Drugs, the brain, and your responsibility Objectives:

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Drugs, the brain, and your responsibility -
Objectives

• Define what is a drug.
• Describe how drugs affect the brain.
• Identify reasons people use drugs.
• Describe how drugs are classified.
• Define addiction and why people get addicted to
  drugs and other substances.
• Describe the dangers associated with the use of
  certain drugs.

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• What is a drug?
• Traditionally, a drug is a therapeutic chemical
  designed to have maximal benefits with minimal
  risks of side effects or toxicity.
• What is a psychoactive drug?
• A Drug that can change cognition, behavior and
  emotions by changing the functioning of the
  brain.
• Name some psychoactive drugs
• Caffeine, heroin, alcohol, Prozac

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Describe some facts about the brain

• Ultimately the brain responds to, processes,
  and initiates all behavior, normal and
  pathological.
• The brain stores each fact, thought, belief,
  feeling and emotion that you have ever
  experienced.
• Changes in brain chemistry produced by external
  environmental, internal stimuli or drugs affects
  how the brain functions and thus effects all of
  our behavior and moods.

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How do drugs work?

• When a psychoactive drug is taken, there is a
  receptor in the brain that turns on and the
  chemistry of the brain is then altered. It is not
  necessary to take a drug to alter brain
  chemistry.
• For example, if you get scared, your heart rate,
  BP, arousal increases and a receptor in your
  brain is turned onit is called the
• Fight or flight response.
• Is there a drug that produces the same results?
• Yes, cocaine, also stimulates pleasure receptors

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How are drugs classified?

• According to the physiological effect they have
• Stimulants, speed up the central nervous
  system(CNS).
• Depressants, slow down the CNS
• Psychoactive drugs alter feelings
• Narcotics, are powerful painkillers
• Designer drugs try to mimic narcotics or other
  drugsamphetamines, hallucinogens.

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Neurophysiology how do psychoactive drugs work?

• The brain consists of two types of cells neurons
  and glia
• Neurons transmit information from all parts of
  the body and also from the outside
• Glial cells provide structural support of neurons
  and have nutritive functions.
• Neurons communicate with other neurons across a
  space called a synapse.

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• In the brain the neurons will make contact with
  several thousand neuronal inputs, but the human
  brain has 100 billion neurons.
• Neurons communicate changes in their environment
  through the release of neurotransmitters.
• Neurotransmitters can be inhibitory or excitatory
  in nature

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Major neurotransmitters

• Dopamine-motors systems, pleasure/reward, mental
  illness, craving
• Norepinephrine-arousal, stress, mental illness
• learning, sleep
• epinephrine-sympathetic arousal
• Serotonin-sleep, dreaming, mental illness,craving
  eating
• GABA,gamma-aminobutyric acid- relaxation

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Where do neurotransmitters come from?

• Neurotransmitters are made in the brain from
  biochemicals that come from outside the brain.
• Some neurotransmitters are made from amino acids,
  the building blocks of protein.
• If the diet is deficient, then some
  neurotransmitters cannot be made.

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Where do neurotransmitters go?

• To the synapse and either attach to presynaptic
  or post synaptic receptors.
• It is this magnificent interplay in the
  functional activity of the brain cells that
  enables us to perceive and respond to our
  environment and to ponder a thought, remember a
  name, or become intoxicated by the scent of a
  flower, perfume, or drug.

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Why do people use drugs?

• Medicinal purposes
• Recreational/social-decrease tension
• Sensation seeking-thrills
• Altered states-performance, creativity
• Peer pressure
• Numb emotional pain, conscious and unconscious
• Religious or spiritual practice
• curiosity

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What is addiction?

• A brain disease, in which some chemicals in the
  brain are deficient or inefficient.
• Uncontrollable, compulsive, chronic dependence on
  a drug.
• A pathological relationship with a substance that
  has life damaging potential.
• The spectrum of addiction could be from alcohol,
  tobacco, eating, working, computers to heroin,
  chocolate.

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What are some causes of addiction?

• Very complex and interrelated variables
  genetics, family influences, friends, life
  events, social and cultural values, availability
  and personality.
• Studies have shown that genetics plays a strong
  role in alcoholism.
• Studies have also shown that there is a failure
  in the addictive brains for a chemical reward
  system, so the brain feels less natural pleasure.

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Lets look at addiction, a disease

• There is a lot of stigma against addiction, and
  this is a major social problem
• It is important to reduce the stigma because
• negative public attitudes adversely affect the
  the level and quality of care.
• The field of drug addiction, treatment and
  prevention has suffered from lack of focus due to
  poor research on describing addiction as a
  disease.

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Much of the confusion is based upon incomplete
understanding of the differences between
intentional drug abuse and addictive drug disease.

• There is a great deal of misinformation about the
  pharmacology of addicting drugs.
• Recently, new neuroscience research that strongly
  indicates that the pleasure pathway (medial
  forebrain bundle) of the brain is affected by all
  addictions, particularly in the pharmacological
  qualities of euphoria, craving and the feeling of
  drug need.

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We need better research to overcome

• SPAM Stigma, Prejudice, Anger and
  Misunderstanding
• All these lead to myths (widely held inaccurate
  beliefs), as compared to facts.
• 90 of 1996 Gallup poll respondents thought
  alcoholism is a disease.
• 60 of 2001 telephone polled addicts thought
  addiction is a disease.

