Essay On Impaired Recognition Memory

Brain chemistry is a detailed system that helps the brain to interact with the chemicals that moves important around the brain. Brain chemistry changes depending on what substance or how much of the substance is used. These changes can indicate signs of the beginning of an addiction over time if the drug use begins to get worst it can lead to dramatic changes in the brains over all chemistry. This example supports the theory of brain change ”‘when we elevated levels of ΔFosB in the NAc, the mice exhibited behaviors that are considered reliable indicators that exposing people to the same conditions would cause addiction: They showed more sensitivity to the drug (responded to doses one-third those required to produce a response in normal animals), self-administered more drug, and displayed greater drive (or craving) for cocaine (they worked two to three times as hard to get the drug) ().” The opposing side stated this as their disagreement “human psychology is simply the reflection of human neurophysiology. Thus, for instance, although the authors claim that their account of addiction is relatively 'skeptical,' and has less explanatory power than that of their opponents, they nevertheless seem to accept at least the possibility of a complete account, which will only come about as a result of 'further advances in biological and psychological science (Foxcroft, L. J.

Genetic factors, such as having a family history of drug abuse, has a major influence on the likelihood that someone will fall into a cycle of drug abuse and addiction (Volkow, 2007; Horvath et al., 2013). From a biological perspective, we address issues by attending to the underlying biological cause. Since we know that addiction can be influenced by chemical changes in the brain, we can combat it and prevent relapse by restoring brain chemistry through the use of medications, such as those that eliminate the pleasurable effects of drugs, and ideally through total abstinence from drugs (Horvath et al.,

IncRNAs are excellent candidates for therapeutics development because they have recently been identified as major regulators of gene function through gene-specific modulation of transcription and translation25-32. Several studies have shown that single lncRNAs mediate complex physiological responses26,33-40. Manipulation of these lncRNAs by knockdown has yielded control of these processes41-45. Our studies will provide temporal characterization of drug-induced changes in the expression of lncRNAs in the BLA during reconsolidation to identify novel candidates for the therapeutic manipulation of reconsolidation of METH-associated memories. If time permits during the project period, we will extend our findings related to METH-associated memories to other psychostimulants and drug classes. It is also worth noting that our studies will provide novel insights into the biological functions of lncRNAs, whose function is largely a mystery, particularly in the brain. Further, the knowledge of lncRNAs that result from our studies may be applied to other memory disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder

The stimulant medications have been revealed to affect the prefrontal cortex of the brain that is responsible for making decisions, expressing one’s personality and paying attention (Basu). Stimulant medication affecting the prefrontal cortex gives the why it clears the symptoms of this disorder but not the how. The stimulant medication taken for ADHD increases the levels of the two neurotransmitters in the brain one being dopamine, which causes good feelings and may play a role in the creation of memories, and nonepinephrine that is linked to paying attention and arousal (Basu). The increased levels of these two neurotransmitters and the region of the brain they interact with being the prefrontal cortex show the how and why these stimulant medications could be an effective treatment. The ADHD medication treating the symptoms of this disorder remarkably well is one of the reasons proponents back up the practice of using the medication for treatment so fiercely.

Cocaine’s mode of action has been shown to involve the dopamine receptors. This paper will discuss how cocaine affects dopamine receptors, the mode of addiction, how cocaine affects the frontal brain metabolic activities, as well as the role of excitatory amino acids in cocaine’s mechanism. I will also discuss how cocaine affects another system through its mechanism on the brain—the renin angiotensin system.

Marijuana in the late 1960s’ had only one percent of tetrahydrocannabinol, compared to present day where Health Canada has discovered there is at least 10 percent of tetrahydrocannabinol and 30 percent in some cases. The tetrahydrocannabinol is a strong chemical and works immediately after one has inhaled it. Tetrahydrocannabinol mimics the neurotransmitter anandamide, which fills in the synapse between neurons and this disrupts the brain’s regular functions. In a normally functioning brain, anandamide activates the cannabinoid receptors but when smoking marijuana tetrahydrocannabinol activates these receptors which are in the hippocampus, cerebellum and basal ganglia. This affects the short-term memory, coordination, and learning and problem-solving skills for an individual. Brain development is also affected by the use of cannabis. Dr. Harold Kalant conducted a study in the 1980s’ with rats and cannabis use. He separated the rats into two groups; rats exposed to cannabis at adolescents and rats exposed to cannabis in adulthood. Kalant observed the rats exposed to cannabis as adolescents, had difficulty with memory and learning even after nine years of no exposure. In comparison, the rats who were adults when exposed to cannabis didn’t have long term effects. It is evident that brain development was disrupted by the use of cannabis in the growing years. Also, Dr. Andra Smith saw in her functional magnetic resonance imaging of brain activity of regular cannabis smokers and non-smokers, that the smokers had a more brain activity. She stated it was due to the brain having to work hard to “respond accurately”. It is obvious that brain function and development is harshly impacted by the use of

