Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Dopamine and drug dependence
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Dopamine and drug dependence
Lola’s urge for a larger dose of the mood enhancing street drug in order to feel its effects again can be classified as the withdraw effect. The withdraw effect occurs when a certain neurotransmitter is being duplicated by the chemical substance brought into the body. Which then causes less production of the body’s natural neurotransmitters. In Lola’s case the drug she is consuming has started to take the place of the remaining necessitated neurotransmitters. Thus, as she multiplies her dosage her body’s natural neurotransmitters are being substituted by the drug’s neurotransmitters. This activity is also identified as the accumulation of the body’s tolerance. Consequently, as Lola expands her tolerance to the drug, her body becomes used
When Jeanna became addicted so young she disrupted the normal development of the part of the brain that handles the abilities to plan ahead, handle complex tasks, and inhibit inappropriate behavior (Buzzed intro and Brain basics ppt slide 22). Jeanna showed the positive incentive theory of addiction. The hedonic value she gets from the methamphetamine does not equal the anticipated feeling. She expects the meth to make her feel numb, but she continuously has to take more and more of the drug to feel the same effect. As stated in our addiction powerpoint, “In chronic addicts, positive-incentive value of drug is out of proportion with pleasure actually derived from it” (Addiction ppt slide 9). This is important pertaining to the class because she is feeding her addiction more as she gains tolerance to the dosage of drug she initially took. The episode did not explain how severe her withdrawal was when Jeanna stopped using, but they did emphasize that she was using because of the pain of losing her son. I find this important because there is an emotional aspect to her drug abuse. She is numbing her emotional pain and this drives her to take more and more of the drug in order to reach the initial feeling she felt when she took meth the first time after her son
Michelle Alexander starts her book by taking us on a trip back in time to the start of it all: the Civil War. Now, we all learned about the Civil War in middle school and high school and how the great Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery and freed all the African Americans with the Emancipation Proclamation. In chapter 1, she really touches on this and on history, the beginning and end of slavery and the beginning and end of the Jim Crow Laws.
But often the symptoms do not stop at acute withdrawal. After the body makes initial adjustments to the absence of drugs, the changes that have occurred in the brain still need time to revert back to their original state. During this period, a variety of symptoms known as Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS) begin to occur. In the book Uppers, Downers, All Arounders, published by CNS Productions, authors Darryl Inaba and William Cohen define PAWS as “a group of emotional and physical symptoms that appear after major withdrawal symptoms have abated” (Inaba & Cohen, 2011).
Credibility material: Its intake results in adverse medical conditions that are further exalted by its addiction properties that ensure a continued intake of the substance. The drug can be abused through multiple means and is medically recorded to produce short-term joy, energy , and other effects such as increased heart rate and blood pressure. This ultimately results in numerous psychiatric and social problems; factors that played a major role in its illegalization after multiple and widespread cases of its effects were reported in the country during the 1900s. In addition to this, the drug results in immediate euphoric effect, a property which the National Institute of Drug Abuse (2010) attributes to be the root cause for its increased po...
Cocaine. National Institute of Drug Abuse: The science of drug abuse and addiction, Retrieved from http://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/directors-page Holman, B. (1994) The 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary Biological effects of central nervous system stimulants. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pd fviewer?sid=118723c1-a0ab-413a-ace1.
The war on drugs in our culture is a continuous action that is swiftly lessening our society. This has been going on for roughly 10-15 years and has yet to slow down in any way. Drugs continue to be a problem for the obvious reason that certain people abuse them in a way that can lead to ultimate harm on such a person. These drugs do not just consist of street drugs (marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy), but prescription medications as well. Although there are some instances where drugs are being used by subjects excessively, there has been medical research to prove that some of these drugs have made a successful impact on certain disorders and diseases.
Because of this extreme depression the user is almost forced to use again to alleviate depression. The tolerance level of the user thus increases. Tolerance refers to the fact that through continued use of a drug, users often feel the need to increase the "dose"...
