Purpose: Cocaine seems to be the most addictive drug out of all the abusive drugs. This concept is demonstrated in an extreme experiment on lab animals were willingly consumed the drug after it was purposely given to them. The article argues that abnormalities in human brain, before being exposed to cocaine, could be associated with a higher exposure to addicting drugs. In this experiment the authors decided to study how it is possible that some malfunctioning parts of the brain could encourage the dopamine system to promote cocaine self administration. The researchers used tomography to examine the brains of different participants with different drug use history; some of the participants ranged from being acute users to chronic users. The …show more content…
The 20 cocaine addicts had to meet a criterion to be candidates for this experiment, but there was also a criteria were they could be excluded. Out of the normal controls 20 males had to go through NMS scanning and ages ranged from 23.5-43.5 years old. The 18 left over normal controls males went through FDG scanning and ages ranged from 22-42 years old. Participants were taken to a rehabilitation facility were they had to stay for 3 months. Out of 20 participants, 7 successfully completed the rehabilitation program. The normal controls received the NMS or FDG scan Results: In contrast to the prediction that dopamine reduction in the cocaine addicts would result to dopamine D2 to extreme respond. Cocaine addicts responded more poorly to NMS scan than the normal controls. The ratio index would drop in all ages for both cocaine users and the normal participants. Dopamine had a correlation with how long cocaine was used, but not the quantity of usage. The second results of the ratio index were very much alike to the first results. In contrast, for both the cocaine user and the normal participant the ratio index went down as you got …show more content…
I noticed cocaine is the drug of choice to almost all of the Prop-36 probationers. Many of the addicts would share that, after the use of such drug, they would hallucinate and want more after they came off of the drug. This study explains how the abnormality of dopamine in certain areas of the brain are associated in how cocaine takes full control of your will and can lead to drug addiction. A perfect example is that of a female being assessed stated that she felt horrible after the first use and the second use. Eventually she became addicted, but not because she liked it, it was because she was forced to use it in order to survive in the streets. She explained how the drug numbs your body and keeps you awake. The probationer was homeless and used cocaine for survival. Basically she used to to stay up at night and walk around the street for her own protection and slept in the
2. Based on this information, what would initial assessment be? Lloyd is a heroin addict which he uses to function normally. Cocaine is a luxury.
The State of Consciousness lab was aimed to observe the modification that occurs in a person’s behavior as a result of experiencing a drug addiction. Throughout the experiment will be monitored the independent and dependent variables. The independent variable which was constantly modified throughout the lab was the amount of the drug taken. The dependent variable, which is directly affected by the independent variable, was the level of addiction experienced. The addiction symptoms and behavior will be more severe after a more constant use of the drug.
Case declares, “I’m a drug addict, Cath. Stimulants. Central nervous systems stimulants. Extremely powerful central system stimulants.” (Gibson 129-130)
In some cases drug use is a trigger for the symptoms of schizophrenia and can lead to exacerbation of these symptoms. Marijuana in particular is now known to significantly worsen symptoms and well as cause signs of psychosis to appear at a much younger age (Foti et al., 2010). Those with schizophrenia are more likely to develop addictive behaviours than those without the disorder and this may be a result of irregular dopamine levels. Dopamine is an important part of the reward system and increased levels are produced as a result of many addictive drugs. Therefore, it is no surprise how those with schizophrenia are much more likely to exhibit addictive behaviour due to the abnormal levels of dopamine that may be present in the brain resulting from the differing chemical structure of the schizophrenic
Ellen Hopkins wrote Ccrank , which is a powerful and moving story about the struggle of addiction , she tells how easy it is to fall into the trap of drugs and also how hard it is to get away from the drugs that have ahold of you. She tells about how the kids that are least likely to do drugs , are just as easy to get addicted as other kids who are born around drug abuse. This drug addiction can lead to many vast decisions , which are not always good ones that can effect your life in many good and bad ways.
Both drugs are stimulants so they stimulate the individual and create an euphoric high, as a result of the way both drugs elevate the dopamine levels in the brain. Stimulants such as cocaine and meth cause the user to be more active, talkative, alert, less tired, exhilarated, etc. This essay will talk about each drug signs and symptoms treatment nursing management for drug abuse. Cocaine is an extremely addictive and poisonous drug and is a central nervous system stimulant (Miller-Keane).
