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Human Behavior
Stimulants: Caffeine,
Nicotine,
Amphetamines, and
Cocaine
Caffeine
 Occurs naturally in coffee, tea, and cocoa.
 Stimulant:
 Drugs including amphetamines and cocaine, stimulate
the sympathetic nervous system and produce feelings
of optimism and boundless energy
 Caffeine lengthens the time it take to fall asleep
and reduces total minutes of sleep
 Found in many beverages
 Large doses can cause insomnia and diarrhea
 Addictive
Nicotine
 Psychoactive drug in tobacco
 Probably the most addictive stimulant
today
 Causes health issues with prolonged use
 Can cause a “high”
 Withdrawal symptoms include drowsiness,
headaches, irritability and intense cravings
 Younger users are likely to increase to
“bigger” drugs
Amphetamines
 First used in the 1930s as a nasal spray to
help asthma
 Used in military during WWII to reduce
fatigue
 “Pep pills” for night workers
 Also prescribed as “diet pills”
 Amphetamines:
 Stimulant drugs that initially produce “rushes”
of euphoria often followed by sudden
“crashes” and sometimes severe depression
Amphetamines Continued
 Amphetamine Psychosis:
 Paranoia, delusions, and hallucinations, much
like paranoid schizophrenia
 Methamphetamine
 “speed” or “fire”
 “ice”, “crystal”, and “crank” (smoking form)
 Stimulant and hallucinogen
Amphetamines Coninued
 Short-Term
 Teeth clenching
 Chills or sweating
 Aggression
 Axons stop firing
 Birth defects
 Lower intelligence
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Cocaine
 Cocaine:
 Derived from the coca plant that, although
producing a sense of euphoria by stimulating
the sympathetic nervous system, leads to
anxiety, depression and addictive cravings
 Physician use (Novocain and to cure
alcohol and morphine addictions)
 Smoked as “crack”
 “coke” and “snow”
Cocaine
 Less then 10 seconds to the brain for
crack
 Last 5-20 minutes
 Used on Wall Street to stay up and deal in
the 1970s
 Quick high
 Fast and Long depression after high