...a prolonged period of time. This sensation is followed by increase heart rate, blood pressure, and sexual appetite. Dopamine uptake continues to be blocked by constant use of cocaine as the system releases less and less dopamine and the reward system goes dry. The cocaine user becomes anxious and unable to experience pleasure without the drug. Consequently, the postsynaptic cells become hypersensitive and sprout new receptors in a desperate effort to pick up dopamine signals. A vicious cycle of addiction begins and cocaine is needed to experience pleasure as it suppresses dopamine release even more. Dopamine alone is not enough to maintain addiction, glutamate, which plays an important role in learning, is required to maintain addiction. Glutamate signaling seems to cause more permanent changes in the brain that leads to the drug-seeking behaviors elicited by users.
Drugs seem to cause surges in dopamine neurotransmitters and other pleasure brain messengers. However, the brain quickly adapts and these circuits desensitize, which allows for withdrawal symptoms to occur (3). Drug addiction works on some of the same neurobiological mechanisms that aid in learning and memories (3). "This new view of dopamine as an aid to learning rather than a pleasure mediator may help explain why many addictive drugs, which unleash massive surges of the neurotransmitter in the brain, can drive continued use without producing pleasure-as when cocaine addicts continue to take hits long after the euphoric effects of the drug have worn off or when smokers smoke after cigarettes become distasteful." (4)
...raving the drug again because dopamine levels were so high; they wanted to feel the same way again.
Information about the neurological development informs how a drug addict who uses heroin repeatedly, alter the neurological circuitry for dopamine which triggers pleasure. According to the chronicity model, changes in the dopamine system which develops various emotions such as feelings of pain, depression, and desire for more of the drug. Garcia explains that although she doesn’t deal with the brain, she is interested in how the scientific understanding of addiction is perceived and personal experiences of heroin addicts. She explains that she works for community- based treatment programs that adopted the “chronic illness-care model”. She explains that she anticipates for the heroin addicts to complete the program successfully, but is fully aware that most of not able and will return. The Neuvo Dia’s executive director explains that she would like for the recovery to be a onetime thing, but understands that it’s not. Garcia explains the different problems of chronicity and how it affects the addicts. She explains that there were extremely high rates of relapse at the clinic during the year she worked as an attendant. During her shifts, she observed different
The brain becomes accustomed to the chemical changes caused by the chemical changes caused by the substance. It begins to alter its normal production and starts releasing neurotransmitters. The user begins to lose control and has difficulty limiting their drug intake; the need to consume the substance becomes more compulsive because it has affected the region of the brain that controls impulse, behavior, and craving.
The altered states of consciousness produced by drugs presents an all-to-common phenomenon in today’s society. Whether the desired sensation comes in the form of energy, a means of relaxation, or pain reduction, many people go to great lengths and present their bodies to threatening conditions in order to achieve this euphoric “high.” Unfortunately, the use of these drugs very often comes with dangerous side effects that users must learn to manage with for the rest of their life. According to neuroscientists, our entire conscious existence bases itself off of the lighting-fast reactions occurring in our nervous system (Nichols, 2012). Therefore, changing these neurological reactions can permanently effect our conscious being (Blatter, 2012). The physical and neurological effects from the use and abuse of stimulants, sedatives, hallucinogens, organic solvents, and athletic performance enhancing drugs will be discussed in order to better comprehend why certain individuals expose themselves to such dangerous materials with seemingly no regard to the permanent consequences associated with such actions.
... has fewer physical symptoms. However, one may experience more psychological and emotional symptoms. One is, therefore, expected to be patient, have self-care, relax, and carry on with the flow so as to finish the stage. In conclusion, drug addiction is caused by various factors such as family background, peer pressure, and mental illness among others. People take drugs to feel relaxed, and reduce stress among other reasons. However, excess taking of drugs can lead to drug addiction or drug addiction which causes body damage and maybe even lead to death. This paper has succeeded in looking at the various factors which cause drug addiction, some of which are family history of addiction, social environment, heredity, mental addiction, peer pressure, and escapism (Heymann and Brownsberger). The paper has also highlighted the physical addiction, symptoms and withdrawal.
The use of drugs is a controversial topic in society today. In general, addicts show a direct link between taking drugs and suffering from their effects. People abuse drugs for a wide variety of reasons. In most cases, the use of drugs will serve a type of purpose or will give some kind of reward. These reasons for use will differ with different kinds of drugs. Various reasons for using the substance can be pain relief, depression, anxiety and weariness, acceptance into a peer group, religion, and much more. Although reasons for using may vary for each individual, it is known by all that consequences of the abuse do exist. It is only further down the line when the effects of using can be seen.