Transcript Unit 5 Drugs - Teacher Version

Drugs
Influences on Drug Use
• Biological – heredity
– Identical twins
– Adoption studies
– Boys at age 6 excitable, fearless, impulsive (genetic traits) are
more likely to take drugs
– NPY – brain chemical more sensitive to alcohol
– Gene identified to predispose people to alcohol dependence
• Psychological
– Lacking sense of purpose
– Stress
– Depression
• Social-cultural
– Urban enviro
– Cultural attitude toward drugs
– Peer influences
Drugs
• Our brain is
protected by a layer
of capillaries called
the blood-brain
barrier.
• The drugs that are
small enough to pass
through are called
psychoactive drugs.
Psychoactive Drugs
Psychoactive Drugs - Chemicals that alter
moods and perceptions through actions on
neural synapses
•Altered state (altered moods and
perceptions)associated with changes in brain
activity
Examples: alcohol, marijuana, cocaine (depressants,
hallucinogens, stimulants)
Dependence and Addiction
• Addiction – compulsive craving for a drug despite
adverse consequences
– What about each of our three major types of drugs
make someone want to keep taking them?
• Sense of well-being, feeling of euphoria , blissful pleasure,
relief from anxiety, increased self-confidence, alertness
• Withdrawal symptoms can contribute to addiction
• Tolerance – need to take larger and larger doses
to experience the same effects
– Neuroadaptation - change in brain chemistry that
offsets the effects of a psychoactive drug
• Withdrawal – discomfort and distress that follow
the discontinued use of certain drugs (aches,
nausea, distress)
• Physical dependence – physiological need for a
drug indicated by withdrawal symptoms
• Psychological dependence – psychological need to
use a drug
Drugs are either….
• Agonists – mimics
neurotransmitters
• Opiates (heroine,
morphine) mimic
endorphins
• Antagonists – block
neurotransmitters
• LSD – blocks serotonin
• Reuptake inhibitors
• Cocaine – blocks
reuptake of dopamine,
Ecstasy blocks
reuptake of serotonin
Depressants
• Slows down body
processes and calms
neural activity.
– Breathing slows, pupils
constrict, anxiety
replaced by pleasure
• Alcohol
• Barbiturates/
tranquilizers
• Opiates (morphine,
heroine)
Alcohol
• More than 86 billion
dollars are spent
annually on alcoholic
beverages.
• Alcohol is involved in
60% of ALL crimes.
• Alcohol is involved in
over 70% of sexually
related crimes.
• Is it worth the cost?
Opiates
• Agonist for endorphins.
• Morphine, heroin,
methadone and codeine.
• Pupils constrict, breathing
slows, lethargy, blissful
pleasure replaces pain and
anxiety
• Highly addictive
• Brain stops producing own
opiates (endorphins)
– brain will lack painkilling
neurotransmitters after
withdrawal
Stimulants
• Excite neural activity and
speed up body processes.
– Increased heart and
breathing rates, pupils
dilate, appetite diminishes,
energy increases
• More powerful ones (like
cocaine) give people
feelings of invincibility.
• Amphetamines
• Methamphetamines
• Caffeine
• Nicotine
• Cocaine
• Ecstasy
Hallucinogens
• Psychedelics
• Causes changes in
perceptions of
reality
• LSD, peyote,
psilocybin
mushrooms and
marijuana.
• Reverse tolerance or
synergistic effect
An altered state of consciousness in which people
experience fantastic images and often feel separated
from their bodies is most closely associated with the
use of
Heroin
Cocaine
Barbiturates
Marijuana
LSD
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Barbiturates are considered
Stimulants
Hallucinogens
Depressants
Opiates
Both a depressant
and hallucinogen
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What do methamphetamine, caffeine
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1. They slow body functions and
calm neural activity
2. They depress neural functioning
and reduce pain
3. The distort perceptions and
evoke sensations without
sensory input
4. They excite neural activity and
arouse body function
5. They relax the body, lead to
disinhibition and produce
euphoria
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