How do drugs actually work? Besides the fact that they are addictive, what are their consequences on the human body? And it is true that drugs destroy our neurons irreversibly ? Here’s how drugs work and where artificial pleasure may lead to ..
According to the World Health Organization, psychoactive drugs are all substances that, when they are consumed, are capable to modify the psycho-physical balance of a person. These substances work in the brain on the mechanisms that normally regulates our behavior, thoughts and motivation. There are five major natural substances that are a source for all the others:
- alcohol
- cocaina
- morphine / heroin
- cannabis
- nicotine
This is explained in a recently article that appeared in the Italian magazine Focus, by Professor Gian Luigi Cessa, specialist in neurology, psychology and pharmacology at the University of Cagliari. So, all the other drugs, limit themselves to the imitation of the effects and characteristics of these 5.
“All psychoactive substances act on a cerebral level serving themselves to the complicated mechanism of pleasure, that regulates activity like eating or having sex. But pleasure, when it becomes a purpose, doesn’t do anything good, and this is why nature chose to regulate it through a control circuit” the specialist said. When the behavior that causes pleasure is repeated, the satisfaction levels decrease themselves: after 4 times, even our favorite food becomes bad. And this usually ends up in becoming an obsession or addictiveness.
Our brain produces indispensable drugs to the human body: when we provide the body with different drugs than the natural ones, then we caused a “short circuit”. ” Psychoactive substances addiction is a neurological disease, same as Parkinson or Alzheimer, that affects the motivational system of the brain” says Gessa. Drugs manage to substitute themselves to certain chemical products that are produced naturally by the human body, that are indispensable to the survival mechanisms like eating or reproduction. In a healthy brain, the perception of desire, even if this is a plate of food or a potential sex partner, actives a specific sequence, regulated by these natural substances.
Drugs that are artificially inserted in our body, are making this process to block itself, the derived pleasure from the consumption is more intense than the one produced normally by the body. For example, it is said that the sensations produced by heroin can be more intense than an orgasm, it’s no wonder that heroin manages to be a substitute for sex. Also, other physiological stimuli like hunger, are not received as they should be, the only necessity is the drugs. And the brain quickly learns to appreciate and to prefer these new “shortcuts” to pleasure.
Between the drugs produced naturally by the body and the artificial drugs there is on precise corespondent:
- marijuana is a substitute for anandamide, which is a neurotransmitter implicated in mechanisms that regulates the appetite, memory, reproduction.
- cocaine is a substitute for dopamine, neurotransmitter implicated in movement and mood processes.
- heroin is a substitute for endorphins, implicated in processes that regulates pain, behavior, learning, emotions and sleep.
- ecstasy pomps serotonin and blocks dopamine; the combined effect leads from a sensation of force to a cerebral meltdown, with anxiety attacks, depression and the inability of processing censorial information
Marijuana
From euphoria to panic, from a state of happiness to anxiety: cannabis abuse causes more harm than people think. And more than the damages caused by tobacco.
Short term effects: using small dosages may produce attention disorders and motor coordination, and it also modifies the way the brain processes information.
Long term effects: abuse can lead to physical disorders ( respiratory infections, acceleration of heart beats ) and psychological ones ( memory disorders, difficulty in learning, anxiety, panic attacks )
Marijuana is a mix of leaves, seeds, roots and cannabis flowers: it is the most used drug in Europe and the United States. The main active of marijuana is THC: if smoked, it quickly passes through the lungs in the rest of the body, eventually reaching the brain, though the blood flow.
Using marijuana on regular basis, the destruction of brain cells is accelerated, this means that the process that comes with old age is accelerated by the use of marijuana ( same as elder people, marijuana users will lose their long term memory )
The effects of a so called “joint” lasts between 2 and 3 hours. Immediately after the smoke is inhaled, the heart beats start to increase, the eyes turn red and the respiratory air ways are starting to relax. Besides the neurological effects, smoking marijuana can caused the body more damage than tobacco.
Cocaine is one of the most ancient drugs known to man. It is extracted from the coca plant (Erythroxylon) even since the beginning of the 19th century, but it’s consume is more ancient than that.
Cocaine is found on the street in different mixes with other substances. Heart problems, hallucinations, cerebral strokes, are just a few of the problems that a cocaine addict may face.
Short term effects: irritability, anxiety, constriction of blood vessels, increase of body temperature, increase of blood pressure and heart rhythm.
Long term effects: paranoia, aggressiveness, ulcerations of nasal mucus, chronically depression
Cocaine is consumed in two ways: white powder or injected directly in the vane, after it was dissolved in water, and in the “freebase” method, or as it is known on the streets ” crack” which is smoked. Cocaine acts directly about the accumbens core of the brain, one of the areas that is associated with pleasure.
