Psychoactive Drugs Affects The Body

Psychoactive drugs, such as stimulants have a lot to do with the alteration or manipulation of brain activity (Cherry, K., 2015). A good example of how stimulants can alter brain activity would be, after a person takes a drugs such is cocaine they may experience a feeling of elevated alertness temporarily. According toCherry, K. (2015), drugs that are classified as stimulants include: caffeine, narcotics, cocaine, amphetamines and prescription drugs. The most common legitimate use for stimulant that drugs, would be for ADHD. The most common illegal uses for stimulant drugs would be for sports, parties and college students (studying). Stimulants work by increasing the speed of the the messages going between the brain and the body by increasing the activity of the central nervous system

The reason that this drug can be so intense and dangerous is because it falls into the category II narcotics. Many commonly known narcotics include opium, morphine, and heroin. The addiction rate of any of these drugs is phenomenal. Narcotics are central nervous system depressants that relieve pain without causing the loss of consciousness. They can also produce feelings drowsiness, mental confusion and euphoria. The analgesic effects of narcotics result from the drugs’ effects on the emotional aspects of pain. Many patients that experience intense pain say that after the administration of the narcotic, their pain is as intense as ever but no longer as bothersome. Because narcotics block the emotional side effects of pain they make it much more bearable.

Stimulants can be used to speed up the central nervous system making a person fell more alert and aware of their surroundings. Depressants are the opposites and reduce the activity of the nervous system and produce a feeling of calm and/or “taking the edge off”. Hallucinogenics can be used to make an individual have hallucinations and have distortions in space and

Drugs are chemicals they work in the brain by tapping into the brain's communication system and interfering with the way nerve cells normally send, receive, and process information. Some drugs, such as marijuana and heroin, can activate neurons because their chemical structure mimics that of a natural neurotransmitter. This fools receptors and allows the drugs to lock onto and activate the nerve cells. Although these drugs mimic brain chemicals, they don't activate nerve cells in the same way as a natural neurotransmitter, and they lead to abnormal messages being transmitted through the network.

Awareness of your body as well as the environment is known as consciousness. Psychoactive drugs alters your consciousness by affecting your perceptions, sensation, attention,judgment, memory, self control, emotions, thinking, and behaviors. Three psychoactive drugs are depressants, stimulates, and hallucinogens. Depressants lower your body's basic activities functions and neural activities. Stimulates intensify neural activities and the central nervous system. Lastly hallucinogens are sensations that are not really there.

Some stimulants, like coffee or tea, people use every day to stay awake. Caffeine is the most widely used stimulant in the world. Coffee, tea, chocolate, and energy drinks all contain caffeine. People drink drinks with caffeine to increase alertness but it does not work for a long time. They can be dangerous if not taken correctly and abused. Some stimulants are available only through a prescription, and others are illegal (www.study.com). The central nervous system is ‘stimulated’ by stimulants.

wonder what are you taking in inside your body that makes it so addictive? Studies show that over 100,000 Americans die each year from known side effects to their medication. Stimulants are substances such as cocaine, methamphetamine and caffeine that increase the physiological activity throughout the body. For example, they can be used to improve performance such as staying up all night to study for a final exam or to basically have fun and get high. They can be consumed orally, snorted or injected. Stimulants are addictive drugs that have short term and long term effects on the brain and the body that leads to addiction and eventually an overdose.

Or they are similar enough to the brain’s natural chemical messengers that they trick brain receptors into activating nerve cells. Stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamines cause the neurons to release too much of the neurotransmitters, causing the sensation users describe as the brain “racing.”

