Essay about Drugs Affect on Brain

Finally, drugs hurt your brain in ways that you may not know. A drug can kill brain cells, or damage , or interfere with the connections between neurons. People can die when taking to much of a drug or when the drug is mixed with other substances. Remember, there is no way to know just what is an illegal drug sold on the street. Illegal drugs are not tested. Drug users know that drugs are harming them. Drug addiction is a complex and serious problem. The best solution is to stay away from drugs in the first place. Your brain and body will thank you.

Other drugs, such as amphetamine or cocaine, can cause the neurons to release abnormally large amounts of natural neurotransmitters or prevent the normal recycling of these brain chemicals. This disruption produces a greatly amplified message, ultimately disrupting communication channels.

Cocaine has been Shown to block the reuptake of norepinephrine (NE) at the adrenergic nerve ending. Consequently, there is an increase in the postsynaptic stimulation of NE receptors and their target cells because of the increased levels at NE in the synapse. Cocaine’s effect on the adrenergic neurons themselves is inhibition (Dackis & Gold. 1987).

These chemicals can interfere with the process of brain cells communicating with each other. According to Dr. Marissa Merandez (2006), “Psychoactive drugs alter communications between brain cells. Individual brain cells (neurons) communicate with one another through a series of biological messengers called neurotransmitters.” The altered communications of these neurotransmitters is determined by the chemical in use. Psychoactive chemicals can tinker with these communications in many ways. “[Psychoactive chemicals] interfere with normal brain function by blocking it [neurotransmitter communication], or by altering the way neurotransmitters are stored, released, and removed...” (Marissa Merandez, 2006). Interfering with neurotransmitter communications and the distribution of neurotransmitters is what gives a psychoactive chemical its intended effects. The general groupings of these substances fall into either depressants, stimulants, opioids, and hallucinogens. Depressants diminish the activity of the central nervous system. Also, possible long term effects could result in changed brain function and structure, reduced mental capacity, and decreased brain volume. Stimulants increase the activity of the central nervous system, but risk abnormalities in specific regions of the brain, loss of some mental capacity,

Stimulant drugs rev up the central nervous system by increasing heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure. Thus, someone who abuses stimulants will experience enhanced positive emotional reactions and a minimized level of negaitve emotional reactions, as well as alertness. Someone who abuses nicotine, a stimulant, will experiecne relaxation and alertness due to the way in which nicotine activates receptors sensitive to the neurotransimitter acetylcholine. Someone who abusues the stimulant cocaine will experience euphoria, enhanced mental and physical capabilities, stimulation, a decrease in hunger, indifference to pain, and diminished fatigue. Crack cocaine will generate intense euphoria, but will follow with unpleasant feelings. Stimulants

In your post you are saying “A faster drug such as heroin and cocaine occupies enough brain receptors to produce psychoactive effect. It just slows the brain down.” I do agree on the drugs do it does slows the brain down and the side of effects are when it enter the brain heroin goes into morphine that is when binds to molecules on cell opioid receptors. The receptors are located in many areas of the brain and in the body and the opioid receptors are located in the brains stem too. That controls such as blood pressure, arousal, and respiration. Cocaine can prevent dopamine from recycling prevents dopamine from recycling and if you flood of dopamine ultimately it can disrupts normal brain communication and causes cocaine’s high, the short term

Most abused depress the central nervous system in a way unlike alcohol. Using inhalants you experience slurred speech, lack of concentration, euphoria, and dizziness also might have light headaches and hallucinations. Inhalants have a profound effect on nerves that are located throughout the body. Hallucinogens are dugs that cause altered states of precipitation and feelings of flashbacks. There several types of hallucinogens that effect the brain. LSD blinds to and activates a specific, receptor transmitter serotonin. MDMA which is similar in structure to methamphetamine causes serotonin to be released from neutrons in greater amounts than normal. PCP (not a true hallucinogen) can affect many neurotransmitters systems. PCP interferes with the functioning of neurotransmitters glutamate which is found in neurons. Anabolic steroids are chemicals that are similar to male sex hormones and are used by numerous young people. Anabolic steroids are taken orally or by pill form or by injection. After steroids enter the blood stream, they are distributed into the organs including muscles throughout the body. Once steroids enter the brain they are distributed to many

