The Influence of Drugs on Neural Firing + Brain

Opiates act like a mimic for endorphins, our natural pain killers

where endorphins create pain relief, euphoria, opiate drugs do the same

Highly addictive

Dopamine Agonists

Act as a mimic for dopamine

Often proscribed for those with parkinson's

Stops tremors

Boxulinim Toxin (Botox)

Botox acts as an antagonist for acetylcholine - released by Motor neurons to contract muscles

Blocks the release of Acts from atom terminal

Muscles do not contract (paralysis

Alcohol acts as an antagonist for glutamate - excitatory Neurotransmitter

Blocks the release of glutamate

Acts as a depressant for nervous system

Re-uptake inhibitors

Selective serotonin

Re uptake inhibitors stop the reabsorption of serotonin by the axon terminal leaves more serotonin at the receptor site

Regulates mood

These substances are often illicit and can lead to substance use disorders and addictions.

People who suffer from addiction may experience negative withdrawal symptoms when attempting to quit using the substance because their body has grown accustomed to it. The more they use a substance, the more tolerant their body becomes, causing them to have to take more and more of the substance to achieve the same high.

It becomes a whole cycle of addiction that takes lots of strength to break.

Typical everyday drugs - coffee, tea, or coca cola - all contain the psychoactive drug caffeine. If the drug disrupts someone's life, daily schedule, or disables them to do something, it becomes a problem.

Addiction differs majorly from everyday use!

Hyperpolarization is a change in a cell's membrane potential that makes it more negative. It is the opposite of a depolarization. It inhibits action potentials by increasing the stimulus required to move the membrane potential to the action potential threshold.

Depressants are one classification of drugs that reduce or slow our neural activity and body functions. A few depressants are alcohol, barbiturates, and opiates.

Alcohol

Alcohol is the most commonly used depressant in the world..

The main effects of alcohol include

• slowed neural processing,

• memory disruption,

• reduced self-awareness,

• and reduced self-control.

Low doses of alcohol relax the drinker by slowing down the sympathetic nervous system but large doses cause all of the above.

Ever hear of blackouts? After one wakes up, they have no memory of the event. This is because alcohol suppresses REM sleep.

Addiction could lead to alcohol use disorder, which is marked by

• tolerance,

• withdrawal,

• and the need to continue drinking.

Millions of people have this disorder and it has drastic effects such as shrinking the brain

Barbiturates

Barbiturates are tranquilizers that suppress the activity of the central nervous system.

Prescribed to reduce anxiety, induce sleep, and prevent seizures.

The combined use of barbiturates and alcohol is very deadly.

Opiates

Opiates depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety.

Opiates, such as morphine and heroin, stop the production of endorphins.

Endorphins are the body’s natural painkiller and since opiates mimic endorphins, stopping the drug could mean death by overdose.

As a result of the pleasure felt by taking opiates, they are extremely addictive.

Stimulants excite neural activity and speed up body functions. Drugs that fall into this category include nicotine, amphetamines, methamphetamine, cocaine, ecstasy, and MDMA.

Nicotine

Nicotine is found in tobacco. Smokers develop a quick tolerance to nicotine and are very prone to withdrawal symptoms. Smoking decreases life expectancy and is also correlated with higher rates of depression and divorce.

• Within 7 minutes of smoking a cigarette, nicotine causes a signal to be sent to the central nervous system, telling it to release several neurotransmitters:

  • Epinephrine and norepinephrine diminish appetite and boost alertness

  • Dopamine and serotonin calm anxiety and reduce the ability to feel pain

Cocaine

Cocaine produces alertness and euphoria. Euphoria is a state of excitement that occurs as a result of the brain being depleted of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine.

However, within an hour of taking cocaine, a crash of depression comes upon your body.

This leads to mood swings, possible cardiac arrest, or failure to breathe.

Hallucinogens are another classification of drugs that are known to distort perception and evoke sensory images without any actual sensory input.

THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, is a mild hallucinogen.

Other hallucinogens include LSD and psilocybin (mushrooms).

Hallucinogenic experiences are often similar to the altered state of consciousness that occurs when people have a near-death experience.