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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 |
| Naltrexone | A long-lasting opiate antagonist used for the treatment of heroin addiction, and more recently used for the treatment of alcohol addiction. |
| | negative reinforcement | Reward generated by the removal of painful or stressful conditions or events. |
| | Nembutal | (pentobarbital) A depressant drug of the barbiturate family used to induce sleep. |
| | neural substrate | The set of brain structures that underlies specific behaviors or psychological states. |
| | neurochemicals | Neurotransmitters and other brain chemicals produced by neurons. |
| | neuron | Nerve cell. Neurons are unique cells found in the brain and body that are specialized to process and transmit information. |
| | neuroscience | The study of how the brain and nervous system work. Neuroscience integrates more traditional scientific approaches such as anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry, along with newer fields such as molecular biology and computer science, to understand how the nervous system functions. |
| | neurotoxins | Substances that damage or kill neurons. |
| | neurotransmission | The process that occurs when a neuron releases neurotransmitters to communicate with another neuron across the synapse. |
| | neurotransmitter | Chemicals produced by neurons to carry their messages to other neurons. |
| | Nicotine | The drug in tobacco that is addictive. Nicotine also activates a specific kind of acetylcholine receptor. |
| | nicotinic cholinergic receptor | One of two acetylcholine receptors. This one responds to nicotine as well as acetylcholine. |
| | Nitrous Oxide | An inhalant, also known as "laughing gas." Nitrous oxide is a weak anesthetic that does not produce unconsciousness. |
| | norepinephrine | A neurotransmitter and a hormone. It is released by the sympathetic nervous system onto the heart, blood vessels, and other organs and by the adrenal gland into the bloodstream as part of the fight-or-flight response. Norepinephrine is also present in the brain and is used as a neurotransmitter in normal brain processes. |
| | nucleus | A cluster or group of nerve cells that is dedicated to performing its own special function(s). Nuclei are found in all parts of the brain except the cerebral cortex, where such groups are called cortical fields. |
| | nucleus accumbens | A part of the brain reward system, located in the limbic system, that processes information related to motivation and reward. It is the key brain site where virtually all drugs of abuse act to reinforce drug taking. |
| | open-label study | A study in which both doctor and patient know that patients are receiving an experimental drug and what that drug is. |
| | operant conditioning | An unconscious form of learning in which a behavior is linked to a specific stimulus through a process of reinforcement. |
| | opiate receptors | Receptors that recognize both opiates and endogenous opioids. When activated, they slow down or inhibit the activity of neurons on which they reside. |
| | Opiates | Any of the psychoactive drugs that originate from the opium poppy or that have a chemical structure like the drugs derived from opium. Such drugs include opium, codeine, and morphine (derived from the plant), and hydromorphone (Dilaudid), methadone, and meperidine (Demerol), which were first synthesized by chemists. |
| | Opioid | Any chemical that has opiate-like effects; commonly used to refer to endogenous neurochemicals that activate opiate receptors. |
| | organic solvents | One class of inhalants that includes substances such as gasoline, paint thinner, and glue. Organic solvents are neurotoxic because they dissolve fatty substances, including the axon's myeline sheath. |
| | outpatient treatment | Nonresidential treatment for drug addiction. Patients live at home, often work, and come to a clinic for treatment. |
| | overdose | The condition that results when too much of a drug is taken, making a person sick or unconscious and sometimes resulting in death. |
| | parallel processing | When various cortical fields and nuclei work together simultaneously, each on a small part of a big information-processing job. |
| 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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