Download Effects of Drugs on the Brain

Drug Effects
Effects of Drugs on the Brain
by
Miriam Avalos
Axia College of University of Phoenix
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Drugs have numerous internal and external effects on the body. Illegal drugs, prescription
drugs, nicotine, caffeine and alcohol affect the body and brain in different ways. With consistent
use and abuse of drugs, a person’s internal organs slowly deteriorate as the skin on the outside
does the same. In addition to the physical changes, mood and psychological effects of these
drugs come from the chemical imbalance and false messages sent to the brain.
Addiction is a complex disease. Physiological, genetic, psychosocial, nutritional and
environmental factors are often thought to lead to the development of this disorder. These all
need to be addressed during recovery along with the physical damage. These factors can cause
a person to act in a pattern of unhealthy, compulsive behavior which the person carries out
uncontrollably, resulting in the chronic use of a certain substance or stimulus such as alcohol,
drugs, sex, gambling or cigarettes (MyAddiction.com, 2006).
Addiction almost always has a level of psychological dependence, as well as the physical
dependence. Persistent need to use, failure to want to stop, using regardless of dangers, using to
cope with life, being preoccupied with obtaining the drug of choice – these are all evidence of
addiction.
The brain relies on neurotransmitters to function. The neurotransmitters bind to certain
receptors which in turn initiates a biological response. For example, emotion or muscle
movement may be the response. Each drug affects the body differently but uses the same basic
process.
When drugs enter the brain, they bind to these receptors as well, and the receptor
initiates a response, that response is the 'high'. As prolonged abuse becomes addiction, that
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drug goes from being the brain's disruptive houseguest to its newest homeowner. It hijacks the
receptor for so long that the brain stops making the neurotransmitters for that receptor
(MyAddiction.com, 2006).
The addiction has introduced a change to the brain which is physiological. Now the brain
is diseased and will continue to be long after the addict stops using the drug. Some of the
changes to the diseased brain are not reversible. Addiction is a treatable disease but not always
curable. Even if the physical condition is corrected, the psychological factors which triggered
the original addiction need to be addressed and corrected to avoid a relapse.
Withdrawal occurs when an addict has used a drug long enough to create a physical
dependence within the brain and body. When the drug is suddenly discontinued, the user goes
into physical withdrawal; symptoms differ depending on the drug, but the general experience is
driven by the brain and involves intense cravings that are manifested in physically painful and
devastating ways. Withdrawal is the first step in an addict beginning to beat addiction. In this
process the addict is fighting their own thoughts as well as the physical need for the drug.
Below you will see a chart showing the ratio of fatal dose to effective dose.
Drug Effects
Chart showing lethal level of drugs
citation
Different drugs have different psychological effects on the brain and different
impairments to the body. Alcohol acts on the brain and can cause addiction. This addiction can
also be hereditary; within families, the addictive response to alcohol seems to be shared. Small
amounts of alcohol produce pleasant feelings to the user. Depressant effects on the brain come
into play when large amounts are used. Judgment, reaction time, speech and motor control are
increasingly impaired with increasing amounts of alcohol (National Families in Action, 2008).
Excessive amounts of alcohol can cause an overdose and death. This is caused by reducing the
number of messages the brain sends to the chest muscles to breath. The victim of alcohol stops
breathing due to the lack of message from the brain and dies. Long term effects are dependency
and addiction. Over a long period of time alcohol use can cause permanent brain damage by
destroying the short-term memory part of the brain.
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Addictive drugs enter the body through a number of routes, make their way into the
bloodstream, and go straight to the brain where they exert their effects (National Families in
Action, 2008). Cocaine is a very highly addictive drug. Crack cocaine is smoked and therefore
high doses reach the brain very quickly through the lungs and mouth. Both crack cocaine and
the powder form of cocaine trap dopamine between the brain’s nerve cells. Dopamine
constantly stimulates nerve cells, giving the user an intense feeling of pleasure. The brain
begins to respond to the mass amount of this chemical by destroying some of the chemical and
shutting down the receptors so that dopamine’s message is not received. This process causes
the user to use cocaine more often and larger amounts to get the same feeling as he or she
received when the drug was first used. High doses of this drug cause paranoia, aggressive
behavior, and violent behavior. This drug creates exaggerated feelings of confidence and
interferes with the individual’s judgment.
Heroin is a highly addictive drug which is injected into the veins of the user. This drug is
said to have users addicted after the first use. The brain has what is called an opiate receptor.
Two natural substances in the brain, endorphins and enkephalins, normally bind to this receptor
and relieve pain. Opiate drugs such as heroin fit into this receptor, change the way the brain
works, and produce addiction (National Families in Action, 2008). Heroin may depress the
body's ability to withstand infection. It produces euphoria, drowsiness, respiratory depression,
constricted pupils and nausea. As heroin leaves the body the users has severe flu-like
symptoms.
Inhalants are products bought at stores such as glue, gasoline, and aerosols that are
abused by users by sniffing or inhaling them to get a high. Inhalants act on the brain and
destroy the outer lining of nerve cells, making it impossible for those cells to communicate
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properly. Symptoms of use include dilated pupils, blisters or rash around the nose or mouth,
chronic cough, nausea and headaches, disorientation, and a chemical odor on breath. After only
six months of use, the brain, lungs, nerves, liver, kidneys and bones may be permanently
damaged.
