Opioid

A substance used to treat moderate to severe pain. Opioids are like opiates, such as morphine and codeine, but are not made from opium. Opioids bind to opioid receptors in the ...

endogenous opioids

Biology; Neuroscience

Peptides in the central nervous system that have the same pharmacological effects as morphine and other derivatives of opium.

opioid addiction

Health care; Pharmacy

A behavioral pattern manifesting as loss of control over opioid use, compulsive use, and continued use despite harm.

opioid peptide

Medical; Health care; Medicine

The endogenous peptides with opiate-like activity. The three major classes currently recognized are the enkephalins, the dynorphins, and the endorphins. Each of these families ...

gene

Health care; Drug rehabilitation

Strands of DNA that contain the blueprint of all the molecules that make up our bodies.

nicotine gum, nicotine patch

Health care; Drug rehabilitation

Two methods of delivering small amounts of nicotine into the bodies of people who are addicted to nicotine to help them quit smoking cigarettes by preventing nicotine withdrawal.

acute effects

Health care; Drug rehabilitation

The short-term effects of a drug. Acute effects are those that people feel shortly after they ingest a drug and are under its influence (e.g., while they are intoxicated).

localization of function

Health care; Drug rehabilitation

A principal of brain organization that states that specific places (circuits) in the brain carry out specific functions.

cerebral cortex

Health care; Drug rehabilitation

The large, deeply folded outer layers of the brain that make our heads so big. The cortex carries out complex perceptual, cognitive, and motor tasks.

thalamus

Health care; Drug rehabilitation

A brain structure that lies between the brain stem and the cortex and acts as a relay to the cortex for almost all sensory inputs and other kinds of information.