Psyc 101: Introduction to Biological and Cognitive Psychology: Drugs PDF

Psyc 101 Drugs Introduction to Biological & Cognitive Psychology Chapter 5 Jill Dosso, PhD Dec 2024...

Psyc 101 Drugs Introduction to Biological & Cognitive Psychology Chapter 5 Jill Dosso, PhD Dec 2024 Speaking to you from the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) People. Learning Objectives 2 1. Differentiate types of psychoactive drugs (e.g., depressants, stimulants) 2. Identify two cognitive effects of alcohol 3. Describe conditioning accounts of drug taking and addiction: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, classical conditioning (human & animal) 4. Explain the methods and results of a task demonstrating an attentional change among current drug users. 5. Name two networks that are activated by the sight of drug-associated cues 6. Recognize symptoms of substance use disorder 7. Name a model of addiction that takes into account factors outside of the individual Psychoactive drugs change our conscious experience 3 Class exercise: In what ways do these drugs differ from one another? How do these differences relate to their harm potential? Opiates (e.g., heroin, Cannabis fentanyl) Alcohol Stimulants Nicotine (e.g., cocaine)  Psychoactive drugs 4 Stimulants (“uppers”) Excite overall CNS activity E.g., cocaine, amphetamines (e.g., Adderall, meth), nicotine, caffeine Depressants (sedatives, “downers”) Reduce overall CNS activity E.g., benzodiazepines increase GABA (e.g., valium), barbiturates Animals will “self-administer” (i.e., lever-press to receive) most of these drugs because of common effects to increase dopamine Picture: Cog Neuro: Bio of the Mind (3rd ed), Gazzaniga  Alcohol: the most widely used depressant 5 Biphasic effect over time and dose Agonist for GABA, the inhibitory neurotransmitter Image: https://uwosh.edu/wellness/alcohol/ Cognitive effects of alcohol 7 1. Expectancy theory: effects of alcohol are produced by people’s expectations of how alcohol will influence them (from media, role models, etc.) 2. Alcohol myopia: alcohol narrows attention and leads people to respond to complex situations in simple ways  Classical conditioning & drug use 9 An animal model Conditioned place preference task Animal receives drug in one compartment and saline in the other compartment – multiple conditioning sessions Compartments differ in their contextual cues Measure: how much time does animal choose to spend in each compartment? Image: Sampedro-Piquero et al., 2019 Why do people use drugs? 10 Behavioural (i.e., learning) accounts 1. To feel good Drug taking is followed by a pleasant feeling = positive reinforcement. 2. To avoid feeling bad Drug taking removes negative feelings (withdrawal symptoms or wanting to escape from regular life) = negative reinforcement Images: Schacter et al (2023) Psychology (6th Canadian ed) Macmillan  11 Why do only some people continue to use drugs? Behavioural (i.e., learning) account Robins et al. (1980) observed that in the Vietnam War, 1 in 5 members of the US military began using opioids (especially heroin). However, only 12% of these users maintained their usage after the war Why? Environmental cues that had become CSs were removed  How does addiction change cognition? 12 “Name the colour of the text” incongruent and congruent RT Classic Stroop - incongruent Blue Difference between Yellow Red Classic Stroop - congruent Blue Non-users Former users: Current users Yellow community- Red treated Former users: replacement- treated Gardini, Caffarra, & Venneri, 2014  How does addiction change cognition? 13 “Name the colour of the text” Drug addiction changes incongruent and congruent RT attention to cue-related Emotional Stroop – drug cues content Pusher Difference between Smoke High Classic Stroop - neutral Dog Non-users Former users: Current users Stroller community- Apple treated Former users: replacement- treated Gardini, Caffarra, & Venneri, 2014  14 Brain activity when viewing drug-associated cues Heavy drinkers were exposed to neutral Alcohol-associated cues activate a visual stimuli paired with alcohol or frontoparietal attention network and an saline (classical conditioning) orbitofrontal (PFC) inhibition/value network fMRI compared brain activity to CSalcohol to CSsaline Oberlin et al., 2018 Diagnosis of Substance Use Disorder 15 The DSM-5 requires 2+ of the following: Craving: strong urge to perform the behaviour Tolerance: needing to use larger amounts over time to get the desired effect Withdrawal: symptoms after stopping use Consuming more of substance than originally planned Worrying about stopping or consistent failed efforts to control one’s use Spending a large amount of time using drugs/alcohol Use of the substance results in failure to “fulfill major role obligations” Continuing the use despite health problems Continuing the use despite negative effects in relationships with others Repeated use in a dangerous situation (e.g., driving) Giving up or reducing other activities in favour of drug use  16 The Bio-Psycho- Psychological Risk Social model of Mental health addiction Coping Beliefs about self Adverse life events Social Risk Community norms Biological Risk Availability of Genetic susceptibility substances Sex/gender; Social supports hormones Racism, poverty, Other illnesses; pain incarceration… Course final 17 Monday Dec 16th at 8:30 am Reminder: please do the SEI (Student Experiences of Teaching) SRC 220A Same as midterms: 80 minutes MC + short answer Non-cumulative 18  19 Our course goals were: I want to learn more! (incomplete list) 1. Understand Psychology as a science; methods Psyc 216 (Psyc & the Media - Joey!); Psyc 217 (Research for studying human behaviour Methods); Psyc 312 (History of Psychology – Jill!) 2. Learn about the nervous system Psyc 304 (Brain & Behaviour); Psyc 367 (Sensory Systems) 3. Understand some cognitive processes Psyc 335 (Gambling & Decision-Making); Psyc 309 (perception, learning, memory, language, (Cognitive Processes) consciousness…) 4. Apply psychology to real world behaviour, Psyc 300 (Abnormal Psychology); Psyc 301 (Brain brain injury, and mental illness Dysfunction & Recovery – Jill!) Psychology courses that end in -60 to -89 have science credit 20