Drug Addiction And Its Effects On The Brain

Heroin, a powerful narcotic, acts upon the brain as a painkiller, increasing physical addiction and ongoing emotional dependence (Schaffer Library of…). Heroin has many challenging and highly risky effects on the user, all the more hazardous if overdosing is present. This extremely dangerous drug, heroin, will never cease being used, but may cease the existence of an individual.

After Heroin is injected or inhaled, it crosses the blood brain barrier, and once in the brain, it is converted to morphine and will bind with opioid receptors. This transferring is what gives the user their rush, and the more of the drug, the faster it binds and the stronger the rush. Heroin

To understand addiction further, it is important to look at how drugs have neurological effects in a human body. Drugs can be ingested in various ways; while some are taken orally, some are smoked (cannabis) while others are injected directly into the blood stream (Heroin). Once in the body, they mainly affect the reward pathway in the brain, known as the dopaminergic pathway, which in turn gives pleasure. Even though all drugs affect the reward and motivation pathways in the brain, their speed depends on the way the drug has been consumed. Over constant use of drugs, the cognitive functions are impaired as the effects become more prominent in learning, memory

Heroin provides a rush feeling in the brain which is can be accompanied by the following symptoms; a warm flushing of the skin, a dry mouth, and a heavy feeling in the extremities. The following side effects often present themselves nausea, vomiting and severe itching. After the initial effects of heroin have faded, abusers will be drowsy for several hours. With heroin the individual's mental function is often clouded because of the drugs effect on the central nervous system. Long term abuse of the drug can result in respiratory and cardiac functions slowing this are often the cause of death in heroin

“Heroin has analgesic and euphoric properties” (Abadinsky, 2014, p. 45). When the drug is taken and enters the body, heroin relieves pain, works as a sedative, decreases one’s anxiety, relaxes muscles, slows motor activity, drowsiness, and a feel of well being (Abadinsky, 2014). When taken, heroin will typically start to work within ten seconds, depending the method used to ingest the drug (Abadinsky, 2014). Most users will take a needle full of heroin after he or she cooked the powder into a liquid, and injected through the skin into a vein (Abadinsky, 2014). Heroin can also be smoked by inhaling the fumes like when marijuana is smoked (Abadinsky, 2014). There are four different stages that can occur when a person uses heroin, including the rush, the high, the nod, and being straight (Abadinsky, 2014). The rush is when the user experiences multiple types of euphoric feelings, instinctive sensations, a flushed face, and deeper vocals (Abadinsky, 2014). “Heroin activates brain systems that are responsible for reinforcing peoperties of such natural rewards as food and sex” (Abadinsky, 2014, p. 45). The high is a feeling of well-being that can last for hours, but the high can be less effective depending on the user’s tolerance to the drug (Abadinsky, 2014). Therefore, if a user has a high tolerance to the high, he or she must increase dose size in order to experience the effects of the high (Abadinsky,

“Heroin use results in a massive amplification of dopamine activity (Sherman, 2007)”, which produces intense pleasure. It mimic's the brain’s naturally occurring opioid endorphin neurotransmitter. The chances that heroin use will lead to addiction is associated the speed in which heroin promotes dopamine, the intensity of dopamine effects and the reliability that dopamine effects will occur. It has high activity on opioid receptors, which means that there is a very high intensity of pleasure. It also has near perfect reliability for producing pleasure (Sherman, 2007).

All heroin users—not just those who injected the drug—risk becoming addicted. Individuals who abuse heroin over time develop a tolerance for the drug, meaning that they must use increasingly larger doses to achieve the same intensity or effect they experienced when they first began using the drug. Heroin ceases to produce feeling of pleasure in users who develop tolerance: instead, these users must continue taking that dug simply to feel normal.