Researchers believe that the orbitofrontal cortex is affected in an addict and the neural signals do not change based on the severity of the situation. Thus they are unable to get their brain to make sound choices. Then a malfunction in the anterior cingulate cortex allows addicts to continue making bad decisions. These two major malfunctions continually allow an addict to make unhealthy choices (Nauert, 2011). Nic did not choose to steal because he wanted to hurt his family.
By training your mind to dislike drugs, you will not have to experience cravings any more. Once your mind has been completely reprogrammed, you will not have to deal with the cravings and the desire to use cocaine. In place of your drug seeking behaviors, you will be given positive, healthy options. Rather than use drugs when you are under stress, you will want to take a walk, meditate or handle the stress in a more productive way. This will help you to learn healthy coping mechanisms for all of the problems that life throws at
The user’s behavior during withdrawal is influenced by “physiological effects of cocaine withdrawal including aggression, violence, and paranoia”(“Cocaine Withdrawal”). As the user is coming off of their high, their behavior has to try to return to its normal and can be a shock to the body. The boys in A Long Way Gone “began to fight each other day and night” and would “fight for hours between meals, for no reason at all” when they were going through the first stages of withdrawal(Beah 168). Their aggressive and violent behavior is due to the ‘culture shock’ the body has to endure while it learns how to wean off its dependence on cocaine. After the initial rash behavior from withdrawal subsides, the brain suffers from the detox that ensues vivid nightmares as “a side effect of the brain’s detoxing itself from cocaine’s interference with neurotransmitter activity”(“10 Common”).
After some time, they injected the test subjects with a constant amount of naloxone HCL, then observed them for one hour by two separate perspectives, who did not know the conditions of the experiment, to look for signs of withdrawal. (Robin B. Kanarek, Running and Addiction). The results of the first experiment showed that the active female rats with limited access to food resources displayed the clearest symptoms of withdrawals. Next came the active female rats with unlimited access to food resources. After that, the inactive female rats with limited food resource access, and finally, the inactive female rats with unlimited access to food showed the least amount of withdrawal
Failure of character, strength and will in the brain is considered due to the addiction of drug or substance abuse. The person who is addicted is not viewed as a simple, helpless victim just because of the addiction of drug and its recognition. Only because of the intentional behavior usage of drugs phenomenon of addiction takes place, and it is the responsibility of addicts to take part in the recovery of their behavior. If the people do not do something for their recovery then the argument about the brain disease because of addiction will be valid. There are some many problems caused by the Substance Abuse, especially at Workplace.
When a person falls in love or gets addicted to drugs, their bodies behave in the same way. The warm and cozy feeling of being in love floods the brain with chemicals and hormones that produce feelings of pleasure, obsession and attachment. In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet did not just fall in love with Romeo. Lovers also feel a rush of exhilaration when thinking about him or her; it is a form of “intoxication.” Both love and addiction engage the same regions of the brain, the “rewards system.”
3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine better known as MDMA or by its street name of ecstasy or Molly is a man-made, psychoactive drug that is mainly used now days by young “ravers” to get high and have hallucinogen effects. It makes one feel that they have increased energy, exhilaration and emotional warmth. This drug highly distortions ones senses and time perception. Today I will demonstration to you the effects that MDMA have on ones Neurophysiology, behavior and how greatly harmful it may be on ones body. MDMA or ecstasy has increased as a recreational drug since 2007.
Drug abuse is caused by psychological, genetic as well as environmental factors and can have significant damaging effects on health. Psychological factors are associated with the development of drug abuse. Drug abuse often occurs
All these characteristics led to the conclusion that drug addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use. It is considered as a brain disease because drugs change the structure of the brain, and how it works. Every drug affects different systems of the brain. For example, in the case of cocaine, as the brain is adapted in the presence of the specific drug, brain regions responsible for judgment, decision-making, learning, and memory begin to physically change, making certain behaviors “hard-wired.” In some brain regions, connections between neurons are pruned back.