Psyc 3507 Alcohol, Drugs & Behavior
Terms and Concepts Chapter 7
The following are major concepts you need to be familiar with from Chapter 7. Remember you need to
familiar with any relationships between terms and concepts as you will be expected to apply your
knowledge on exams. Be sure to ask questions if there is something that you don’t understand.
What are tranquilizers primarily used for?
What are sedative-hypnotics primarily used for?
What would be ideal characteristics for drugs used as tranquilizers or anxiolytics?
What would be ideal characteristics for drugs used as sedative hypnotics?
What is common to both tranquilizers/anxiolytics and sedative hypnotics, in terms of their general
mechanism of action? How are barbiturates and benzodiazepines alike and different in how they produce
their actions? What is the end result of their action?
What are three ways that barbiturates (and benzodiazepines) differ in their pharmacokinetic properties?
Which tranquilizers/anxiolytics and sedative hypnotics are most likely to be abused? Why?
When should different routes of administration be considered for barbiturates and benzodiazepines?
Why are there differences in the speed of absorption of barbiturates and benzodiazepines?
What major factor determines the distribution and excretion of barbiturates and benzodiazepines?
When considering the “maximum effect” of a given dose of barbiturate or benzodiazepine, why does this
effect generally have a fast onset of action and short duration of action?
As barbiturates and benzodiazepines get redistributed in body fat, what is the effect on blood levels of the
drug? As barbiturates and benzodiazepines in the blood are metabolized, what is the effect on blood levels
of the drug? Why?
What two things ultimately determine the duration of action of barbiturates and benzodiazepines?
What are some of the factors that account for why benzodiazepines are only effective in relieving anxiety in
a portion of persons suffering from anxiety?
How are barbiturates and benzodiazepines similar to alcohol in terms of characteristics of their actions and
the effects they produce?
To which effects of benzodiazepines is tolerance likely to develop quickly? Slowly? Not at all?
When does physical dependence usually occur when taking benzodiazepines?
What major factor influences the severity of withdrawal from benzodiazepines? Why is the severity
generally less than that seen with most sedative hypnotics?
