Unit 4 Lesson 3
Your Brain on Drugs
Objectives
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Discuss the effects of the various drugs of
abuse on the brain
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Explain how drug use can lead to addiction
Vocabulary
Matching quiz!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Heroine
Marijuana
LSD
Cocaine
Steroids
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Methamphetamines
Tobacco
Inhalants
Alcohol
Ecstasy
Your Brain on Drugs
Drugs and the Brain
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Addictive drugs enter the body through a number
of routes, make their way into the bloodstream,
and go straight to the brain where they exert their
effects.
Addictive drugs act on one part of the brain, the
brain reward system. This part rewards us when
we do the things we must do to survive eating and
drinking. Cells in this part of the brain release
chemicals that make us feel good (reward us)
when we engage in these behaviors and teach us
to repeat them.
Drugs Impact on the Brain
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Drugs mimic the brain's natural chemicals. Instead of
teaching us to repeat survival-oriented behaviors,
drugs teach us to take more drugs.
If use continues, drugs gradually change the brain and
these changes can eventually lead to addiction.
Such short-term effects as intoxication, impairment of
judgment, and, occasionally, overdose are also the
result of drugs' actions on the brain
Heroin
Heroin
 Heroin is a highly addictive
opiate
 Brain cells can become
dependent on this drug
 users need it in order to
function in their daily
routine.
 leaves the user in a fog for
many hours afterwards
Effects
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Depresses the body's ability to
withstand infection
It produces euphoria, drowsiness,
respiratory depression, constricted
pupils, and nausea
It is the drug most often associated with
the transmission of HIV/AIDS because
most users inject the drug, often with
used, contaminated needles
As heroin leaves the brain and body,
users experience withdrawal symptoms.
They include watery eyes, runny nose,
yawning, loss of appetite, tremors,
panic, chills, sweating, nausea, muscle
cramps, and insomnia. Blood pressure,
pulse, respiration, and temperature all
elevate
Cocaine
Cocaine
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Cocaine and crack come from the
leaves of the coca plant, which grows
primarily in South America.
Cocaine is processed into a white
powder which people snort or melt
and inject.
Crack is further processed into a
substance that can be smoked
Death occurs from cardiac arrest (the
person's heart stops beating), or
seizures followed by respiratory arrest
(the person stops breathing).
Effects
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Both forms of the drug trap a
chemical called dopamine in the
spaces between the brain's nerve
cells in a part of the brain called
the reward system.
Dopamine stimulates and restimulates these nerve cells.
The brain responds to the
overabundance of dopamine by
destroying some of it, making less
of it, and shutting down the cells'
receptors so they can no longer
receive dopamine's messages.
Inhalants
Inhalants
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Inhalants are legal products
abused by those who sniff or
inhale them for the purpose
of getting high.
Inhalants fall into three
categories: volatile solvents
such as glue, gasoline,
aerosols; anesthetics such as
nitrous oxide; and nitrites
such as amyl and butyl
nitrite.
Effects
 The fatty tissues protecting
the nerve cells in the brain
are destroyed by inhalant
vapors.
 This slows down or even
stops neural transmissions.
Effects of inhalants include
diminished ability to learn,
remember, and solve
problems.
Ecstasy
Ecstasy
 Ecstasy (MDMA) is a
synthetic drug with both
hallucinogenic and
amphetamine-like
properties.
 It is chemically similar to
two other synthetic drugs,
MDA and
methamphetamine, which
damage brain cells.
Effects
 Users experience increases
in heart rate and blood
pressure, nausea, blurred
vision, faintness, chills,
sweating, and such
psychological problems as
confusion, depression, sleep
problems, craving, severe
anxiety, paranoia, and
psychotic episodes.
LSD
LSD
 LSD (lysergic acid
diethylamide) is one of the
major hallucinogenic drugs
and one of the most potent
mood-changing chemicals.
Effects
 Results can be unpredictable
 Physical effects include
higher body temperature,
increased heart rate and
blood pressure.
 The user may experience
delusions and visual
hallucinations which can
cause panic.
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine
 Methamphetamine is an
addictive stimulant that
strongly activates certain
systems in the brain.

