THE NEUROLOGIACL EFFECTS OF
DRUGS, ADDICTION AND ALCOHOISM
By: Jennifer Harrison
F.A.L X99 with Susan Barber
April.1st.2012
Every human could become
addicted to a drug. That is a powerful statement; there will be an explanation
further in the reading. To write about addiction is not an easy subject to
tackle. In my research, it is now understandable why you need a master’s degree
in order to help the public. There are vast amounts of information on every
drug and how they interact with our bodies, mind and spirit. There are
physical, mental, and emotional effects. Its not as simple as saying “I want to
be an addict when I grow up!” No one wants to lead that life. There is much
controversy surrounding addiction. Is addiction a disease or is it genetic? The
purpose of this essay is to provide information on addiction. In this essay, I
will be analyzing some general principles and the neurological effects,
defining what addiction is and discussing one of the most addictive drugs in
the world, alcohol.
What is addiction? What is a
drug? What is withdrawal? It is best to define these terms in order to
understand them. In that case, lets get started; Addiction is a repetitive,
compulsive use of a substance despite negative consequences to the user. Other
behavioral patterns have resemblance to addictions. For example, someone who
gambles away his or her entire paycheck in one night, this type of behavior is self-destructive
and hurts the people around them. I am sure that anything can become an
addiction; eating, sex, shopping, and exercise - when you take it to the
extreme. A drug may defined as “A
chemical substance such as a narcotic or hallucinogen, that affects the central
nervous system causing changes in behavior and often addiction,” (Language, 2000) “Most people
would agree that heroin is a drug. It is white powder that produces striking
changes in the body and mind in tiny doses. But is sugar a drug? Sugar also a
white powder that strongly affects the body, and some experts say it affects
mental function and mood as well. Like heroin, it can be addicting. How about
chocolate? Most people think of it as food flavor, but it contains chemicals
related to caffeine, is a stimulant and can be addicting. Is salt a drug? Many
people think they cannot live without it, and it has dramatic effects on the
body.” (Andrew Weil, 1983)
Addictive drugs activate circuits
in the brain that respond to normal pleasures, like food and sex. Every brain
possesses these circuits, so every human could potentially become addicted to a
drug. Drug maintenance happens in a number of ways, including changes in the
brain, the desire to experience pleasure from the drug, and the desire to avoid
the discomfort of withdrawal. According to Hugher, withdrawal may be defined as: having anxiety, awakening during sleep, depression, difficulty concentrating, impatience, irritability/anger and restlessness. (John.R.Hugher, 1994) Many different factors in the life of an individual
such as family history, personality, mental health, and life experience play a
role in the development of addictions. Both psychological dependence and
physical dependence coexist in people who are strongly addicted to some drugs.
Addiction is powerful because
it mobilizes basic brain functions that guarantee the survival of the species. The
reason lies in a complicated neural circuit through which we appreciate things
that feel good. The Central Nervous System has a major role in this picture as
all drugs affect it. (CNS) is the part of the nervous system that integrates
the information, that is receives for and coordinates the activity of, all
parts of the bodies’ bilaterian animal. It contains the majority of the nervous
system and consists of the brain and the spinal cord. Together with the
peripheral nervous system, it has the fundamental role in the control of
behavior. The CNS is contained within the dorsal cavity, with the brain in the
cardinal cavity and the spinal cord in the spinal cavity. The job of the neural
circuit is to cause us to enjoy activities or substances that are life
sustaining. Animals including humans will work to obtain access to food, water,
sex, and the opportunity to explore an environment. These are the ‘Natural
reinforces’, events or substances in the world that motivate behavior. A
damaged neural circuit can cause an animal to lose interest in food, sex, and
in exploring its environment. Its capable, just not motivated. Addictive drugs
are reinforces. Experimental animals (pigeons, rats, monkeys) will press a
lever to get an injection of cocaine, amphetamine, heroin, nicotine
(sometimes), and alcohol. They will not press a lever for LSD, antihistamines,
or many other drugs. The list of drugs for which experimental animals will work
matches exactly the list of drugs that are clearly addictive in humans. If the
pathway is damaged an animal will not work for drugs. Secondly, animals with an
electrode placed in the reward pathway find that smaller currents more
‘enjoyable’ While undergoing observation, the activity of their brains reported
a craving for cocaine, and at the same time, their brains showed activation in
the reward pathway of the brain. Addictive drugs such as stimulants, opiates,
alcohol and nicotine can actually substitute for food, sex, or other primary
reinforces. Animals will work much harder to get cocaine than most other drugs.
Humans seem to be particularly good at ignoring unpleasant side effects in
order to obtain reinforcement from drugs. If you had judged the most addictive
drug by the largest number of people who have trouble stopping their use of it,
then nicotine would be the clear leader.
Neurotransmitter dopamine
plays an important role in the normal process of reinforcement, and in the
actions of most addictive drugs. If the dopamine neurons in this circuit become
impaired, then animals will not work for food, sex, water, or addictive drugs. Both
natural reinforcement and most addictions, increase the release of dopamine
from these neurons.
