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Module 1.3b

A drug’s overall effect depends not only on its biological effects but also on the user’s
expectations, which vary with social and cultural contexts ( Gu et al., 2015 ; Ward, 1994 ). If one
culture assumes that a particular drug produces euphoria (or aggression or sexual arousal)
and another does not, each culture may find its expectations fulfilled. We’ll take a closer look
at these interacting forces in the use and potential abuse of particular psychoactive drugs.
But first, to consider what contributes to the disordered use of various substances, see the
Developing Arguments feature: Tolerance and Addiction.

Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Not for redistribution.
AP Science Practice Check Your Understanding
®

Examine the Concept Apply the Concept
Copyright © Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers.
▶ Explain substance use disorder. What determines whether ▶ Explain the process that generally leads to drug tolerance.
someone has a substance use disorder? ▶ Compare and contrast tolerance and addiction.
Answers to the Examine the Concept questions can be found in Appendix C at the end of the book.

Types of Psychoactive Drugs AP Exam Tip
®

The three major categories of psychoactive drugs are depressants, stimulants, and halluci-

nogens. All do their work at the brain’s synapses, stimulating, inhibiting, or mimicking the These three categories —
depressants, stimulants, and
activity of the brain’s own chemical messengers, the neurotransmitters. hallucinogens — are important.
There are likely to be questions
®
Depressants on the AP exam that will require
you to know what effect the drugs
within these categories have on

1.3-6 What are depressants, and what are their effects?
1.3-6 What ar e depressants, and what ar e their ef fects? the body.

Depressants are drugs such as alcohol, barbiturates (tranquilizers), and opioids that calm
neural activity and slow body functions.
®
AP Science Practice
Alcohol
Research
True or false? Alcohol is a depressant in large amounts but a stimulant in small amounts.
False. In any amount, alcohol is a depressant. Low doses of alcohol may enliven a drinker, Surveys, such as the one used
by the University of Illinois, are a
but they do so by acting as a disinhibitor. Alcohol slows brain activity that controls judgment non-experimental technique for

and inhibitions — causing 3 million yearly deaths worldwide ( WHO, 2018b ). obtaining the self-reported attitudes
Alcohol is an equal-opportunity drug: It increases (disinhibits) helpful tendencies, as or behaviors of a particular group.
Wording is very important in
when tipsy restaurant patrons leave extravagant tips and social drinkers bond in groups surveys; even small changes in the
,
( Fairbairn & Sayette 2014 ; Lynn, 1988 ). And it increases harmful tendencies, as when sex- phrasing of questions can make
ually aroused men become more disposed to sexual aggression. One University of Illinois a big difference in the results. For
campus survey showed that before sexual assaults, 80 percent of the male assailants and example, how might the results be
different if the respondents were
70 percent of the female victims had been drinking ( Camper, 1990 ). Another survey of 89,874 asked if they were “drinking” versus
American collegians found alcohol or other drugs involved in 79 percent of unwanted sex- if they were “drunk”?
ual intercourse experiences ( Presley et al., 1997 ). Drinking increases men’s and women’s
desire for casual sex and perception of attractiveness in others ( Bowdring & Sayette, 2018 ;
Johnson & Chen, 2015 ). The bottom line: The urges you would feel if sober are the ones you depressants drugs that reduce

will be more likely to act upon when intoxicated. neural activity and slow body
The prolonged and excessive drinking that characterizes alcohol use disorder contrib- functions.
utes to more than 200 diseases, and can even shrink the brain and contribute to premature

The Neuron and Neural Firing: Substance Use Disorders and Psychoactive Drugs Module 1.3b 41

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