-One of the two basic ways of looking at drugs is psychological and sociological effect which focus is on the study of substances that alter our feelings, thoughts, perception of the world, and behavior. Psychoactive drugs are illegal drugs such as heroin, cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy, LSD, PCP, ketamine and GHB, that influence the functioning of the brain, behavior, and experiences .The other way to look at drugs is the social circumstances that lead to drug-taking behavior. First the use of psychoactive drugs modifies the functioning of the brain both at the time during which the drug is present in the body and later when the drug taking behavior stops. Second, drug dependence is a result of a complex interaction of the individual and his and her environment. All drugs, whether illegal or legal, can become dangerous substances when abused. Therefore, the legal classification of drugs means little in terms of how toxic or addictive a substance may be. Some of the most potent medications prescribed by doctors are as harmful if not more so as some of the drugs classified as controlled or banned substances.

Stimulant drugs rev up the central nervous system by increasing heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure. Thus, someone who abuses stimulants will experience enhanced positive emotional reactions and a minimized level of negaitve emotional reactions, as well as alertness. Someone who abuses nicotine, a stimulant, will experiecne relaxation and alertness due to the way in which nicotine activates receptors sensitive to the neurotransimitter acetylcholine. Someone who abusues the stimulant cocaine will experience euphoria, enhanced mental and physical capabilities, stimulation, a decrease in hunger, indifference to pain, and diminished fatigue. Crack cocaine will generate intense euphoria, but will follow with unpleasant feelings. Stimulants

Drugs have been around for a very long time. They are used for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons include relaxation, socialization, curiosity, stress relief, or a form of escapism. However, most people don’t know the threats and danger that it can cause to the body. In this paper, we are going to examine the changes that happen inside the brain due to the effects of different drugs. We will look closely at how drugs such as hallucinogens, ecstasy, cocaine, heroin, and cannabis affect an individual psychologically. I will explain the origin of the drugs, how a person feels while on the drug, how the drugs

Before explaining the several pathways through which these drugs affect one’s memory, concentration and mental clarity, we’ll take a closer look at the human brain in order to understand its structure and functioning. Brain’s structure consists of about 100 billion tiny cells called neurons, sup- ported and nourished by an additional 900 billion glial cells. In order for neurons to communicate with each other, structures called synpases are needed. These synapses connect neurons with neighboring nervous cells and transport the elec- trical impulses and neurotransmitters from one neuron to another.

An individual’s behavior and emotion becomes chemically altered often resulting in dependency, aggression, onset of diseases and poor judgement. This poses a dangerous threat to the neurotransmitters since they have multiple jobs in different parts of the brain. Drugs of abuse are able to exert influence over the brain reward pathway either by directly influencing the action of dopamine within the system, or by altering the activity of other neurotransmitters that exert a modulatory influence over this pathway. These drugs are often powerful and have been known to trigger schizophrenic behavior and can also cause a person to cease breathing, for example hallucinogens such as LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin are able to artificially stimulate the serotonin receptor (Sapolsky, 2005).

Psychoactive drugs are substances that affect the central nervous system. By causing the release of neurotransmitters or mimicking their actions, psychoactive drugs can cause various effects on the brain. The three principal categories that psychoactive drugs are classified into based on their impact are depressants, hallucinogens, and stimulants.

Probably one of the most common forms of psychoactive drugs is stimulants. Stimulants are a class of psychoactive drugs that elevate mood, increase feelings of well-being, and increase energy and alertness. Nearly everybody has tried a stimulant and many people rely on them every single day. The best example of this is the drug caffeine, which is in many of the sodas or coffee we drink. Other forms of stimulants include: cocaine, methamphetamine, amphetamines, methylphenidate, nicotine, and MDMA. An additional common stimulant is nicotine, which is found in various types of tobacco. Stimulants change the way the brain functions by inhibiting neurons, which are nerve cells. These nerve cells communicate using neurotransmitters . One of the neurotransmitters they affect is dopamine, which makes people feel good. Dopamine can be released naturally by simply doing something you enjoy such as riding a bike or eating your favorite food. While these drugs may give the user pleasure, continual use may render their dopamine system useless. This will give the user little to no pleasure, which is often followed by an increased amount used in order to chase that high (NIDA).