Alcohol use provides an
example 50% of the adult population of the U.S drink alcohol occasionally of
these about 10% drinks heavily, and 5% engage in addictive patterns. Scientists
think that changes gradually occur in the reward circuit of the brain as it
adapts to the continuous presence of the drug. Therefore, it is not simply the
pleasure the drugs cause that motivates drug use, but our ability to remember
and plan for future pleasure. This may be one of the most long lasting changes
that happen in the brain.
Certain characteristics
appear more frequently in the substance users than in people without substance
use problems. Substance abusers are more likely to have grown up in a family
with a substance-using parent. Living with an alcoholic parent can lead to
alcoholism. (However, this early experience often motivates a life of abstinence).
A substantial percent of alcoholics grew up in a household with an alcoholic
adult. Children of alcoholics are more likely to experience physical and
emotional abuse at the hands of their parents, and previous history of physical
and emotional abuse is another character of many substance abusers. Behavioral
problems co-occur by changes in the brain. They show lower levels of the
neurotransmitter serotonin. These early life experiences may produce long
lasting changes in the brain that contributes to these behaviors. Associating
with drug-using peers increases the chances that a person will choose to try
drugs. Early use of cigarettes, alcohol, or marijuana is associated with later
use of other drugs. This is linked to the popular ‘gateway theory’ of drug
addiction. The foundation of this theory shows evidence that most people who
use illegal addictive drugs first used drugs like alcohol, tobacco, or pot. These
are the ‘gateway’ to the use of more dangerous drugs (although vast majority
never use ‘harder’ drugs). (Kuhn, 2003)
ALCOHOL
Alcohol was probably one of
the first substances used, earliest historical writings make note of alcohol
drinking, and breweries can be traced back some six thousand years to ancient
Egypt and Babylonia. In the middle Ages, Arab technology introduced
distillation- a way to increase the alcohol content of beverages. In those
times, alcohol would allegedly remedy any disease. In fact, the Gaelic term
Whiskey is best translated as ‘water of life’. The alcohol used in beverages is ethanol (one of many different
types). The alcohol a nurse rubs on the skin as a disinfectant before giving an
injection or draw a blood sample is not the same-it is isopropyl alcohol.
When people drink alcohol, they
feel pleasure and relaxation during the first half hour or so, often becoming
talkative and socially outgoing. The body starts to eliminate alcohol, which
creates a feeling of sedation (drowsiness). So, drinkers may become quiet and
withdrawn later. This pattern often motivates them to drink more in order to
keep the initial pleasant buzz going. People get into trouble when the drink a
lot of alcohol very quickly (ex: drinking games, on a dare, or when they cant
taste the alcohol like in punch or jell-o shots.) Drinking on an empty stomach
is particularly risky. If a person becomes unconscious, is impossible to
arouse, or seems to have trouble breathing, it is a medical emergency and
immediate attention is necessary. Sometimes a drunken person may vomit while
sleeping, this blocks the airway, and they suffocate, and die.
DEPENDENCE
It is important t distinguish
between the two. Alcohol abuse refers to patterns of drinking that give rise to
health problems, social problems, or both. Alcohol dependence (alcoholism) refers to a disease characterized
by abnormal seeking and consumption of alcohol that leads to a lack of control
over drinking. Dependent individuals often appear to crave alcohol. The signs
of physical dependence begin within hours after an individual stops drinking.
They include profound anxiety, delirious tremens (shaking), sleep disturbances,
and in more extreme cases hallucinations and seizures.
In conclusion, we know that
addiction is a repetitive, compulsive act, also that anyone with a brain has
the potential to develop an addicted to drugs. Addictive drugs mimic some of
the pleasures we get from food and sex. We talked about how neural circuits
allow us to enjoy activities or substances that are life sustaining. Animals
and humans will work to obtain food, water, sex, and exploring its environment.
We also learned that addictive drugs are reinforces. There is a large amount of
people who drink, out of which a small percentage of them are alcoholic’s. Lastly,
we learned to distinguish between the two types of dependence, and that is
alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence. This information is only the tip of the
iceberg. I would like to leave you with this quote “There are no good or no bad
drugs, only good or bad users of drugs”. (Andrew Weil, 1983)
Bibliography
Andrew Weil, M. a. (1983). From Chocolate to Morphine: Everyting you
need to know about mind altering drugs. Boston, New York: Houghton
Mifflin Company.
John.R Hugher, S. H. (1994, 11).
Retrieved 04 01, 2012, from
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1360-0443.1994.tb03744.x/abstract
Kuhn, S. W. (2003). BUZZED The
Straight facts about the most used and abused drugs from alcohol to ecstasy
(2nd Edition ed.). New York , London: W.W Norton & Company.
Language, T. A. (2000). Retrieved 04 01,
2012, from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/drug
n.d. (2012, 04 01). Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withdrawal
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