Transcript The Science of Addiction

Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco Unit
Command center of the body
 Controls everything you do
 Weight – about 3 pounds

Interrupt how it works
 Change how the brain performs
 Changes can lead to compulsive drug
use (aka = addiction)
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Affects 3 primary areas:
Brain Stem (breathing, circulation,
digestion, muscle movement)
 Limbic system (emotional responses,
pleasure feelings)
 Cerebral cortex (decision-making, senses; ¾
of our entire brain)
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Communication network – billions of
nerve cells interconnected
1.
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4.
Neurons (nerve cells that send and receive
messages)
Neurotransmitters (chemical messengers
that help to send messages)
Receptors (allow neurotransmitters to
send messages correctly)
Transporters (recycle transmitters and
shut off connection between neurons)
To send a message, a brain cell releases a chemical
(neurotransmitter) into the space separating two cells, called the
synapse. The neurotransmitter crosses the synapse and attaches to
proteins (receptors) on the receiving brain cell. This causes changes
in the receiving brain cell, and the message is delivered.
Chemicals – tap into communication
system and interfere with nerve cells
 Different drugs work differently
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All drugs of abuse (nicotine, cocaine,
marijuana, narcotics, etc.) affect the
brain’s “reward” circuit – part of limbic
system
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Normal reward circuit
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Responds to pleasurable experiences
Neurotransmitter = dopamine
Drugs hijack this system
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Causes unusual amounts of dopamine to flood
the system
Can last longer when compared to what
happens through a natural/normal reward
stimulates dopamine
Flood of dopamine = “high” or euphoria with
drug abuse
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Think about how you feel when
something good happens…
Limbic system at work
 Natural pleasures in lives are necessary
for survival
 Limbic system drives you to seek out
those things
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1st time drug user
Unnaturally intense feelings of pleasure
 Reward circuit activated – dopamine
release
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Brain starts changing
Neurons sense more than enough dopamine
 Reduce number of dopamine receptors or
make less dopamine
 Neurons die off from toxicity of drugs
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Results
Dopamine’s ability to cause pleasure is
severely weakened
 Person feels flat, lifeless, depressed
 Person needs drugs now just to bring
dopamine levels up to normal
 Large amounts of drug needed to create
dopamine flood or “high”
 Effect known as “tolerance”
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Brain changes
Drive person to seek out and use drugs
compulsively, despite negative
consequences
 AKA = Addiction
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Can’t predict
 Factors that affect addiction:
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Genetic makeup
 Environment
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Starts out as voluntary
 As drug use continues, it goes from
voluntary use to compulsive use
 Why?
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Changes in how the brain functions
 Impairs ability to think clearly, feel okay
without drugs, and to control your
behaviors

Addiction is treatable, but often a
chronic disease
 People can learn to manage their disease
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Medications
 Behavior-based therapies
 Vary from person to person
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Long-term treatment is often needed
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Setbacks are likely
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Questions to assess whether or not a person has
a drug problem:
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6.
Have you ever ridden in a car driven by someone
(including yourself) who had been using alcohol or
drugs?
Do you ever use alcohol or drugs to relax, to feel
better about yourself, or to fit in?
Do you ever use alcohol or drugs when you are
alone?
Do you ever forget things you did while using
alcohol or drugs?
Do family or friends ever tell you to cut down on
your use of alcohol or drugs?
Have you ever gotten into trouble while you were
using alcohol or drugs?
teens.drugabuse.gov/facts/facts_brain2.p
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 Google Images
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