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CHEMISTRY OF ADDICTION
Alyssa Alicea
Preface
 When science began to study addictive
behavior in the 1930s, people addicted to
drugs were thought to be morally flawed
and lacking in willpower.
 Today, our views and our responses to drug
abuse have changed dramatically.
Preface
 Groundbreaking discoveries about the brain
have revolutionized our understanding of
drug addiction
 This enables us to respond effectively to the
problem.
 Drug addiction is a DISEASE that affects
brain and behavior
Preface
 Scientists have been developing effective
prevention and treatment approaches that
reduce the toll drug abuse takes on
individuals, families, and communities.
Introduction
 Addiction and abuse to alcohol, nicotine,
and illegal substances cost Americans half a
trillion dollars a year
 The abuse of illicit drugs and alcohol -death
of more than 100,000 Americans.
 Tobacco - linked to an estimated 440,000
deaths per year.
People of all ages suffer from the
abuse of drugs and alcohol
 Babies exposed to legal and illegal drugs
in the womb .
 born premature
 underweight
 Slowed intellectual development
 Exposure can affect behavior later in life.
Prevention-best strategy
 Risk of drug abuse increases greatly during
times of transition, such as changing schools,
moving, or divorce.
 Teens' –still developing judgment and
decision making skills
 ability to assess risks accurately and make
sound decisions about using drugs may be
limited
.
Prevention-best
strategy(cont.)
 Drug and alcohol abuse can
 Disrupt brain function
 Areas critical to motivation
 Memory
 Learning
 Judgment
 Behavior control
Science-validated programs
 "science-validated" -programs rationally
designed, based on current knowledge,
rigorously tested, and shown to produce
positive results.
 science-validated programs can significantly
reduce early use of tobacco, alcohol, and
illicit drugs.
How do these programs work??
 3 types
 Universal programs address risk and protective
factors common to all children in a given setting,
such as a school or community.
 Selective programs target groups of children and
teens who have factors that further increase their
risk of drug abuse.
 Indicated programs are designed for youth who
have already begun abusing drugs.
 Cigarette smoking is at its lowest point since
NIDA began tracking it in 1975.
Human Brain.
 three-pound mass of gray and white matter
sits at the center of all human activity
 enables you to interpret and respond to
everything you experience
 shapes thoughts, emotions, and behavior.
Drugs can alter important brain areas that are
necessary for life-sustaining functions and can
drive the compulsive drug abuse that marks
addiction.
Human Brain(cont.)-areas
affected by drug abuse
 The brain stem- heart rate, breathing, and
sleeping(basic functions).
 The limbic system contains the brain's reward
circuit
links brain structures that control and
regulate our ability to feel enjoyment.
Feeling delight motivates the repetition of
behaviors ex. eating - actions that are critical to
our existence.
perception of emotions, positive and
negative, which explains the mood-altering
properties of many drugs.
 The cerebral cortex divided into areas that
control specific functions.
 Different areas process information from our
senses, enabling us to see, feel, hear, and
taste.
 the frontal cortex or forebrain, is the thinking
center of the brain, powers our ability to
think, plan, solve problems, and make
decisions.
How does the brain
communicate?
 communications center consisting of billions
of neurons, or nerve cells.
 Networks of neurons pass messages back and
forth to different structures within the brain,
the spinal column, and the peripheral nervous
system.
 nerve networks coordinate and regulate
everything we think, feel, or do
The human brain!
How drugs work on the brain
 Drugs are chemicals.
 They work in the brain by tapping into the
brain's communication system and
interfering with the way nerve cells normally
send, receive, and process information.
.
 Some drugs, such as marijuana and heroin, can
activate neurons because their chemical
structure mimics that of a natural
neurotransmitter.This similarity in structure
"fools" receptors and allows the drugs to lock
onto and activate the nerve cells. Although these
drugs mimic brain chemicals, they don't activate
nerve cells in the same way as a natural
neurotransmitter, and they lead to abnormal
messages being transmitted through the
network.
 Other drugs, such as amphetamine or cocaine,
can cause the nerve cells to release abnormally
large amounts of natural neurotransmitters or
prevent the normal recycling of these brain
chemicals.This disruption produces a greatly
amplified message, ultimately disrupting
communication channels.The difference in
effect can be described as the difference
between someone whispering into your ear and
someone shouting into a microphone.

