| Introduction: Overview:
To understand how drugs work, students must have a basic
understanding of how the body and brain works. This includes
some basic brain chemistry. In addition, students must
understand how drugs move through the body
(pharmacokinetics) and
their basic mechanisms of action on receptor systems (Pharmacodynamics). In
general, if a
person can understand these basic processes, the
understanding of each individual crowd or compound becomes simpler.
Outcomes:
After completing this lesson you should understand / be
able to:
 |
Understand
and describe how drugs enter and move through the
body. |
|
Understand and describe structures in a nerve
cell (neuron) and their function. |
|
Understand and describe how neurotransmitters
impact the neuron. |
|
Understand concepts related to basic
pharmacology. |
|
Understand basic concepts related to how drugs
impact nerve systems. |
| KSA #4 Recognize the potential for substance use
disorders to mimic a
variety of medical and psychological disorders
and the potential for medical
and psychological disorders to
co-exist with addiction and substance abuse.. |
Some Objectives:
| Increase knowledge related to pharmacokinetics and
Pharmacodynamics. |
| Increase understanding about basic neurophysiology. |
| Increase understanding of how drugs impact the nerve cell. |
| Increase understanding about basic pharmacology |
Some Important Terms:
| Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics |
| Neurophysiology |
| Affinity |
| Up and down regulation |
| Catecholamines |
| Receptors |
|
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