Brain & Drugs (AP Psych)

Alcohol

Alcohol directly affects brain chemistry by altering levels of neurotransmitters -- the chemical messengers that transmit the signals throughout the body that control thought processes, behavior and emotion. Alcohol affects both "excitatory" neurotransmitters and "inhibitory" neurotransmitters (GABA and glutamate). Alcohol also binds directly to the receptors for acetylcholine, serotonin, GABA, and the NMDA receptors for glutamate. cerebral cortex: makes you less inhibited and neural processing is depressed cerebellum: affects balance and movement, causing people to stagger hypothalmus: depresses sexual arousal and performance medulla: induces sleepiness, slows breathing, and lowers body temperature

Marijuana

Hippocampus- involved with memories, marijuana can make it difficult to recall memories Cerebral Cortex-responsible for learning and thinking, can make it hard to focus hypothalamus- can modify body functions such as body temperature and reproductive function amygala- this area of the brain tends to show slow reactions to situations that would normally produce fear or excitement

Cocaine

blocks the reuptake of dopamine and seratonin (NTs), preventing them from being reabsorbed by the neurons that released them

Ecstasy

ecstasy blocks the reuptake pumps for certain neurotransmitters, thus increasing their levels in the synaptic gap and their effect on the post-synaptic neurons' receptors.

Opiates

opioids can activate receptors because their chemical structure mimics that of a natural neurotransmitter (agonists). Opioids target the brain's reward system by flooding the circuit with dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter present in regions of the brain that regulate movement, emotion, cognition, motivation, and feelings of pleasure. The overstimulation of this system, which rewards our natural behaviors, produces the euphoric effects sought by people who misuse drugs and teaches them to repeat the behavior.