Ice is methamphetamine
that has been crystallized so
it can be smoked. Ice is a
stimulant. It stimulates the
central nervous system,
resulting in increased
activity and alertness.
Effects
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Physical effects of ice include:
heart palpitations, blurred vision,
extended wakefulness, and
damage to the brain, lungs, and
liver.
Methamphetamine can interfere
with vision, judgment,
coordination, and reflexes, which
may lead to automobile and other
machinery accidents.
Behavioral effects include
violence, hallucinations,
depression, and psychosis.
Marijuana
Marijuana
 Marijuana contains
chemicals that act on the
marijuana receptor in the
brain

Scientists have recently
identified the natural
chemical, anandamide,
designed to fit the marijuana
receptor
 Can have a dangerous
effects on judgment and
reaction time-motor vehicle
accidents
Effects
 The parts of the brain that
control emotions, memory,
and judgment are affected
by marijuana
 Smoking it can not only
weaken short-term memory,
but can block information
from making it into longterm memory

It has also been shown to
weaken problem solving
ability
Alcohol
Alcohol
 Alcohol is a drug. It impairs
judgment and leads to
memory lapses.
 It can lead to blackouts. It
distorts vision, shortens
coordination
 Can cause damage to brain,
kidneys, and liver
Effects
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Drunk drivers kill about 23,000
Americans a year.
Very large amounts of alcohol can
cause death from overdose by
reducing the number of messages
the brain sends to the chest
muscles that regulate breathing.
Can lead to physical dependence.
Causes many kinds of cancer and
can permanently damage the brain
Alcohol can destroy the part of
the brain where short-term
memory occurs, making it
impossible to learn anything new
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Temperance movement-lead by many religious movements and women
 1852 Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan Anthony found the New York State
Women's Temperance Society
 1874 Women's Christian Temperance Union founded
October 1919, 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibited the
manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages in the United States.
The complete ban on alcohol was put into effect by the Volstead Act President
Wilson vetoed the act, but Congress overrode the veto and the United States became
officially dry in January 1920.
On December 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified,
and the "noble experiment" was dismantled.
Steroids
Steroids
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Anabolic steroids are used to
improve athletic performance
and gain muscle bulk.
Steroids are derivatives of the
male hormone, testosterone.
Promote the growth of skeletal
muscle and increase lean body
mass
Athletes and non-athletes use
steroids illegally to enhance
performance and to improve
physical appearance
Effects
 Steroids cause moodiness,
even aggressiveness
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Can permanently impair
learning and memory
abilities
Tobacco
Tobacco
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Tobacco is a dangerous drug, and it
works by putting nicotine, into the body
Nicotine affects the brain quickly, like
other inhalants, producing feelings of
pleasure, like cocaine, and is highly
addictive, like heroin
Tobacco is a plant grown in the United
States that is harvested and processed
into cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco,
chewing tobacco, and snuff
Nicotine itself is toxic–high doses can
kill, but do so rarely. Its most
destructive property is its ability to
addict users rapidly
Effects
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Smokers expose their brains and bodies to
hundreds of toxic chemicals contained in
tobacco and tobacco smoke
Cancers of the mouth, head, and neck , and
cancers involving most of the vital organs
Smoking also causes heart disease,
emphysema, and other lung diseases
Cigarette smoke can also harm nonsmokers.
Children whose parents smoke suffer higher
rates of bronchitis and other lung infections,
and nonsmoking spouses of smokers have
higher rates of lung cancer than those whose
spouses do not smoke
Every year, tobacco kills more than 400,000
Americans. This is more deaths than all
Americans killed in World War I, World War
II, and the Korean and Vietnam wars
combined
Upcoming Events
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Unit 5 Lesson 1 Sensation.
Unit 5 Portfolio has been skipped, still read the
lesson, but no portfolio is due!
Unit 6 Portfolio has been modified!
Temporary zeros in for Unit 3!
Make sure you are not falling too far behind,
remember January 22nd, is the last day of the
semester, unfinished work turns into a zero!!!
Thank You!!
Have a Good Weekend!