Chronic cocaine exposure affects many other areas of the brain too. For example, animal research indicates that cocaine diminishes functioning in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), which appears to underlie the poor decision-making, inability to adapt to negative consequences of drug use, and lack of self-insight shown by people addicted to cocaine.12 A study using optogenetic technology, which uses light to activate specific, genetically-modified neurons, found that stimulating the OFC restores adaptive learning in animals. This intriguing result suggests that strengthening OFC activity may be a good therapeutic approach to improve insight and awareness of the consequences of drug use among people addicted to cocaine.13
Other drugs, such as amphetamine or cocaine, can cause the neurons to release abnormally large amounts of natural neurotransmitters or prevent the normal recycling of these brain chemicals by interfering with transporters. This too amplifies or disrupts the normal communication between neurons.
How Does Drug Use Change The Brain
Some drugs like opioids also disrupt other parts of the brain, such as the brain stem, which controls basic functions critical to life, including heart rate, breathing, and sleeping. This interference explains why overdoses can cause depressed breathing and death.
For the brain, the difference between normal rewards and drug rewards can be likened to the difference between someone whispering into your ear and someone shouting into a microphone. Just as we turn down the volume on a radio that is too loud, the brain of someone who misuses drugs adjusts by producing fewer neurotransmitters in the reward circuit, or by reducing the number of receptors that can receive signals. As a result, the person's ability to experience pleasure from naturally rewarding (i.e., reinforcing) activities is also reduced.
These brain scans highlight dopamine receptors, with areas of highest density shown in red. The meth abuser has severely reduced receptor levels. Other drugs, including alcohol, cocaine, and heroin, have the same effect. Images courtesy Dr. Nora Volkow, Brookhaven National Laboratory.
The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) defines addiction as a disease affecting brain chemistry and circuitry, which then leads to compulsive drug-seeking and using behaviors. In 2014, nearly 22 million Americans battled addiction, NSDUH reports.
Marijuana is the most regularly used illicit drug in the United States, and its use is especially common among adolescents and young adults, NIDA reports. The psychoactive chemical in marijuana, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (TCH), interacts and binds with cannabinoid receptors in the brain, producing a mellowing and relaxing effect. Regions of the brain with high concentrations of cannabinoid receptors are heavily impacted. One such part of the brain, the hippocampus, manages short-term memory, meaning that marijuana use can impede recollection of recent events. Additional regions of the brain that are impacted include the cerebellum and basal ganglia, which help to control coordination and involuntary muscle movements respectively. When someone abuses marijuana, impaired motor skills, mood alterations, distorted time and sensory perception, decreased memory, and trouble thinking clearly and solving problems are all common short-term side effects.
Synthetic marijuana, also known as Spice or K2, acts on the brain in a similar fashion to the marijuana but to a greater extent. These drugs have been manufactured to be more potent and may then be more active in the brain than the naturally occurring form. Synthetic cannabinoids are generally full agonists at cannabinoid receptor type-1, or CB1, receptors in the brain whereas pot is only a partial agonist. These drugs may be 100 or more times potent than the THC found in natural marijuana, Forbes warns. The journal World Psychiatry reports that there are over 200 forms of synthetic cannabinoids marketed today. Each may have a slightly different chemical or molecular structure and can have unpredictable effects on the brain and body.\n"}Heroin and Prescription OpioidsHeroin and prescription opioid drugs like OxyContin (oxycodone), Vicodin (acetaminophen/hydrocodone), fentanyl, methadone, and Dilaudid (hydromorphone) bind to opioid receptors in the brain and trigger the release of dopamine. In a sense, these drugs hijack the limbic system in the brain, inducing a powerful high that individuals are often keen to recreate, leading to reinforcing behaviors. Opioid drugs are considered highly addictive, as ASAM publishes that almost a quarter of heroin users will suffer from addiction to opioids. Over 2.5 million Americans battled opioid addiction in 2015. Heroin is considered the fastest-acting opioid, taking effect nearly immediately and making it extremely addictive, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) warns. When someone takes an opioid drug repeatedly, they can develop a tolerance to it as the body gets used to its interaction in the brain. Individuals may then take more of the drug to feel the desired effects. The brain will then stop functioning as it did before introduction of the opioid, causing levels of dopamine to drop when the drug wears off.
