Psychological Effects Of Cocaine

Cocaine works by temporarily blocking dopamine transporters in the brain, leaving the synaptic cleft built up with excess dopamine, causing the cell to get overstimulated. This effects the reward center of the brain, making the user feel a sensation of positive feelings for a short amount of time, therefore making it highly addictive. Moving onto methamphetamine (meth), in my opinion, by far the worst drug out off all the others in this experiment. Meth is introduced to the body through inhalation or injection, causing the dopamine transporters in the brain to start working in reverse. Due to this, dopamine floods the synapse causing the body to have intense sensations of happiness and pleasure for a short period of time.

Cocaine influences dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin neurotransmission by inhibiting their reuptake. Pimozide, alpha-flupenthixol, perphenazine and chlorpromazine, all dopamine antagonists, were used to pre-treat rats in an attempt to demonstrate the reinforcing effects of dopamine.

Cocaine which is also known as coke is a powerful restorative mostly used as a recreational drug. Some humans usually snort it, inhale it or even inject it into their veins. Whatever method is used of taking it in, cocaine immediately enters the bloodstream and travels to the brain. In the brain, cocaine obstructs with the chemical messengers neurotransmitters that nerves use to interact with each other. The resulting chemical increase between nerves causes the human to feel high. Feeling high is described as feeling restlessness, paranoid, etc. Cocaine can narrow blood vessels in the brain, causing strokes or even heart attacks. Cocaine can react to the brain by causing the human to have seizures and can lead to violent behavior. The brain

The biggest place crack cocaine effects is the brain. Once the user inhales the vapor into his or her lungs the drug is taken into the user’s bloodstream. When it gets into the bloodstream crack acts upon a part of the brain called the Ventral Tegmental Area. In the bloodstream Crack interferes with dopamine, which is released by cells when engaging in pleasurable activities. After the dopamine is released it travels across the synapse, and binds to a neuron. Binding to the neuron sends a signal to that nerve cell, which sends a signal of good feeling. During the normal dopamine process, once the dopamine sends the signal, the signal is absorbed by the neuron and then releases it. Crack interrupts the cycle because it attaches to the dopamine transporter, which prevents the normal reabsorption process. Since dopamine is not able to be absorbed, it builds up in the synapse and continues to create a

When cocaine is used an electrical signal in the presynaptic nerve cell release neurotransmitters across the synaptic cleft to bind to receptors on the postsynaptic cell. Once the neurotransmitters are bound to the receptors a release of a new electrical signal occurs in the postsynaptic cell. The neurotransmitters are gradually removed from the receptors and brought back into the presynaptic cell through neurotransmitter specific reuptake pumps on the lining of the presynaptic cell. Cocaine affects the levels of dopamine, serotonin and Norephedrine by blocking the reuptake pumps.This results in excess levels of the neurotransmitters to be in the synaptic cleft. These high levels of neurotransmitters continue to bind to receptors which releases more electrical signals to the postsynaptic neuron. Over time this hyperactivity of the neuron causes the postsynaptic cell to reduce the number of receptors on it. Once the hyperactivity stops in the postsynaptic cell normal cell function resumes. However with fewer receptor cells the user feels a lessened sensation of the neurotransmitters. The physiological effects of cocaine can be attributed to the chemical process it disrupts in the nerve cells. Loss of appetite, disturbed sleep patterns, nausea, anxiety, paranoia and depression are attributed to altered serotonin levels. Increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, increased body temperature, contracted

Cocaine has much impact on your body. Cocaine is a stimulant that increases your body,

Cocaine is a stimulant. It affects the neurotransmitter called dopamine. In a normal situation dopamine is a response to pleasure; after the dopamine gets released it is then recycled back into the cell once dopamine has been recycled the feeling of pleasure go’s away. Cocaine is used to prevent dopamine from being recycled, and because it can no longer be recycled large amounts of dopamine build up between neutrons. These high amounts of dopamine disrupts normal brain activity leading to a high

In this paper the many physical and psychological effects of Cocaine use will be presented to the reader. The reader will be able to see the rough timeline of Cocaine use and how it has evolved into the narcotic that is seen today. It will be clear to see just how much the theories on the drug has changed throughout history as a one point Sigmund Freud himself promoted the drug as healthy and could see no fault within its effects (UXL Encyclopedia of Science, 2015). In today’s world it is clear that cocaine is in fact dangerous and it is up to the reader to decide whether the physical effects or psychological effects are more drastic.

