Suboxone Research Paper

Suboxone

Biological Psychology

Suboxone

| Addiction psychology has made a great impact on the field of biological psychology, especially when it comes to subjects such as |
|psycho-pharmacology. The abuse of prescription pain medicine has risen to an estimated 9 million in America alone who take the medication for |
|non-medical reasons. The psychology field has had a new revolution in addiction control called Suboxone. In order for psychiatric doctors or other|
|doctors to prescribe this medicine they are required to complete a training course on the substance. Rapidly replacing Methadone, a more |
|traditional detox and maintenance drug used for many years, Suboxone seems to have many treatment
advantages over it. |
|Buprenophine |
|Buprenophine, the chemical compound found in Suboxone has stated that it is suitable for people who still have social ties to their families and |
|employers whereas Methadone is suited best for those who need additional structure in their treatment with more supervision.
While it is nearly |
|impossible to overdose on Suboxone due to its ceiling effect, Methadone is easily abused as it is a full-agonist opiate. Another advantage that |
|Suboxone has over Methadone is it readability. Where patients must go to Methadone clinics for dosing, doctors can prescribe Suboxone for a month |
|at a time, allowing patients to detox and maintain their treatment. Buprenophine is available in two pill forms, one without Naloxone-called |
|Subutex, or one with Naloxone-called Suboxone. Naloxone is a well known opiate antagonist, that when injected, causes instant withdraw in the |
|patient. Putting this ingredient as an additive with Buprenophine keeps the drug from being abused. Buprenophine is usually prescribed for just a
|
|few weeks, but some patients may need maintenance doses depending on their opiate usage and/or dependency. In order to better understand the way |
|Suboxone and other opiates work within the central nervous system individuals should understand post-synaptic potentials, synaptic transmission, the|
|receptors that produce and regulate behavior (including abusing opiates), as well as understanding and knowing the primary neurotransmitters and |
|their role in brain function and behavior.
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|Excitatory and Inhibitory Post-synaptic Potentials |
|The role of excitatory and inhibitory post-synaptic potentials is summed up by NCBI Bookshelf (n.d.); |
|“Postsynaptic conductance changes and the potential changes that accompany them alter the probability that an action potential will be produced in |
|the postsynaptic cell. Post-synaptic Potentials decrease the probability that the post synaptic cell will generate an action potential. PSPs are |
|called excitatory (or EPSPs) if they increase the likelihood of a postsynaptic action potential occurring, and inhibitory (or IPSPs) if they
|
|decrease this likelihood. Given that most neurons receive inputs from both excitatory and inhibitory synapses, it is important to understand more |
|precisely the mechanisms that determine whether a particular synapse excites or inhibits its postsynaptic partner. “ |
|Synaptic Transmission and Receptors Producing and Regulating Behavior |
|Neurons communicate through synaptic transmission. The synapse can be found as a tiny gap found in the middle of the axon terminal and the neuron |
|next to it. Neurotransmitters are chemical substances that are located in synaptic vesicles are responsible for delivering messages across the |
|synapse and bind to the receptor sites. When a molecule of a neurotransmitter binds to the receptor it then continues to activate or inhibit the |
|neuron until the deactivation occurs. A method of deactivation is called re-uptake, allowing the neurotransmitter molecules to be delivered back to|
|the presynaptic neuron. Various drugs, including opiates such as hydrocodone or methadone function as agonists because they increase the activity |
|of the neurotransmitter while others such as Naloxone act as antagonists decreasing the activity of the neurotransmitter. |
|Primary Neurotransmitters |
|The three major neurons located in the nervous system are the sensory, motor, and inter-neurons. Sensory neurons are responsible to input messages |
|from the sense organs to the spinal cord and brain. Motor neurons carry impulses from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and organs. |
|Interneurons perform connective or associative functions within the nervous system. The brain and spinal cord are called the central nervous system |
|while all neurons that connect the CNS to the muscles, glands, and sensory receptors are located in the peripheral nervous system. In this regard, |
|the PNS is divided into two systems:the somatic nervous system that includes sensory and motor neurons, and the autonomic nervous system required to|
|regulate glands as well as other involuntary functions such as circulation, breathing, and digestion. The autonomic nervous system consists of two |
|branches as well. The sympathetic branch activates or arouses bodily organs while the parasympathetic branch does the complete opposite. Most |
|nerves enter and leave the CNS via the spinal cord. |
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