| Addiction: a chronic, relapsing disease, characterized by compulsive drug-seeking and drug use and by neurochemical and molecular changes in the brain.
Analog: a chemical compound that is similar to another drug in its effects but differs slightly in its chemical structure.
Benzodiazepines: drugs that relieve anxiety or are prescribed as sedatives; among the most widely prescribed medications, including valium and librium.
Central nervous system (CNS): the brain and spinal cord.
Craving: a powerful, often uncontrollable desire for drugs.
Designer drug: an analog of a restricted drug that has psychoactive properties.
Detoxification: a process of allowing the body to rid itself of a drug while managing the symptoms of withdrawal; often the first step in a drug treatment program.
Dopamine: a neurotransmitter present in regions of the brain that regulate movement, emotion, motivation, and feelings of pleasure.
Narcolepsy: a disorder characterized by uncontrollable attacks of deep sleep.
Physical dependence: an adaptive physiological state that occurs with regular drug use and results in a withdrawal syndrome when drug use stops.
Psychosis: a mental disorder characterized by symptoms such as delusions or hallucinations that indicate an impaired conception of reality.
Rush: a surge of euphoric pleasure that rapidly follows administration of a drug.
Serotonin: a neurotransmitter that has been implicated in states of consciousness, mood, depression, and anxiety.
Tolerance: a condition in which higher doses of a drug are required to produce the same effect as experienced initially; often leads to physical dependence.
Toxic: temporary or permanent drug effects that are detrimental to the functioning of an organ or group of organs.
Withdrawal: a variety of symptoms that occur after use of an addictive drug is reduced or stopped. |
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