Marijuana is usually smoked as a cigarette or in a pipe. Scientists have learned a great
deal about how THC acts in the brain to produce its many effects. When someone smokes
marijuana, THC rapidly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical
to the brain and other organs throughout the body.THC acts upon specific sites in the brain,
called cannabinoid receptors, kicking off a series of cellular reactions that ultimately lead to the
“high” that users experience when they smoke marijuana. Some brain areas have many
cannabinoid receptors; others have few or none. The highest density of cannabinoid receptors are
found in parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thoughts, concentration, sensory and
time perception, and coordinated movement. Not surprisingly, marijuana intoxication can cause
distorted perceptions, impaired coordination, difficulty in thinking and problem solving, and
problems with learning and memory. Research has shown that marijuana’s adverse impact on
learning and memory can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off. As a
result, someone who smokes marijuana every day may be functioning at a suboptimal intellectual
level all of the time. Research on the long-term effects of marijuana abuse indicates some
changes in the brain similar to those seen after long-term abuse of other major drugs. Below you
will see a chart showing the annual deaths caused by using drugs.
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Chart showing annual deaths by drug reaction or interaction.
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Ecstasy is a mind altering drug with amphetamine-like and hallucinogenic properties.
Ecstasy is most often available in tablet form and is usually ingested orally. It is also available as
a powder and is sometimes snorted and occasionally smoked. Recent research findings also link
ecstasy use to long-term damage to those parts of the brain critical to reason and memory. It is
thought that the drug causes damage to the neurons that use the chemical serotonin to
communicate with other neurons. In monkeys, exposure to ecstasy for 4 days caused brain
damage that was evident 6 to 7 years later. This study provides further evidence that people who
take ecstasy may be risking permanent brain damage. Ecstasy has been shown to cause
degeneration of neurons containing the neurotransmitter dopamine. Damage to these neurons is
the underlying cause of the motor disturbances seen in Parkinson's disease. Symptoms of this
disease begin with lack of coordination and tremors and can eventually result in a form of
paralysis and eventually death.
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Smoking tobacco is highly addictive due to the nicotine that enters the body when
inhaling the smoke. Smoking cigarettes produces a rapid distribution of nicotine throughout the
body, and reaching the brain within ten seconds of inhalation. The nicotine causes a release of
dopamine, neurotransmitters that carry information across synaptic clefts, in the dopamine
circuit. This circuit, known as the brain's pleasure center, is an anatomically small cluster of
cells. It has evolved over millions of years and mainly seems to reward activities that increase
the likelihood of survival, such as sex and eating. This cluster of cells might be small but it
reaches into regions of the brain involved with a variety of tasks. These dopamine-releasing
pathways course from the evolutionary older part of the midbrain to the hypothalamus and
trigger activity of other cells that extend from one part of the midbrain to an area in the forebrain
known as the nucleus accumbens. It also branches out to the emotion-associated region and into
the cortex, the seat of conscious learning. Chronic exposure to nicotine results not only in
physical addiction but also in mental addiction. Cigarette fixation is a combination of nicotine
dependency due to the nucleus accumbens wanting more dopamine as it is stimulated, and
deeply engrained behavior habits. For some people, the feel, smell, and sight of a cigarette and
the usual rituals of obtaining, handling, lighting, and smoking the cigarette are all associated with
the pleasurable effects of smoking. Also, places and times can have traditions of smoking built
into them, like after sex, after meals, driving in a car or walking to class or work. These
particular rituals, times, and places associated with the pleasurable effects of smoking can cause
cravings and make withdrawal worse. Research is just beginning to document all of the
neurological changes that accompany behavior that helps to develop and maintain nicotine
addiction. Memory and habit have their own neural pathways that reinforce the addiction
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problem. The broad reach of dopamine into the limbic system might explain why certain
emotions, smells or events stir the want for a cigarette. citation
Nicotine, one of the most frequently used addictive drugs, is only one of the more than
4,000 chemicals found in the smoke from tobacco products. Carbon monoxide, another
detrimental chemical, reaches the brain and binds to the hemoglobin and thereby reduces the
usual binder oxygen, which is necessary for cellular metabolism. Research is also beginning to
show that there are other psychoactive ingredients in tobacco. Using neuroimaging technology,
scientists can see the dramatic effect of cigarette smoking on the brain, and are finding a marked
increase in the levels of monoamineoxidase (MAO), an important enzyme that is responsible for
breaking down dopamine. This decrease in two forms of MAO results in higher dopamine levels
(that results in increased desired dopamine sustainment) and may be another reason that smokers
continue to smoke. citation
Vicodin, like other narcotics, relieves pain. It does so by binding to receptors in the brain
and spinal cord. Vicodin can be taken with or without food, but under no circumstances should
be taken with alcohol. Vicodin is used for treatment of pain. It is for this reason, that individuals
who can afford to seek medical treatment are more likely to become addicted to this drug.
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A person can become easily addicted to numerous drugs in this world. All of these drugs
affect your brain and body in one way or another. The feeling and sense of release while on these
drugs are false sensations given by the brain to your body. Some of these drugs may be used for
many years without the user having any type of complications. On the other hand, it may be the
first time using a drug that may cause a person to be physically or mentally impaired, or, even
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worse, cause death. But no matter when the user actually recognizes the problem, the damage
physically begins at the very onset of use.
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Drug Effects
References
MyAddiction.com. How addiction affects the brain (2008). Retrieved August 27, 2009, from
http://www.myaddiction.com/education/articles/addiction_brain.html
National Families in Action. A guide to drugs and the brain (2008, August 26). Retrieved
September 2, 2009, from http://www.nationalfamilies.org/brain/index.html
Swiercinsky, Ph.D, Dennis P. .Brain on drugs (2001). BrainSource.com. Retrieved August 29,
2009, from http://www.brainsource.com/brain_on_drugs.htm
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