What happens to your brain when you take drugs?
Drugs are chemicals that tap into the brain’s communication system and disrupt
the way nerve cells normally send, receive, and process information. There are
at least two ways that drugs are able to do this: (1) by imitating the brain’s
natural chemical messengers, and/or (2) by overstimulating the “reward circuit”
of the brain.
Some drugs, such as marijuana
and heroin, have a similar structure to chemical messengers, called neurotransmitters,
which are naturally produced by the brain. Because of this similarity, these drugs
are able to “fool” the brain’s receptors and activate nerve cells to send abnormal
messages.
Other drugs, such as cocaine
or methamphetamine, can cause the nerve cells to release abnormally large amounts
of natural neurotransmitters, or prevent the normal recycling of these brain chemicals,
which is needed to shut off the signal between neurons. This disruption produces
a greatly amplified message that ultimately disrupts normal communication patterns.
Nearly all drugs, directly or indirectly, target the brain’s reward system
by flooding the circuit with dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter present
in regions of the brain that control movement, emotion, motivation, and feelings
of pleasure. The overstimulation of this system, which normally responds to natural
behaviors that are linked to survival (eating, spending time with loved ones,
etc), produces euphoric effects in response to the drugs. This reaction sets in
motion a pattern that “teaches” people to repeat the behavior of abusing drugs.
As a person continues to abuse drugs, the brain adapts to the overwhelming
surges in dopamine by producing less dopamine or by reducing the number of dopamine
receptors in the reward circuit. As a result, dopamine’s impact on the reward
circuit is lessened, reducing the abuser’s ability to enjoy the drugs and the
things that previously brought pleasure. This decrease compels those addicted
to drugs to keep abusing drugs in order to attempt to bring their dopamine function
back to normal. And, they may now require larger amounts of the drug than they
first did to achieve the dopamine high—an effect known as tolerance.
Long-term
abuse causes changes in other brain chemical systems and circuits as well. Glutamate
is a neurotransmitter that influences the reward circuit and the ability to learn.
When the optimal concentration of glutamate is altered by drug abuse, the brain
attempts to compensate, which can impair cognitive function. Drugs of abuse facilitate
nonconscious (conditioned) learning, which leads the user to experience uncontrollable
cravings when they see a place or person they associate with the drug experience,
even when the drug itself is not available. Brain imaging studies of drug-addicted
individuals show changes in areas of the brain that are critical to judgment,
decisionmaking, learning and memory, and behavior control. Together, these changes
can drive an abuser to seek out and take drugs compulsively despite adverse consequences—in
other words, to become addicted to drugs.
If you or someone you care
about suffers from drug abuse and addiction, Choices
Recovery Center a drug and alcohol addiction treatment
center in South Florida has been the drug rehab and alcohol rehab of choice
for individuals in need of recovery from addiction and substance abuse across
the United States. We have been helping drug addicts, alcoholics and dual
diagnosed clients recover from their addictions for more than a decade.
Our Drug Rehab and Alcohol rehab Treatment Programs
are individualized to each client's needs.
Here at Choices Recovery Center
WE ONLY TREAT 36 PATIENTS AT A TIME TO ASSURE PERSONAL ATTENTION, INDIVIDUALIZED
TREATMENT, AND PATIENT RECOVERY SUCCESS. If you like a comfortable, intimate setting,
then our drug addiction treatment center in South Florida
may be the right choice for you and the beginning of a new life towards recovery.
You are not going on a vacation, but Drug and Alcohol
Rehab at Choices Recovery in Florida is a hard to beat option, for its quality,
climate opportunity and value. So, give us a call at our toll free drug and
alcohol rehab helpline ( 800-788-1659 ) or send us an
e-mail and find out how you can start on your recovery process today.
Partial
Information contained in this page is courtesy of The National Institute on Drug
Abuse (NIDA) for more information on Understanding Drug Abuse and Addiction please
visit:
http://www.drugabuse.gov/Infofacts/understand.html
| 