Meth is an amphetamine and a central nervous system stimulant meaning it is an upper (Inaba & Cohen, 2014). It increases respiration, heart rate, motor activity, and alertness (Fisher & Harrison, 2013). This type of drug leads to euphoria feelings by stimulating the reward center

Some are immediate and some happen over time. With Meth, your brain quickly build a tolerance for the drug. When taken repeatedly over time, methamphetamine can produce lasting damage in the nerve cells located in the brain’s pleasure center, as well as nerve cells in other locations. Meth is known for its damaging effects on support cells in the brain that help protect nerve cells from contagious microorganisms and remove degraded nerve cells from active duty. consequences of methamphetamine’s impact on brain include memory loss, a reduced ability to think clearly or logically, a reduced ability to maintain focus and attention, and a reduced ability to regulate violent or aggressive urges. Methamphetamine brain impact can also lead to the highly debilitating state called psychosis, which commonly includes symptoms such as sensory hallucinations, delusional and paranoid thought processes and the abnormal repetition of certain body movements. Some of the damaging brain effects of chronic drug use may be permanent, while others may resolve partially or fully if a meth user stops using the drug for extended periods of

Addiction is defined as a chronic brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. In my opinion, compulsive drug use is a hallmark of addiction, yet a mechanistic understanding of this process has been elusive. Drug use is initiated primarily to obtain the excitatory actions of addictive drugs on brain reward systems. The reward pathway evolved to promote activities that are essential to the survival of the human race as well as other mammals (Bailey 2004). When stimulated by drugs of abuse, addiction often occurs especially in those who are genetically or otherwise “neurochemically” vulnerable

Marijuana continues to be the most widely used drug in the Western Hemisphere, its cognitive effects robustly revolve around memory. There have been many studies done on the chemical effects that marijuana has on the brain centers concerned with memory and learning. There are more productive studies relating to the effects of cannabis on short-term memory that show different memory processes effected by this drug. Though there is not much knowledge on the effects the drug has on long-term memory due to suspected confounds that temper with the process of collecting proper data, there have been studies showing lasting effects in adolescents and chronic users (Schoeler and Bhattacharyya, 2013). More research should be done on the long-term processes in order to better understand the lasting effects of cannabis use. Marijuana causes these adverse effects on memory by first altering chemical processes in the brain.

In Carolyn Gregor’s magazine article “8 Fascinating Things We Learned About The Mind in 2015”, she wrote about different people’s chemical abuse , personal lifestyles and environmental choices can affect how the mind reacts to inner workings. Studies found from Script Research Institute may have discovered a new drug which could influence the addiction associated memories in people who are user of meth and other mind altering drugs. This drug will be absorbed into the brain and eventually dissolve past memories which are triggered drug use.

Studies on abnormal gene expression in postmortem brain have revealed that histone methylation may be a viable avenue for early detection for some cases of schizophrenia. Histone acetylation and H3 methylation appear to pave the way for CpG methylation. Recent findings point to a possible mechanistic link with H3 and H4 methylation. Evidence suggests that the DNA methylation machinery teams up with histone acetylation and H3 methylation to generate a self-propagating cycle that promotes long-term transcriptional repression. Thanks to these discoveries, we might have begun to resolve the long-standing mystery of how CpG methylation patterns are established. I hypothesize that it is possible to prevent hypermethylation and hyperacetylation

False Memories are fundamentally, unintended human errors, which results in people having memories of events and situations that did not actually occur. It’s worth noting that in humans there are both true and false memories, these false memories occur when a mental experience is incorrectly taken to be a representation of a past event. For example, when people are asked to describe something that happened at a particular time, people rarely deliver accurate answers. Based on research, in eyewitness testimony, the confidence people show while recalling

An Article Review of “Memory blindness: Altered memory reports lead to distortion in eyewitness memory” by Cochran et al. (2016)

Serotonergic system in brain creates an important network for proper functioning of brain. It plays an integral role in regulating A9 as well as A10 dopaminergic neurons in basal neuronal circuit. The 5-HT3 receptors are found to be the only ionic receptors in serotonergic family of receptors regulating several important functions of brain. The abuse drugs lead to dopamine increase in nucleus accumbens. This paper reflects on role of 5-HT3 antagonists in modulating the abuse potential of drugs. Among all the abuse drugs, 5-HT3 receptors are found to be most effective in condition of alcoholism. Moreover, there are evidences of neuroadaptive changes in brain after chronic use of 5-HT3 antagonists. All these studies led to identify site of action of alcohol and other abuse drugs on 5-HT3 receptor which is found to be different than the orthosteric site.