PSY 335A Drugs and Behavior

1. PSY 335A Drugs and Behavior Introductory Class Please bring your laptops from time to time

2. Drug use and abuse • Does advertising prescription drugs increase their use? • Does discussing drugs encourage their use? • E.M. Brecher: “How to launch a nationwide drug menace” • What are the effects of courses like this one?

3. Drugs and Behavior • Course overview: Web site and syllabus • Discussion and questions • Drugs and behavior in the disciplines • Classification schemes • Julien’s classification scheme

4. Drugs and Behavior in the Disciplines • D&B is at the interface of medical science and psychology • Pharmacology and Behavioral Medicine • Psychopharmacology • Neuropharmacology • Neuropsychopharmacology • Contributing disciplines

5. Classification Schemes • Dichotomous classification schemes • Prescription vs. OTC • Therapeutic vs. recreational • Licit vs. illicit • Uppers vs. downers • Financially viable vs. non-viable • Orphan Drug Act (1983)

6. More classification schemes • By mechanism or site of action • By chemical structure • By source or origin, eg. opiates • By single effect • EEG-shift (Fink, 1968) • ANS effect: Parasympathomimetic vs. sympathomimetic • By main effect: Julien’s scheme

7. Julien’s classification schemes • 1978: Five categories • Sedatives and hypnotics • Stimulants and convulsants • Narcotic analgesics • Antipsychotic agents • Psychedelics and hallucinogens • 2001: Five categories

8. Julien’s 2001 classification • I. Sedative-hypnotic drugs • II. Stimulants • III. Analgesics • IV. Hallucinogens and psychedelics • V. Drugs used to treat psychological disorders

9. Julien (2001) continued... • Julien also discusses other drugs that do not fit into his classification scheme, especially anabolic-androgenic steroids • Julien’s scheme is followed, more-or-less, by Meyer & Quenzer (2005) and by Maisto et al. (2008)

10. Classification Schemes • Dichotomous classification schemes • Prescription vs. OTC • Therapeutic vs. recreational • Licit vs. illicit • Uppers vs. downers • Financially viable vs. non-viable • Orphan Drug Act (1983)

11. Basic Terminology of Drug Action • What is a drug? • Drugs, foods, and the FDA • Chemical name vs. generic name vs. Trade Name vs. street name • Dosage and administration • Illicit drug use • Deviant drug use • Drug misuse and drug abuse • Drug addiction

12. Multiple or Polydrug Use:Interactions • Agonist effects: Aspirin® and anticoagulants; many drugs and grapefruit juice (fumarocoumarins): Xanax, Zoloft, Allegra, Tegretol, Lipitor…(Longer list here) • Synergistic effects, also called potentiation. The histamine receptor antagonists Zantac® or Tagamet® potentiate alcohol: Two glasses of wine make one drunk. • Antagonist effects: Caffeine and sedatives; nicotine and Darvon®

13. Drug effects • Every drug has potential for both good and bad effects • Thus, each drug has more than one effect • Drug effects are dosage-dependent • Drug effects are socially and psychologically influenced.

14. Types of drug effects • Therapeutic effects • Main effects • Side effects • Specific drug effects • Nonspecific drug effects • Individual differences • Social and psychological influences • Placebo effects

15. Ray and Ksir(2003): four revolutions in drug use • The 19th century: vaccines • Drugs can prevent physical illness • The first half of the 20th century: antibiotics • Drugs can cure physical illness • The 1950s: psychopharmacology • Drugs can treat mental illness • The 1960s: the pill • Drugs can alter normal physiological processes

16. Psychology and Sociology of Drug Use Epidemiology • How could you go about finding the number of users of a particular drug, say marijuana, in your high school? • What problems would you encounter that might make the estimate unreliable? • Would the problems be different if you were to try to find the number of users of marijuana at Houghton?

17. Epidemiology: Data collection • Track manufacture, transport, and sales • Track ER visits and hospitalizations (DAWN) • Track police reports and court records • Survey • Is the sample representative and inclusive? • Are the answers honest? • Are participant biases consistent over time?

18. Epidemiology: Marker variables • Correlation and factor analysis • Age and gender factor with drug use • Extreme poverty (and perhaps extreme wealth) correlates with higher drug use (but the middle ranges of socioeconomic status do not differ in drug use) • Personality traits do not correlate with drug use, but social nonconformity does.

19. More epidemiology • Risk factors • Parents • Education • Peers • Early experience with alcohol • Emotional pain • Protective factors • Parents • Education • Peers • Religious and prosocial activities • High self-esteem

20. Epidemiology: Antecedents • Longitudinal studies • Are there gateway drugs? • What is the interaction effect of peers and parents? • What are the triggers? • Stupidity and rebellion • Identification with an accepting sub-culture • Positive and negative reinforcement

21. 1. Have you seen any of the new anti-drug advertisements? Do you think they will be any more effective than the previous Brain-as-Egg campaign? Why or why not?

22. 2. Did you participate in any drug use prevention programs in school? If so, did you find them effective? • How could they be improved?

23. 3. "Positive parental involvement in children’s lives reduces the likelihood of drug use. Parents must understand that they -- not schools, community groups, or the government -- can make the biggest difference in children’s attitudes and values." • Do you agree that parents can make the biggest difference? In what ways did your parents influence your attitudes and behaviors regarding drug use?

24. Drug names • (S)-N, a-dimethylbenzeneethanamine • methamphetamine • Desoxyn • Speed