Effect of substance on the brain

Drugs interfere with the way neurons send, receive, and process signals via neurotransmitters. Some drugs, such as marijuana and heroin, can activate neurons because their chemical structure mimics that of a natural neurotransmitter in the body. This allows the drugs to attach onto and activate the neurons. Although these drugs mimic the brain’s own chemicals, they don’t activate neurons in the same way as a natural neurotransmitter, and they lead to abnormal messages being sent through the network.

Drugs can alter important brain areas that are necessary for life-sustaining functions and can drive the compulsive drug use that marks addiction. Brain areas affected by drug use include:

• The basal ganglia, which play an important role in positive forms of motivation, including the pleasurable effects of healthy activities like eating, socializing, and sex, and are also involved in the formation of habits and routines. These areas form a key node of what is sometimes called the brain’s “reward circuit.” Drugs over-activate this circuit, producing the euphoria of the drug high. But with repeated exposure, the circuit adapts to the presence of the drug, diminishing its sensitivity and making it hard to feel pleasure from anything besides the drug.
• The extended amygdala plays a role in stressful feelings like anxiety, irritability, and unease, which characterize withdrawal after the drug high fades and thus motivates the person to seek the drug again. This circuit becomes increasingly sensitive with increased drug use. Over time, a person with substance use disorder uses drugs to get temporary relief from this discomfort rather than to get high.

Short-Term Effects of Drugs on the Brain

Aside from the “rewards” one might experience from using drugs, there are other short-term effects they could have on the brain, including:

• Slowed, elevated, or irregular heart rates – Drugs interfere with the brain stem and can alter heart rates.
• Changes to vision, hearing, smell, touch, and taste – Drugs can alter how the brain responds to different stimuli through the senses.
• Issues with concentration, reasoning, and problem-solving – Drugs often impair judgment and the ability to make rational decisions.
• Lowered response and reaction times – Certain drugs slow down brain functioning and can affect motor functions.

Long-Term Effects of Drugs on the Brain

Long-term drug use is developed from the stimulation of the brain’s reward center. Whenever this part of the brain results in pleasure, it automatically remembers this and indirectly teaches someone to repeat the same behavior or activity again to achieve the same results.

Some drugs can cause the brain to release excess levels of dopamine, higher than one experiences naturally from things they enjoy. In many cases, the release starts to occur immediately upon taking the drugs. Depending on the drug taken, the effects can be prolonged for hours at a time.

Abusing drugs is a behavior people will learn quickly when they are experiencing heightened states of pleasure. Initially, when someone first starts using and abusing drugs, they can feel like they are constantly being “rewarded” because there are other chemical processes at work within the brain.

The brain is not able to keep up with dopamine production because it is depleted quickly each time a person uses it. Naturally, the brain responds by slowing dopamine production because it interprets the heightened levels during drug use and an excess of it. Secondly, the brain will start to numb the receptors in the brain that can interpret “pleasure” signals.

These natural responses have a two-fold outcome for the drug user:

• Things they have used to find natural pleasure, like eating, having sex, or playing video games, are no longer satisfying. They may start to feel depressed, not care about their hygiene, or even push those closest to them away.
• In order to achieve any type of happiness, they will start using drugs more frequently in higher and higher dosages. The increase in usage is due to the brain developing a natural tolerance and refusing to release elevated dopamine levels. In other words, the drug user has to trick the brain into releasing dopamine by using a larger amount of the drug.

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