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Chemistry of addiction1

  • 2. Preface  When science began to study addictive behavior in the 1930s, people addicted to drugs were thought to be morally flawed and lacking in willpower.  Today, our views and our responses to drug abuse have changed dramatically.
  • 3. Preface  Groundbreaking discoveries about the brain have revolutionized our understanding of drug addiction  This enables us to respond effectively to the problem.  Drug addiction is a DISEASE that affects brain and behavior
  • 4. Preface  Scientists have been developing effective prevention and treatment approaches that reduce the toll drug abuse takes on individuals, families, and communities.
  • 5. Introduction  Addiction and abuse to alcohol, nicotine, and illegal substances cost Americans half a trillion dollars a year  The abuse of illicit drugs and alcohol -death of more than 100,000 Americans.  Tobacco - linked to an estimated 440,000 deaths per year.
  • 6. People of all ages suffer from the abuse of drugs and alcohol  Babies exposed to legal and illegal drugs in the womb .  born premature  underweight  Slowed intellectual development  Exposure can affect behavior later in life.
  • 7. Prevention-best strategy  Risk of drug abuse increases greatly during times of transition, such as changing schools, moving, or divorce.  Teens' –still developing judgment and decision making skills  ability to assess risks accurately and make sound decisions about using drugs may be limited .
  • 8. Prevention-best strategy(cont.)  Drug and alcohol abuse can  Disrupt brain function  Areas critical to motivation  Memory  Learning  Judgment  Behavior control
  • 9. Science-validated programs  "science-validated" -programs rationally designed, based on current knowledge, rigorously tested, and shown to produce positive results.  science-validated programs can significantly reduce early use of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs.
  • 10. How do these programs work??  3 types  Universal programs address risk and protective factors common to all children in a given setting, such as a school or community.  Selective programs target groups of children and teens who have factors that further increase their risk of drug abuse.  Indicated programs are designed for youth who have already begun abusing drugs.
  • 11.  Cigarette smoking is at its lowest point since NIDA began tracking it in 1975.
  • 12. Human Brain.  three-pound mass of gray and white matter sits at the center of all human activity  enables you to interpret and respond to everything you experience  shapes thoughts, emotions, and behavior. Drugs can alter important brain areas that are necessary for life-sustaining functions and can drive the compulsive drug abuse that marks addiction.
  • 13. Human Brain(cont.)-areas affected by drug abuse  The brain stem- heart rate, breathing, and sleeping(basic functions).  The limbic system contains the brain's reward circuit links brain structures that control and regulate our ability to feel enjoyment. Feeling delight motivates the repetition of behaviors ex. eating - actions that are critical to our existence. perception of emotions, positive and negative, which explains the mood-altering properties of many drugs.
  • 14.  The cerebral cortex divided into areas that control specific functions.  Different areas process information from our senses, enabling us to see, feel, hear, and taste.  the frontal cortex or forebrain, is the thinking center of the brain, powers our ability to think, plan, solve problems, and make decisions.
  • 15. How does the brain communicate?  communications center consisting of billions of neurons, or nerve cells.  Networks of neurons pass messages back and forth to different structures within the brain, the spinal column, and the peripheral nervous system.  nerve networks coordinate and regulate everything we think, feel, or do
  • 17. How drugs work on the brain  Drugs are chemicals.  They work in the brain by tapping into the brain's communication system and interfering with the way nerve cells normally send, receive, and process information. .
  • 18.  Some drugs, such as marijuana and heroin, can activate neurons because their chemical structure mimics that of a natural neurotransmitter.This similarity in structure "fools" receptors and allows the drugs to lock onto and activate the nerve cells. Although these drugs mimic brain chemicals, they don't activate nerve cells in the same way as a natural neurotransmitter, and they lead to abnormal messages being transmitted through the network.
  • 19.  Other drugs, such as amphetamine or cocaine, can cause the nerve cells to release abnormally large amounts of natural neurotransmitters or prevent the normal recycling of these brain chemicals.This disruption produces a greatly amplified message, ultimately disrupting communication channels.The difference in effect can be described as the difference between someone whispering into your ear and someone shouting into a microphone.