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Drug Addiction and Your Brain

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Title: Drug Addiction and Your Brain


1
Drug Addiction and Your Brain
2
Introducing Your Brain
  • Command center of your body
  • Weighs three pounds.
  • The brain consists of several large regions, each
    responsible for activities vital for living.

3
Brain Stem
  • The brain stem is the part of the brain that
    connects the brain and the spinal cord.
  • It consists of the midbrain, pons and medulla.
  • Midbrain- serves as the nerve pathway of the
    cerebral hemispheres. It controls responses to
    sight, eye movement, pupil dilation, body
    movement and heating.
  • Medulla- Is the relay station for the crossing of
    motor tract between the spinal cord and brain.
    Contains cardiac and respiratory centers. Also
    controls reflexes like coughing, swallowing and
    vomiting.
  • Pons- bridge that links parts of the brain to the
    relay station. Controls sleep, arousal, and
    automatic functions.

4
Limbic System
  • Buried under the cortex is the Limbic system.
  • Controls our emotions and motivations and is
    responsible for actions relating to basic needs
    and emotions.
  • This is also where the feelings of pleasure from
    eating, sleeping and memories come from.

5
Cerebellum
  • Coordinates skilled repetitive movements in order
    to maintain balance and posture.
  • Responsible for things you learn once, i.e.
    throwing a ball, walking.
  • Involved in the delegating, attending and
    processing of language and music.
  • Provides proprioception- this is an intuitive map
    of your body parts- it is what helps us walk in
    the dark.
  • Called the little brain as it contains 50 of
    all the neurons in the brain.

6
Cerebral Cortex
  • Considered the-Thinking part of you
  • Divided into 4 different lobes.
  • Frontal Lobe- involved with decision making,
    problem solving, math and planning. Enables us
    to interact effectively and takes part in the way
    we experience the world.
  • Parietal Lobe- Involved with the reception and
    processing of sensory information from the body.
  • Occipital Lobe- involved with vision
  • Temporal Lobe- involved with memory, emotion,
    learning and language.

7
Diencephalons
  • Contains the thalamus and hypothalamus.
  • The thalamus is involved in sensory perception
    and regulation of motor functions like movement,
    and impulse. It also regulates level of
    awareness and activity. If this is damaged a
    result could be a coma.
  • The hypothalamus regulates hormones including the
    onset of puberty, rhymic cycles in the body, body
    temperature, adrenal glands, etc. It acts as
    ones biological clock.

8
Nerve Cells and Neurotransmission
  • The brain is made up of billions of nerve cells,
    known as neurons.
  • Neurons have 3 important parts
  • Central cell body- directs all activities of the
    neuron.
  • Dendrites- receives messages from other neurons
  • Axon-transmits/sends messages from cell body to
    dendrites of other neurons or to body tissue and
    muscles.

9
Neurons Cont.
  • In a neuron, a message is sent by an electrical
    impulse.
  • This electrical message travels along the sending
    branch, or axon, of the neuron.
  • When the messages reaches the end of the axon, it
    causes the release of a neurotransmitter.
  • The chemical travels across a tiny gap also known
    as the synapse to other neurons.

10
Neurons and Drugs
  • Pleasure, which scientist call reward, is a very
    powerful biological force for our survival. If
    you do something pleasurable, the brain is wired
    in such a way that you tend to do it again.
  • There is a specialized set of nerve cells devoted
    to producing and regulating pleasure. These
    cells use a chemical neurotransmitter called
    dopamine.
  • These dopamine neurons relay messages about
    pleasure through their nerve fibers to the limbic
    system.

11
Brain on Cocaine
  • The yellow highlighted area is where cocaine is
    binding and attaching itself.
  • Here in the picture we can see what happens for a
    period of 30 minutes following the use of cocaine.

12
Long Term Effects of Drugs
  • Once addicted the brain starts to show long term
    effects, meaning the brain litterly changes.
  • The level of healthy brain function is
    highlighted in yellow.
  • Top row is that of a normal brain.
  • Middle row is with 10 days of no cocaine use.
  • Bottom row is no cocaine use for 100 days.
  • There is a concern that the brain may never be
    able to recover for long term substance use.

13
Drug Addiction
  • Drug addiction starts by the act of taking a
    drug.
  • Trying a drug is a voluntary descion.
  • Maybe I should see what its like.just this
    once,
  • A friend dares you
  • Your want to feel good or forget your troubles.
  • Prolonged drug use changes the brain. Drug use
    effects each individual differently based on
    their bodys make up.
  • The brain no longer experience pleasure without
    the drug. At this point, deciding to use drugs
    is no longer a voluntary choice. You have become
    addicted.
  • Addiction is therefore characterized by an
    compulsive, drug craving, that persists even in
    the face of negative consequences.

14
Drug Addiction
  • Drug abuse and addiction effects every segment of
    society- Not one person is immune to the disease.
  • Forget the stereotype of a drug addict hanging
    out on a dangerous street corner. Anyone can get
    hooked on drugs, your friend, members of your
    family, your neighbor.
  • Trying a drug for whatever voluntary reason will
    cost you much more than what you bargained for!

