The Chemical Affects Of Drug Abuse
Published: 21st January 2010
Views: N/A
Drugs are chemicals that tap into the brain's communication system and interrupt the way nerve cells routinely send, receive, and process information. There are at least two ways that drugs can do this : ( one ) by imitating the brain's natural chemical messengers, and / or ( two ) by overstimulating the'reward circuit' of the brain. Some drugs, for example marijuana and heroin, have a corresponding structure to chemical messengers, called neurotransmitters, which are naturally produced by the brain. Due to this likeness, these drugs may be able to'fool' the brain's receptors and turn on nerve cells to send unusual messages. Pretty much all drugs, loosely or directly, 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.
This reaction sets in motion a pattern that'teaches' folks to copy the behavior of abusing drugs. As a result, dopamine's result on the reward circuit is reduced, reducing the abuser's capacity to enjoy the drugs and the things that previously brought pleasure.
This decrease forces those addicted to drugs to keep abusing drugs to try and bring their dopamine function back to business. And, they may now need bigger amounts of the drug than they first did to gain the dopamine highan effect known as toleration.
long term abuse causes changes in other brain chemical systems and circuits too.
When the best density of glutamate is changed by substance abuse, the brain makes an attempt to compensate, which can harm cognitive function. Drugs of abuse help nonconscious ( conditioned ) learning, which leads the user to experience wild longings when they see a place or person they associate with the drug experience, even if the drug itself isn't available. Brain imaging studies of drug-addicted people show changes in places of the brain that are vital to judgment, decisionmaking, learning and memory, and behavior control.
Most drugs you need to be medicaly detoxed from in a safe enviroment like a hospital, first point would be to see your GP or find a personal rehabilitation clinic to retrain your gourd. There are several clinics out there with different approachs to there treatment. Using different typs of therapy like CBT and NOP.
Drug detox is a straightforward process, but can take time depending on the drug. Detoxification is phase one of drug withdrawal, the process of getting off the drugs. Without a comprehensive alcohol or drug detox there is the possibility the person will return to using the drug after rehabilitation.
Depending on the facility you choose for treatment detox can be attained thru many strategies. Treatments to diminish physical indications of withdrawal to alcohol or other drugs are supplied by most detox centers. To lower the probabilities of relapse a good detoxification program will make counselling available during the drug and alcohol cleanse and help with the physical effects too.
This article is free for republishing
Source: http://josefgray.articlealley.com/the-chemical-affects-of-drug-abuse-1358807.html
Loading...
Ask a Professional Online Now
27 Experts are Online. Ask a Question, Get an Answer ASAP.