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GI Web Glossary |
| There are 243 entries in the glossary. | Pages: «1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 » |
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| Term |
Definition |
| cholinergic | The adjective derived from acetylcholine. A neuron that contains acetylcholine is a cholinergic neuron. |
| | circuits | A group of cortical fields or nuclei that are linked together by their axons to perform a specific brain function. Core components or circuits are constantly in touch with each other, whereas other components can be brought in as the need arises. |
| | classical conditioning | The form of implicit, unconscious learning in which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a significant stimulus through repeated pairing of the two. |
| | Cocaine | A highly addictive stimulant drug derived from the cocoa plant that produces profound feelings of pleasure. |
| | Codeine | A natural opioid compound that is a relatively weak, but still effective, opiate analgesic. It has also been used to treat other problems (e.g., to relieve coughing). |
| | cognitive functions | Higher brain functions involving the manipulation of information from the senses and from memory. They often require awareness and judgment, and they enable us to know and to analyze problems and plan solutions -- in short, to think. |
| | consciousness | Our own awareness of ourselves and the world; the mental processes that we can perceive; our thoughts and feelings. |
| | cortical field | A large aggregation of millions of nerve cells in a circumscribed region of the cerebral cortex, which together carry out a specific function, receive connections from the same places, and have a common structural arrangement. There are many dozens of such fields in the cerebral cortex. Elsewhere in the brain such groups are called nuclei. |
| | Crack | A chemically altered form of cocaine that is smoked. |
| | craving | Hunger for drugs. It is caused by drug-induced changes that occur in the brain with the development of addiction and arises from a need of the brain to maintain a state of homeostasis that includes the presence of the drug. |
| | CSAP | The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) is the sole Federal organization with responsibility for improving accessibility and quality of substance abuse prevention services. The Center provides national leadership in the development of policies, programs, and services to prevent the onset of illegal drug use, underage alcohol and tobacco use, and to reduce the negative consequences of using substances.
prevention.samhsa.gov |
| | CSAT | The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), was created in October 1992 with a congressional mandate to expand the availability of effective treatment and recovery services for alcohol and drug problems.
csat.samhsa.gov |
| | cues | Formerly neutral stimuli that acquire the ability to elicit drug-craving through classical condition. Cues are also called triggers. |
| | decondition | The unlearning of classically conditioned responses. Helping addicts identify and neutralize the cues of triggers they developed while they were addicted. |
| | dendrites | The branches that reach out from a neuron's cell body to receive messages from the axon terminals of other neurons. |
| | denial | Unconsciously refusing to admit that someone is addicted. Denial occurs among addicts themselves and among those who are close to them. |
| | dentate gyrus | A key part of the hippocampus that contains one of the highest concentrations of cannabinoid receptors in the brain. |
| | deoxyribonucleic acid | (DNA) The chemical compound that makes up genes. |
| | depressants | Drugs that relieve anxiety and produce sleep. Depressants include barbiturates, benzodiazepines, and alcohol. |
| | designer drug | An illegally manufactured chemical whose molecular structure is altered slightly from a parent compound to enhance specific effects. Examples include DMT, DMA, DOM, MDA and MDMA (ecstasy). |
| | detoxification | The process of removing a drug from the body. This is the initial period addicts must go through to become drug-free. Withdrawal symptoms appear early during this process. Depending on the drug, detoxification lasts for a few days to a week or more. |
| | diversion | Taking legally prescribed medications (e.g., methadone, tranquilizers) and selling them illegally. |
| | DMA | A hallucinogenic "designer drug" with psychedelic properties. |
| | DMT | A hallucinogenic "designer drug" with psychedelic properties. |
| | DNA | Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) The chemical compound that makes up genes. |
| Special Thanks:
Addiction Studies Program - Wake Forest University School of Medicine
False Messengers: How Addictive Drugs Change the Brain by David Friedman, PhD, and Sue Rusche, Harwood Academic Publishers, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1999. [www.addictionstudies.org]
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