Mood-altering properties

Nicotiana tabacum). Many societies throughout the world have prized nicotine for its mood-altering properties Although it is a stimulant, it can produce either relaxation or arousal, depending on the user s state (the relaxation appears occur on a muscular level). Users commonly bum the leaves and inhale the smoke some, however, may chew the leaves, while others either snuff finely ground leaves into their noses or place them between their cheeks and gums. 

Psychoactive. Substances that have mood- or reality-altering properties. Referral. A process of sending your client to another professional for care. Schizophrenia. A debilitating class of mental disorders that involve psychosis. Suicidal ideations. Thoughts about self-harm or suicide. 

Many common gases and the vapors of organic solvents are known to produce euphoria, stimulant action, or mood alteration. Such substances differ in their chemical properties, structures, and bondings, as well as in their mode of actions. These include simple inorganic gases, such as nitrous oxide or... 

In 1955, meprobamate (Figure 89.4) was introduced as a mild tranquilizer . It gained the epithet Happy Pills and was associated with abuse and habituation. In 1959, the drug was modified with an isopropyl group and marketed as a muscle relaxant, carisoprodol (Soma). Carisoprodol (Figure 89.5) is metabolized to meprobamate. Carisoprodol, like meprobamate, has addictive properties. Carisoprodol has been ranked number 14 of the 20 most abused mood-altering drugs in the USA [9,10]. 

Acetylcholine has been implicated in learning and memory in all mammals, and the gross deficits in memory found in patients suffering from Alzheimer s disease have been ascribed to a defect in central cholinergic transmission. This transmitter has also been implicated in the altered mood states found in mania and depression, while many different classes of psychotropic drugs are known to have potent anticholinergic properties which undoubtedly have adverse consequences for brain function. 

For chronic abdominal pain, low doses of tricyclic antidepressants (eg, amitriptyline or desipramine, 10-50 mg/d) appear to be helpful (see Chapter 30). At these doses, these agents have no effect on mood but may alter central processing of visceral afferent information. The anticholinergic properties of these agents also may have effects on gastrointestinal motility and secretion, reducing stool frequency and liquidity. Finally, tricyclic antidepressants may alter receptors for enteric neurotransmitters such as serotonin, affecting visceral afferent sensation. 

Morphine (1) and related compounds exert their major pharmacological actions on the central nervous system (CNS) and gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Their most important clinical property is the ability to induce analgesia, that is, to suppress pain, which they do without the patient necessarily losing consciousness. In addition, they induce drowsiness depress respiration, which may be life-threatening alter mood, often causing euphoria and physical... 

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