REWARD PATHWAY
Reward pathway gives pleasure for doing a act necessary for survival (eating, drinking, reproduction, etc.). It also connects in with memory so that the person will want to do the beneficial act again when possible. The neurotransmitter sent along the reward pathway is Dopamine.
* DRUGS ALTER THE BRAIN'S REWARD PATHWAY *
THE PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HIGH
Drugs bypass the five senses step (the five sense stimulating the reward pathway to send out Dopamine) and just go straight for the reward pathway.
THE BRAIN'S COPING MECHANISM
The two way brains tries to compensate for the drug is by reducing the amount of Dopamine receptors at the synapse. By doing so, the has "come down" they will need even more of the drug next time to get the same high. This method is referred to as "tolerance."
Pathways affected by drugs: Reward Pathway, All three Dopamine Pathways, Serotonin Pathways, GABA and Glutamine Pathway
MOUSE PARTY
Types of Drugs: Alcohol (makes GABA receptors even more inhibitory and binds to Glutamine receptors therefore preventing the Glutamine to excite the cell), Anabolic Steroids, Cocaine (clogs the transporters that take dopamine back into the cell and therefore leaves the Dopamine stuck in the synaptic cleft), Dissociative Drugs, Ecstasy (mimics serotonin and causes the serotonin transporters who take serotonin back into the cell after its done its job then starts putting serotonin out and stimulates reward pathway giving it the addictive quality) GHB & Rohypnol, Hallucinogens, Heroin (when the natural opiate is released, dopamine is allowed to be released, Heroin mimics the opiate), Inhalants, LSD (chemically is similar to serotonin and binds to the serotonin receptors. LSD may excite or inhibite serotonin receptors) Marijuana (cannabinoid--aka, anandamide--cannabinoid receptors turn off the inhibitory neurotransmitter, therefore releaseing dopamine; THC--active ingrediant in marijuana--mimics anandamide and binds to the cannabinoid receptors and allowing dopamine to be realsed), MDMA, Mehamphetamine (causes an excess release of Dopamine and overstimulates the cell)
HARDWIRING AN ADDICT
Drug users become drug addicts when areas outside the reward pathway are affected (like memory and judgment) become "hard-wire" and seeking out and taking drugs becomes a habit or even a reflex.
CHANGES LAST LONG AFTER USE
Brain activity of a cocaine addict who has been without the drug for 100 days is far lower (more than half) than that of a normal, drug-free person.
DRUG OVERDOSE FACTS
Most drug deaths occur due to uses of multiple drugs. None of the drugs by itself would be deadly, but its the fact that the user places the drug into their system by syringes that kills them. A dangerous combination is heroin and alcohol because both suppress breathing.
*The majority of deaths occur from an overdose on Heroin because heroin restricts the airways. It increases the inhibitory characteristic of GABA that causes breathing to slow and eventually stop.
*Alcohol. Two main ways to kill:
--Decreased gulatmine causes unconciousness. It can also causes breathing to slow or cease completely
--The body tries to rid itself of unabsorbed alcohol by emptying its stomach. If a person were to purge their stomach while unconscious, their could inhale the contents and drown in their own vomit or inhibit breathing.
*To overdose on nicotine, one would have to have a combination of using nicotine patches or nicotine gum and cigarettes to cause a heart attack or paralyze the muscles that control breathing.
*Cocaine can kill by heart attack, overheating (hyperthermia), and brain damage. Even a low dose of cocaine increase's once chance of a heart attack by 24 times.
*Ecstasy has similar results as cocaine in the fact that it causes heart attacks, overheating, and/or brain damage, only this does so by increasing levels of dopamine and the hormone norepinephrine. And since Ecstasy is often used in clubs where there is a crowd of people dancing together and giving off large amounts of body heat, overheating is often the main killer.