The continued response is the "high" or a feeling of euphoria created by the drug, since the brain learns to function in this pattern other normal behavioral patterns such as, planning tasks, memory, motivation and execution of tasks become overloaded (Volkow). This is when addiction happens in the brain. It is more than just liking the substance and what it does; it is now the psychological need to have it to maintain a new normal. When your brain is without a substance, it will send a message to the body that something is wrong. Withdrawal from a drug starts when there is a stop of using the drug. Withdrawal symptoms are different based on the type of drug used. Withdrawal patterns consist of sweating, tension, panic attacks, headaches, heart palpitations, disturbed sleep, nausea and much more (NIDA

Mentally and socially people use heroin as an escape from life. They can shoot up some heroin and forget about all there issues for a few hours. Also repeated use can lead to what's know as a “Psychological Addiction”. This is when the user believes that they can't live without heroin and convince themselves repeatedly use. During a psychological addiction users have no actual addiction to the

Most users prefer to ingest heroin  through  injection. Which takes the mind altering substance straight into the bloodstream, resulting in what most users describe as a "rush".  In addition to injection through the bloodstream, heroin can also be taken in through different methods. These include to snort or to smoke.  Furthermore, the short term effects of heroin last a couple hours then disappear. Theses include; a rush, dry mouth, respiratory depression, nausea and warm flushed skin. Long term effects include; Bad teeth, Inflammation of the gum, Constipation, Cold sweats, Itching Depression, Pustules on the face, Loss of appetite, and Insomnia. In addition to the long term effects of this mind altering drug, heroin  can also clog blood vessels that lead to major organs causing organ failure.  Not only are users exposed to the effects of the drug, but they are also susceptible to diseases from unsanitary habits. Addicts who inject drugs like heroin are at risk of contracting HIV or HCV through blood contact. Which occurs through the use of sharing needles and other equipment.   Furthermore, once heroin reaches the brain, it turns into morphine. It connects to the opioid receptors. Which in turn is in charge of the major components of the brain. Nonetheless, like any other drug users can overdose on heroin. Once this occurs the supply of oxygen reaching the brain ceases causing hypoxia.

Chances are you know someone with a drug addiction. We often struggle to understand why an addict continues to abuse drugs. Whether it’s a choice they make or an actual disease is often questioned. Concluding an answer to that question you need to understand what addiction is, why people do drugs, what the outcomes of an addiction are, and if there are treatments for the addict.

As there are many effects of heroin use there is one effect that all users love, but are incapable of explaining. This effect if called the rush, also known as the “good feeling” they get when they get high. This effect is also the main reason heroin is the most commonly used illegal substance in the world. “The intensity of the rush depends on how much drug is taken and how fast it enters the brain, and binds to the opioid receptors” (drugabuse.gov). This feeling is why a vast majority of users choose to inject heroin because it is a direct shot to the brain since blood flows, and circulates throughout the brain. When the rush is in its peak, the effect every user experiences is dehydration, while others experiences things such as nausea, and/or dizziness along with it. When the rush begins to wear off, also known as the “come down”, all addicts become tired, and their heart beat and breathing tends slows down. The come down is also when they begin to do things they are unaware of in order to get more

The most dangerous opiate there is, heroin is a potent and quick hitting drug that poses many risks to living an enjoyable life. Opiates like morphine are substances with qualities similar to opium, which derives from the poppy plant. To understand how tempting a painkiller like this might sound to the oblivious person, it is important to know what type of effects that using heroin will bring about. New users typically start by smoking or sniffing it, but like many opiates, developing a tolerance, becoming psychologically dependent, and eventual withdrawal symptoms are expected, leading to heavy usage within months. Annual mortality rates of heroin users are rising at two percent, but treatments are accessible (Andrew Wickens, 2009). A deadly drug indeed, so how does it manage to ruin so many lives year by year? Likewise, when heroin enters the body, it turns into morphine and when it reaches the brain, it binds to mu-opioid receptors (MORs) (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2016). These receptors stimulate the release of dopamine along the reward pathway of the brain, thus creating the mind-numbing euphoria and relaxed state, until the user acknowledges the impact and detriment that heroin use can have on the nervous system and overall life expectancy.

Addiction can have very harmful effects, but the truth is that there are people all around us struggling with this every day. After reviewing causes, treatment, and remission of this disease I hope that you now have more information on addiction and its’ effects.

Heroin exerts its main effects through psychological mechanisms of action, the user feels a sense of great warmth and well-being and views the world with greatly reduced anxiety and emotional distress. These feelings last for a relatively short period of time of around 4-6 hours. With repeated use the user develops tolerance and the user will need greater quantities of the substance to achieve the same effect. In time, as addiction develops the user lifestyle alters to accommodate spending an increasing amount of time obtaining and consuming