The drugs affect the brain by either increasing the amount of a neurotransmitter by activating the release of a neurotransmitter, or by inhibiting the release of a neurotransmitter, or by blocking the degradation of a neurotransmitter. This action depends on the type of drug used. All drugs activate the reward center of the brain. Virtually all drugs of abuse directly or indirectly augment dopamine in the reward pathway. The neurotransmitters involved in drug addictions are dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, acetylcholine, Glutamate, and Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) plus endogenous opioids and cannabinoids. The standard functions of these neurotransmitters are regulating the pleasure and reward system, attention, mood, and memory. Dopamine

Drugs effect 2 parts of the human brain 1st the cerebral cortex in control of our senses hearing, sight, feel, and taste. The front part of the cerebral cortex controls our thinking including the ability to think, plan, and solve problems the 2nd is the limbic system which contains the brains reward system and moderates our ability to feel pressure. Drugs are used to fool the brain into activating mimicking brain chemicals leading to abnormalities in the brain processing systems. Most drugs target the limbic system for the reward system filling the limbic system with dopamine teaching the brain that doing drugs is a thing to do repeatable.

“Drugs and the Brain” by Solomon H. Snyder is a book about how drugs affect brain functions. This book has 212 pages filled with interesting information. The author breaks down the book into eight chapters. The chapters are “The Brain and Its Messengers”, “Opiates”, “Drugs for Schizophrenia”, “Mood Modifiers”, “Stimulants”, “Easing Anxiety”, “Enlightenment in a Pill”, and “Prospects”.

Drugs have a lot of effects on the brain. They affect three primary areas of the brain. One of them is the brain stem, which is in charge of all of the functions that our body needs to survive, such as, breathing, moving blood, and digesting food. It also links the brain with the spinal cord, which runs down the back, and moves muscles and limbs, as well as lets the brain know what is happening to the body. Another part of the brain that drugs affect is, the limbic system, which links together a bunch of brain structures, such as, someone feeling pleasure when they eat a food that they like to eat. Another part of the brain that drugs affect is, the cerebral cortex, which is the mushroom-shaped outer part of the brain. In humans, it is so big

Psychoactive drugs are a substance that change and affect the consciousness, mood, behavior of the person taking these drugs. The powerful effect that psychoactive drugs have on the brain is caused by the chemicals in these substances that can replicate the chemicals found in the brain. These chemicals are designed to be able to imitate the functions of chemicals in the brain; they act primarily in the central nervous system affecting the neurons in the brain. There is an interruption in communication of neurons which affects our bodies in different ways; some can stimulate activity in the CNS, while others can depress and decrease the activity. There are many different types of drugs that can change the brain chemistry in this way, two of these are narcotics and stimulants.

Many psychiatric and psychoactive drugs that are available on the market, pharmaceutically or illegally, closely resemble neurotransmitters and are actually able to mimic it to the extent that it fools the receptors. Basically, these drugs hijack the neurotransmitters. Once these drugs are ingested, it enters into the brain, gets into the synapse and binds itself to the receptor. This then causes the inappropriate release of neurotransmitters and alter the breakdown and recycling of neurotransmitters or can be used to destroy particular neurotransmitters completely (Sapolsky, 2005, p. 14).

Probably one of the most common forms of psychoactive drugs is stimulants. Stimulants are a class of psychoactive drugs that elevate mood, increase feelings of well-being, and increase energy and alertness. Nearly everybody has tried a stimulant and many people rely on them every single day. The best example of this is the drug caffeine, which is in many of the sodas or coffee we drink. Other forms of stimulants include: cocaine, methamphetamine, amphetamines, methylphenidate, nicotine, and MDMA. An additional common stimulant is nicotine, which is found in various types of tobacco. Stimulants change the way the brain functions by inhibiting neurons, which are nerve cells. These nerve cells communicate using neurotransmitters . One of the neurotransmitters they affect is dopamine, which makes people feel good. Dopamine can be released naturally by simply doing something you enjoy such as riding a bike or eating your favorite food. While these drugs may give the user pleasure, continual use may render their dopamine system useless. This will give the user little to no pleasure, which is often followed by an increased amount used in order to chase that high (NIDA).

Drugs of abuse, such as cocaine, ecstasy, heroin and cannabis, are of natural or synthetic origin, which can alter the emotional state, perception, body functioning and behaviour of an individual. Drugs are known to work in the brain by activating certain brain circuits via different mechanisms, and stimulate or inhibit different neurons in the pathway. However, due to the effects of each drug being different, a drug will affect either different pathways and neurons in the brain to that of another, or through a different process, i.e. direct or indirect activity. This essay will discuss the different mechanisms of action that cocaine, ecstasy, heroin and