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Core Concepts in Health Cover Image
Core Concepts in Health, 9/e
Paul M. Insel, Stanford University School of Medicine
Walton T. Roth, Stanford University School of Medicine

The Use and Abuse of Psychoactive Drugs


drug  Any chemical other than food intended to affect the structure or function of the body.
psychoactive drug  A drug that can alter a person's consciousness or experience.
intoxication  The state of being mentally affected by a chemical (literally, a state of being poisoned).
addictive behavior  Any habit that has gotten out of control, resulting in a negative effect on one's health.
substance abuse  A maladaptive pattern of use of any substance that persists despite adverse social, psychological, or medical consequences. The pattern may be intermittent, with or without tolerance and physical dependence.
physical dependence  The result of physiological adaptation that occurs in response to the frequent presence of a drug; typically associated with tolerance and withdrawal.
substance dependence  A cluster of cognitive, behavioral, and physiological symptoms that occur in an individual who continues to use a substance despite suffering significant substance-related problems, leading to significant impairment or distress; also known as addiction.
tolerance  Lower sensitivity to a drug so that a given dose no longer exerts the usual effect and larger doses are needed.
withdrawal  Physical and psychological symptoms that follow the interrupted use of a drug on which a user is physically dependent; symptoms may be mild or life-threatening.
dual disorder  The presence of two or more mental disorders simultaneously in the same person; for example, drug dependence and depression.
*pharmacological properties  The overall effects of a drug on a person's behavior, psychology, and chemistry.
dose-response function  The relationship between the amount of a drug taken and the intensity or type of the resulting effect.
time-action function  The relationship between the time elapsed since a drug was taken and the intensity of its effect.
placebo effect  A response to an inert or innocuous medication given in place of an active drug.
high  The subjectively pleasing effects of a drug, usually felt quite soon after the drug is taken.
opioid  Any of several natural or synthetic drugs that relieve pain and cause drowsiness and/or euphoria; examples are opium, morphine, and heroin; also called narcotic.
euphoria  An exaggerated feeling of well-being.
depressant or sedative-hypnotic  A drug that decreases nervous or muscular activity, causing drowsiness or sleep.
central nervous system  The brain and spinal cord.
sedation  The induction of a calm, relaxed, often sleepy state.
tranquilizer  A CNS depressant that reduces tension and anxiety.
anesthetic  A drug that produces a loss of sensation with or without a loss of consciousness.
stimulant  A drug that increases nervous or muscular activity.
state dependence  A situation in which information learned in a drug-induced state is difficult to recall when the effect of the drug wears off.
psychosis  A severe mental disorder characterized by a distortion of reality; symptoms might include delusions or hallucinations.
depersonalization  A state in which a person loses the sense of his or her own reality or perceives his or her own body as unreal.
hallucinogen  Any of several drugs that alter perception, feelings, or thoughts; examples are LSD, mescaline, and PCP.
synesthesia  A condition in which a stimulus evokes not only the sensation appropriate to it but also another sensation of a different character; for example, when a color evokes a specific smell.
altered states of consciousness  Profound changes in mood, thinking, and perception.
flashback  A perceptual distortion or bizarre thought that recurs after the chemical effects of a drug have worn off.
proprioception  The sensation of body position and movement, from muscles, joints, and skin.
codependency  A relationship in which a non-substance-abusing partner or family member enables the other's substance abuse.