A class of drugs that leads to distortions of reality and perceptions, hallucinogens are typically broken down into two main categories: classic hallucinogens (LSD, peyote, psilocybin, DMT,Ayahuasca) and dissociative drugs (PCP, salvia, DXM, ketamine), per NIDA. It is not certain exactly how these drugs work in the brain; however, it is largely understood that they interrupt normal communication between neurotransmitters. Dissociative drugs are believed to disrupt the action of glutamate, a brain chemical that is involved with memories, cognition, emotions, and how people perceive pain. PCP interacts with dopamine as well, while salvia activates the kappa opioid receptor present on nerve cells, per NIDA. Dissociative drugs can make people feel separate from themselves, their environment, and reality. This can result in impaired motor functions, auditory and visual distortions, memory loss, anxiety, numbness, and body tremors.
The brain responds to addiction based on a number of factors, such as the type and number of drugs used, the frequency of use, and the stage of addiction that has developed. If someone uses Cocaine, for example, they will notice a feeling of euphoria. This occurs because Cocaine is Psychoactive and impacts the area of the brain that controls pleasure and motivation. There is a short and powerful burst of dopamine, the chemical that causes many to feel euphoric. This feeling can be so intense that a strong desire to continue using may form.
The more someone abuses a drug, the more they may continue using it unless they get help overcoming a life-threatening addiction. Once the chemical has affected the brain, individuals can feel physical symptoms as well as the impact of the chemical throughout their nervous system. Symptoms can include a rapid heartbeat, paranoia, nausea, hallucinations, and other disturbing sensations the individual has little control over. He or she may become consumed with abusing the substance to maintain their habit no matter the cost. As a result of this powerful grip of substance abuse, individuals can begin acting in unrecognizable ways; this may concern friends and family.
Substance abuse impacts the brain in the short-term to create a euphoric high or exert other effects such as sedation, pain relief, etc.1 However, long-term drug use can also result in more fundamental changes in the brain that can last for years or even a lifetime.2,3
These changes in brain functioning can propel the compulsive use indicative of a substance use disorder, but they can also impact the brain in ways that create other lasting issues such as problems with learning, memory, and judgment.4,5
Drugs produce much larger bursts of dopamine than a natural reward like a meal would, however, so they create a very strong connection between taking the drug, the pleasure that comes afterward, and all of the cues around the person that are linked to their drug consumption (for example, the location where the drug is used). As these connections are created and strengthened, the brain begins learning to prioritize getting and taking drugs over seeking out natural, healthy rewards.4
Because dopamine helps to create such powerful connections in the brain, the external cues associated with drug use can trigger overwhelming drug cravings years after a person has gotten clean.4 This is one of the reasons that recovery is a lifetime pursuit and that relapse is so common.
Addiction is characterized by a compulsion to keep using a drug, or drugs, in light of the adverse consequences that arise as a result of doing so. Addiction, once thought to be a problem of morality and bad decision-making, has now become recognized widely as a chronic and relapsing disorder that involves changes to the brain that can be long-lasting.7,8
Different drugs are associated with varying long-term effects on the brain. While the changes that drive addiction are relatively universal, specific classes of drugs are associated with other unique effects on the brain.
Chronic methamphetamine use may also cause significant functional and structural brain changes in areas related to emotion and memory. Additionally, similar problems with flexibility as those that occur in relation to prescription stimulant use may occur as a result of meth use. These individuals may find it incredibly difficult to stop useless or counterproductive behaviors, again making long-term recovery from addiction that much more difficult.21
Integrated treatment that addresses both the substance use disorder and the mental health disorder may be needed for a person to find and sustain recovery. Laguna Treatment Center offers co-occurring disorder treatment in a beautiful California setting. Getting treatment can prevent or, in some cases, reverse the harmful effects of drugs on the brain and help restore you to optimal health. Call us at "props":"scalar":"","helpline":"true","children":"" today to learn more about our hospital-based detox and inpatient rehab programs. 2ff7e9595c
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