Related Research Articles
Recreational drug use is the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness, either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime. When a psychoactive drug enters the user's body, it induces an intoxicating effect. Recreational drugs are commonly divided into three categories: depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens.
The term narcotic originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates and opioids, commonly morphine and heroin, as well as derivatives of many of the compounds found within raw opium latex. The primary three are morphine, codeine, and thebaine.
Psychopharmacology is the scientific study of the effects drugs have on mood, sensation, thinking, behavior, judgment and evaluation, and memory. It is distinguished from neuropsychopharmacology, which emphasizes the correlation between drug-induced changes in the functioning of cells in the nervous system and changes in consciousness and behavior.
An androgen is any natural or synthetic steroid hormone that regulates the development and maintenance of male characteristics in vertebrates by binding to androgen receptors. This includes the embryological development of the primary male sex organs, and the development of male secondary sex characteristics at puberty. Androgens are synthesized in the testes, the ovaries, and the adrenal glands.
There are many hundreds of thousands of possible drugs. Any chemical substance with biological activity may be considered a drug. This list categorises drugs alphabetically and also by other categorisations.
Substance dependence, also known as drug dependence, is a biopsychological situation whereby an individual's functionality is dependent on the necessitated re-consumption of a psychoactive substance because of an adaptive state that has developed within the individual from psychoactive substance consumption that results in the experience of withdrawal and that necessitates the re-consumption of the drug. A drug addiction, a distinct concept from substance dependence, is defined as compulsive, out-of-control drug use, despite negative consequences. An addictive drug is a drug which is both rewarding and reinforcing. ΔFosB, a gene transcription factor, is now known to be a critical component and common factor in the development of virtually all forms of behavioral and drug addictions, but not dependence.
Performance-enhancing substances (PESs), also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans.
A drug with psychotomimetic actions mimics the symptoms of psychosis, including delusions and/or delirium, as opposed to only hallucinations. Psychotomimesis is the onset of psychotic symptoms following the administration of such a drug.
Psychological dependence is a cognitive disorder and a form of dependence that is characterized by emotional–motivational withdrawal symptoms upon cessation of prolonged drug use or certain repetitive behaviors. Consistent and frequent exposure to particular substances or behaviors is responsible for inducing psychological dependence, requiring ongoing engagement to prevent the onset of an unpleasant withdrawal syndrome driven by negative reinforcement. Neuronal counter-adaptation is believed to contribute to the generation of withdrawal symptoms through changes in neurotransmitter activity or altered receptor expression. Environmental enrichment and physical activity have been shown to attenuate withdrawal symptoms.
Protein fosB, also known as FosB and G0/G1 switch regulatory protein 3 (G0S3), is a protein that in humans is encoded by the FBJ murine osteosarcoma viral oncogene homolog B (FOSB) gene.
Conditioned place preference (CPP) is a form of Pavlovian conditioning used to measure the motivational effects of objects or experiences. This motivation comes from the pleasurable aspect of the experience, so that the brain can be reminded of the context that surrounded the "encounter". By measuring the amount of time an animal spends in an area that has been associated with a stimulus, researchers can infer the animal's liking for the stimulus. This paradigm can also be used to measure conditioned place aversion with an identical procedure involving aversive stimuli instead. Both procedures usually involve mice or rats as subjects. This procedure can be used to measure extinction and reinstatement of the conditioned stimulus. Certain drugs are used in this paradigm to measure their reinforcing properties. Two different methods are used to choose the compartments to be conditioned, and these are biased vs. unbiased. The biased method allows the animal to explore the apparatus, and the compartment they least prefer is the one that the drug is administered in and the one they most prefer is the one where the vehicle is injected. This method allows the animal to choose the compartment they get the drug and vehicle. In comparison, the unbiased method does not allow the animal to choose what compartment they get the drug and vehicle in. Instead, the researcher chooses the compartments.
Substituted phenethylamines are a chemical class of organic compounds that are based upon the phenethylamine structure; the class is composed of all the derivative compounds of phenethylamine which can be formed by replacing, or substituting, one or more hydrogen atoms in the phenethylamine core structure with substituents. Phenylethylamines are also generally found to be central nervous system stimulants with many also being entactogens/empathogens, and hallucinogens.
In the United States the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), has since the 1970s been patrolling the usage of illegal drugs and substances for student-athletes attending universities and colleges. In 1999, NCAA Drug Committee published a list containing substances banned for the usage to student-athletes. Year after year it is updated and given to those students participating in college sports. If any student is caught taking any of the substances, they are subjected to suspension or even banned from participating in NCAA sports and possibly attending the university.
Substituted cathinones, or simply cathinones, which include some stimulants and entactogens, are derivatives of cathinone. They feature a phenethylamine core with an alkyl group attached to the alpha carbon, and a ketone group attached to the beta carbon, along with additional substitutions. Cathinone occurs naturally in the plant khat whose leaves are chewed as a recreational drug.
Addiction vulnerability is an individual's risk of developing an addiction during their lifetime. There are a range of genetic and environmental risk factors for developing an addiction that vary across the population. Genetic and environmental risk factors each account for roughly half of an individual's risk for developing an addiction; the contribution from epigenetic risk factors to the total risk is unknown. Even in individuals with a relatively low genetic risk, exposure to sufficiently high doses of an addictive drug for a long period of time can result in an addiction. In other words, anyone can become an individual with a substance use disorder under particular circumstances. Research is working toward establishing a comprehensive picture of the neurobiology of addiction vulnerability, including all factors at work in propensity for addiction.
Treatment and management of addiction encompass the range of approaches aimed at helping individuals overcome addiction, most commonly in the form of substance use disorders and behavioral addictions. Effective treatment often includes a combination of medical, psychological, and social interventions tailored to the specific needs of the individual. Common practices to this end include detoxification, counseling, behavioral therapy, medication-assisted treatment, and support groups. The goal of addiction treatment is to reduce dependence, improve quality of life, and ultimately support long-term recovery. Comprehensive management addresses both the physical and psychological aspects of addiction, recognizing it as a chronic but treatable condition.
A sex-hormonal agent, also known as a sex-hormone receptor modulator, is a type of hormonal agent which specifically modulates the effects of sex hormones and of their biological targets, the sex hormone receptors. The sex hormones include androgens such as testosterone, estrogens such as estradiol, and progestogens such as progesterone. Sex-hormonal agents may be either steroidal or nonsteroidal in chemical structure and may serve to either enhance, inhibit, or have mixed effects on the function of the sex hormone systems.
References
- ↑ "Are too many players getting therapeutic use exemptions?". ESPN.com. December 2, 2015.
- ↑ "Major League Baseball Drops Marijuana, Adds Opioids, Cocaine To 'Drugs Of Abuse' List". NPR. 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
- ↑ "MLB: Players still subject to penalty for using pot". ESPN.com. February 29, 2020.
- ↑ MLB.com (July 1, 2015). "Prohibited Substance List" (PDF).
- ↑ "MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL'S MINOR LEAGUE DRUG PREVENTION AND TREATMENT PROGRAM" (PDF). Retrieved February 27, 2024.