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What is good research ?

• A study that is valid, many large controlled
  studies, replicable results, much peer-reviewed
  in published literature.
• A poor study few replicable studies, highly
  speculative results, little peer review in the
  published literature.

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Why is drug addiction a social problem?

• It affects crime rate.
• It affects our future generations by affecting
  childcare.
• It affects accident rates, death rates.
• It affects daily interactions between people.

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Alcohol The Socially Accepted Addictive beverage

• Is perhaps the worlds oldest known drug.
• It has historically been known as a food, and
  today a drug.
• It is one of the few drugs that does not act on a
  specific receptor site in the body.
• It affects the central nervous system.
• It is toxic to the liver, heart, brain, gut,
  pancreas and fetus.
• Has been beneficial in reducing heart attacks.

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• No other drug causes so much damage to the
  physical, social, emotional lives of people.
• Yet we still do not understand the mechanisms
  through which it works to produce intoxication
  and addiction.
• 80 of all high school students have tried
  alcohol and 5-10 drink to intoxication.

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• There are 2 general types of problem drinkers
• 1. Abusers, who intentionally drink too much,
  too often.
• 2. Dependent users-who lack control over
  their use, they have a medical disease and brain
  dysfunction.

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Some more facts

• There are more male alcoholics than female 31
• Strong hereditary component to alcoholism.
• Pronounced affects on divide attention tasks,
  like driving which requires the driver to
  remember many tasks
• driving, wearing a seat belt, turn on lights,
  pay attention to the road, signs, other drivers,
  control lane position, speed, pedestrians, make
  estimates of time and distance.

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Guidelines for drinking

• Pace your drinking, allow time between drinks
• Do not drink every day.
• You decide when to drink.
• Drink something else in-between drinks.
• Do not drink on an empty stomach.
• Avoid other OTC meds

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Club drugs Ecstasy

• MDMA-methamphetamines with hallucinogens, LSD
  like.
• Also known as Adam, XTC, Beans, Love bug,
  Clarity and Lovers speed.
• Because so many unknown chemicals are used brain
  damage and death are heightened.
• Affects nerve cells that produce serotonin.
• Depressive hangovers, confusion, paranoid
  thinking can occur afterwards.

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Rohypnol

• Trade name for flunitrazepam, and has been a
  serious concern because of its abuse in date
  rape.
• Incapacitates the person and prevents them from
  resisting sexual assault.
• AKA rophies, roofies, roach and rope.
• Produces amnesia, and can be lethal when mixed
  with alcohol and other depressants.

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GHB-gammahydroxbutrate

• Euphroic,sedative and anabolic(body-building)
  results.
• It was available in health food stores from 1980s
  to 1992.
• AKA-Liquid Ecstasy, Soap, Easy lay, Georgia Home
  Boy.
• Seizures and coma can occur especially if mixed
  with methamphetamines.
• Available over the internet, some rave night
  clubs, college campuses and on the street.

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Ketamine

• Is an anesthetic used predominantly in animals.
• Injected or snorted causing hallucinations and
  dream like states, also used for date rape.
• AKA- vitamin K, Special K
• Causes delirium, amnesia, impaired motor
  function, high blood pressure, depression and can
  cause fatal respiratory problems

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Cocaine(comes from the coca shrub and is a
crystalline white powder)

• Powerful stimulant, feelings of well-being,
  euphoria and extreme exhilaration.
• Snorted, liquifyied and injected or smoked,
  free-base.
• Can cause headache, shaking, loss of appetite,
  loss of sex drive.
• Free-basing can damage liver and lungs.
• Can cause strokes, bleeding in the brain, heart
  attacks and sudden death.

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Marijuana

• Active ingredient THC delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
  
• 400 chemicals constitute marijuana
• 60 of these are cannabinoids and THC is one of
  them that produces sensations of marijuana.
• Binds with fatty tissue, gonads, brain and a
  single ingestion of THC may stay in the body upto
  30 days.

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Marijuana continued

• When inhaled it reaches the brain in 14 seconds.
• Difficult to classify but are considered
  hallucinogens
• Sense of euphoria and relaxation, time seems to
  slow, senses appear heighted.
• Memory of recent events, physical coordination
  and perception may be impaired.

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Marijuana continued

• May be an aphrodisiac, but over time may lead to
  the opposite, depressing sex drive, it reduces
  testosterone and leading to impotency.
• Causes rapid heat rate and high blood pressure.
• Is not as dangerous as alcohol, it is addicting
  and produces craving, at least in some users.
• Withdrawal includesrestlessness, insomnia,
• irritability, decreased appetite, tremors.

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Heroin

• Is a narcotic synthesized from morphine.
• Strong sense of euphoria, leads to physical and
  psychological addiction.
• Sharing needles can lead to AIDS and hepatitis.
• Use has increased among blue collar workers,
  teens and women in recent years due to increased
  availability of smoking or snorting.

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A final thought

• The best treatment for any alcohol or drug abuse
  is to treat it by engaging in meaningful,
  enjoyable activities.
• If you find yourself abusing yourself with
  anything, it is wise to seek the assistance of a
  professional that can help you figure out what is
  going on.