The drug that this article discusses is cocaine. Cocaine is a very strong agonistic stimulant that is often used as a recreational drug. The second most frequently used illegal drug, cocaine is commonly administered by intravenous injection, snorting and inhalation. Some of the symptoms of the physiological toxicity that may come from consuming cocaine include a fast heart rate, sweating, and large pupils, as well as very high blood pressure or body temperature when consuming high doses. These effects usually begin within seconds of consumption and usually last between five minutes and ninety minutes. The symptoms of the behavioral toxicity often disillusion from reality, mood swings, an intense feeling of bliss, or anxiety. Withdrawals may result in dysphoria, physical aches and pains, depression, cravings and anxiety. The neurotransmitter that is affected by cocaine is dopamine ("How Cocaine affects the Brain").

One can feel the effects of cocaine almost immediately after use, with these effects lasting only a few minutes or hours. The duration of cocaine 's effects depends upon how it is administered. The faster the drug is absorbed, the more intense the high, but also the shorter the duration. The high from snorting is relatively slow to arrive but it may last 15 to 30 minutes. In contrast, the effects from smoking are more immediate but may last only 5 to 10 minutes. “In the brain, cocaine interferes with the chemical messengers -- neurotransmitters -- that nerves use to communicate with each other. Cocaine blocks norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine, and other neurotransmitters from being reabsorbed. The resulting

Effects that the drug can have on a user that’s short term would be extreme happiness, energy, mental alertness, hypersensitivity to sight, sound and touch. IN 2014, 1.1 percent of 12th graders and only 0.8 percent of 10th and half a percent of 8th graders reported using cocaine. In 2014, there were an estimated 1.5 million current cocaine users aged 12 or older. Adults aged 18 to 25 years have a higher rate of current cocaine use than any other age group, with 1.4 percent of young adults reporting past-month cocaine use. Cocaine from reading a lot of sources could fall under physical and psychological because from cocaine you can get physical symptoms for example, decreased need for sleep, headaches, and muscle twitches.

The endless cycle of addition can be explained as a negative feedback loop. First, there are excessive amounts of dopamine that is unable to be reabsorbed because the cocaine has bound to the dopamine transporter. Second, scientists believe the neural cells in the hippocampus (the memory center for the brain) are changed in a manner that they respond when the user sees the cocaine again. Sort of like the proverbial “Pavlov’s dog” theory. Lastly, usage of cocaine affects the frontal cortex, the area of the brain where courses of action take place. For some, that area can save them from repeating their cocaine abuse, whereas for others, this area could likely contribute to going from abuse to full on addiction (Nestler).

The drug Cocaine alters chemical levels in the brain which can lead the user to have the ‘feel good’ factor.

Cocaine is a hard substance, but in order to fully understand how cognitive behavorial therapy works, we must first understand cocaine and the effects it has on the body. Cocaine is obviously a strong drug. The leaves are grown in South America and the whole plant itself is very dangerous that affects the person physically. When the powdered form is in play, it is usually snorted or inhaled where the nasal tissue absorbs it. Once absorbed it will then be injected into the bloodstream (“National Institute, 2013”). Although it creates a euphoria and even energy, it can also cause the heart rate and blood pressure to increase. Along with that, the respiratory rate increases as well and so does their sweating while their appetite is suppressed (Maisto, 2015). Their blood flow is decreased to their internal organs and to legs and

How to ruin a life: do drugs. Specifically the drug cocaine, a stimulant that increases alertness, energy, and attention. Cocaine is a fine, white powder that people get high from. Creating this drug consists of mixing chemicals in with the drug. There are several ways the body can consume this drug; sniffing it, injection, inhalation, and oral injection. Primarily, this drug comes from leaves off of a coca bush in South America. Columbia produces about 90% of America’s cocaine. The United States is the world’s largest consumer of cocaine. For thousands of years cocaine has been used. In fact, the Incas’ used it over three thousand years ago to get their hearts racing and to increase their breathing speed because they lived high on the mountains- mountains tend to slow down breathing. They would chew on coca leaves, and get high from this. In Peru in the 1500s the people would use it during religious ceremonies to give off a stimulant effect. Countries all over the world used cocaine in medicines to treat patients. An interesting fact about cocaine is that Coca Cola, invented in 1886, actually contained a dose of cocaine- about 2.5 mg. This was sold as a headache cure and a stimulant. In 1903 most cocaine was removed from the drink, but not officially clean until 1927. Other names for cocaine include “coke, dust, line, rail, snow”. Some of its symptoms are composed of psychological and emotional changes in the drug user. People are influenced to think this illegal drug is