic behaviors known as schizophrenia.