Study Guide for Quiz 4

STUDY GUIDE FOR QUIZ 4

1. The dangers (or lack thereof) associated with taking ecstasy (3,4 – methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA) have been widely debated (Ecstasy on the brain by Claire Ainsworth) and evidence has been introduced to support both sides of the argument.

Name 1 side effect that has been both advanced AND rebutted by contradictory scientific evidence (evidence exists to support both sides).

OR Name 2 physiological (not at the neuronal level) side effects that have been associated with use of MDMA.

2. What are the mechanisms of action of MDMA (3,4 – methylenedioxymethamphetamine or ecstasy) in the brain? What role does it play in neurotransmission?

3. Name 2 hallucinogenic drugs and at least 1 therapeutic (legal) application proposed (in conjunction with supportive interventions like talk therapy).

4. What are some of the potential tradeoffs discussed between ibogaine therapy vs. just the psychoactive noribogaine metabolite?

5. Briefly describe the 'Eastern Triangular' trade that existed during Britain's Opium Wars: Which countries were involved, and what was transfered to/from each of them?

6. Briefly explain the endogenous DMT hypothesis of schizophrenia (ie the effects of DMT in psychosis and what modulates its levels), and an experiment that may suport it.

7. Describe some of the factors leading to cocaine's interference with neurodevelopment at the behavioral level, and cite evidence for effects at the cellular level

8. Which turns out to have a stronger effect on IQ in children: prenatal cocaine exposure, or situations where the mother is using cocain after birth. Which one has a stronger effect on behavioral problems such as agression or impulsivity?

9. What is the role of the D1 receptor during brain development and what happens during dendrite formation during prenatal cocaine exposure?