15
Marijuana (What is it?)
  • Greenish-gray mixture of dried, shredded buds,
    leaves, stems, seeds and flowers of Cannabis
    sativa, hemp plant.
  • The major active chemical in marijuana is THC
    (delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol).
  • There are also 400 other chemicals found in
    marijuana which some have been found to cause
    lung cancer.

16
Marijuana cont.
  • There are over 200 slang terms for marijuana.
    Most common are pot, grass, herb, weed, reefer,
    jane, chronic, gangster, boom and ganja.
  • Marijuana is either rolled into joints, smoked
    through a pipe, mixed in food, or made into
    blunts.
  • Over the years marijuanas potency has increased.
    It is 10-15 times stronger.
  • When marijuana is used via blunt, most often
    other drugs such as crack cocaine have been
    included. These are called primos or
    woolies.
  • Joints and blunts are also sometimes dipped in
    PCP.

17
Marijuana Continued
  • Marijuana is the Nations most commonly used
    illicit drug.
  • Nearly 98 million Americans age 12 and older have
    tried marijuana at least once.
  • 15.7 of 8th graders have tried marijuana at
    least once.
  • 14.2 of 10th graders are current users
  • Among 12th graders, 42 had tried it at least
    once and about 18 were current users.

18
Drug Trends
19
Marijuana Statistics
20
Marijuana and the Brain
  • When someone uses marijuana, the chemicals travel
    through the bloodstream quickly and reach the
    brain within seconds after being inhaled.
  • Experience as initially relaxing and mellow.
  • Heartbeats become rapid, blood vessels in eyes
    expand, reaction times slow down and coordination
    is effected.
  • Later, feelings of paranoia and panic may be felt
    by the user. This interaction of the THC with the
    brain is what causes these feelings and
    reactions.
  • Once THC has reached the brain it attaches to
    special places on the brains nerve cells, other
    wise known as receptors.

21
Cannabinoid Receptor Sites
  • Research has found that there are several regions
    of the brain which contain cannabinoid receptors.
  • Receptor sites are activated by a
    neurotransmitter called anandamide.
  • Anadamide belongs to a group of chemicals called
    cannabinoids. (THC is a cannabinoid chemical)
  • THC mimics the actions of anandamide, meaning
    that THC binds with cannabinoid receptors and
    activates neurons, which causes adverse effects
    on the mind and body.

22
Areas of the Brain Effected by THC
23
Hippocampus
  • This region of the brain processes memory. When
    THC attaches to the receptors in this region it
    weakens short term memory.
  • The hippocampus also communicates with other
    brain regions that process new information into
    long term memory.
  • If the brain is under the influence of marijuana,
    new information may never register and may be
    lost from memory.
  • With use of marijuana, neurons are decreased in
    the hippocampus.

24
Other Brain Regions and Functions Affected by
Marijuana Use
  • Cerebellum- responsible for balance, posture and
    coordination of movement. Once marijuana is
    used, THC interferes and all the above are
    decreased.
  • Cortex/Sensory Perception- THC also interferes
    with messages sent about touch, sight, hearing,
    taste and smell. The receptors which are
    activated in this area results in the brain
    misinterpreting the nerve impulses from different
    sense organs.

25
Does Marijuana affect physical health?
  • People who smoke marijuana frequently have more
    health problems and are sick more often.
  • Those who were sick were due to respiratory
    illnesses.
  • Cancer of the respiratory tract and lungs are
    promoted by marijuana smoke.
  • Evidence shows that smoking marijuana increases
    the likelihood of developing cancer of the head
    and neck, and that the more smoked, the greater
    the increase.

26
Marijuana and Physical Health cont.
  • Marijuana smoking triples the risk of cancer in
    areas such as the lungs because it contains
    irritants and carcinogens.
  • Marijuana contains 50 to 70 more carcinogenic
    hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke. Ones overall
    immune system is effected by smoking marijuana.
    This is crucial in fighting off diseases and
    bacteria's
  • Research also suggest that a persons risk of
    heart attack during the first hour after smoking
    marijuana is four times his or her usual risk.
    This is due to the raise in blood pressure and
    heart rate and reduction of oxygen to the blood.

27
Marijuana Effects on School, Work Social Life
  • Students who smoke get lower grades and are less
    likely to graduate from high school.
  • Standardized test scores decreased on verbal and
    math.
  • Workers are more likely to have problems with
    coworkers, have increased absences , tardiest,
    accidents and job turnover.
  • Depression, anxiety and personality disturbances
    are all associated with marijuana use.
  • Lack of motivation motivational syndrome. Even
    with cessation, could take up to a year to return
    to normal functioning.
  • Drivers on marijuana have slow reaction times,
    impaired judgment and problems responding to
    signals and sounds on the road. Study of 150
    reckless drivers, 33 tested positive.

28
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