Long-Term Effects of Drug Abuse on Brain Circuits

The lure of the "high" is no doubt the brain's weakness when it comes to drugs. The human brain's highly sensitive circuitry makes it a prime target for any chemical substance that makes it past the blood/brain barrier. And after years of use, long-term adverse effects become a sobering reality, and often a permanent one.

Identification

• Drug addiction is classified as a disease and a behavioral disorder. Drug abuse is the excessive use of drugs that leads to addictive behaviors. Both illegal and prescriptive drugs can be addictive. The more a person uses, the more the body and brain become dependent on the chemical effects of the substance. The most commonly abused substances are opiates, sedatives, stimulants and hallucinogens. The chance that someone will become addicted depends on her overall health, the strength of the drug and how often it is used. The effects of drug abuse on the brain's circuitry become more pronounced over time. After prolonged use, a person's brain chemistry may be permanently altered.

Function

• Gone are the days where drug users only exist in back alleys, and houses of ill repute.Today, abuse is present within all walks of life--from junior high school students to senior citizens. More oftentimes than not, a person seeks out the "high" that drugs provide as a means of escape from real-life stressors. After a certain number of tries, the brain's circuitry begins to crave the effects of the high. The basic mechanism behind the effect occurs in the brain, as nerve cells release excessive amounts of neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are like chemical messengers within the brain that regulate emotional states, and bodily functions. When the brain becomes dependent on the presence of the drug to function normally, a person has reached the point of drug abuse, and is addicted to the substance.

Features

• The "Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" lists the three successive stages of addiction as follows: preoccupation /anticipation; binge /intoxication; withdrawal /negative effect. Each stage describes what a drug abuser goes through each time she craves a fix. Preoccupation /anticipation is the part of the process where a person begins to reminisce about a previous "high", both physically and psychologically. While the body craves its effects, the mind is looking to escape from the reality of the moment. Binge /intoxication occurs when a person satisfies his craving by using. The withdrawal /negative effect happens when the high wears off, and so becomes the trigger for the first stage.

Significance

• One of the most powerful and damaging drugs on the market is cocaine. The long term effects caused by this substance are a case in point as to how severe long term drug abuse effects can be. Cocaine targets a specific neurotransmitter in the brain, called dopamine. Dopamine is the chemical that causes us to experience feelings of pleasure. It's also responsible for regulating body movements, motivation, and emotions. Not only does cocaine prevent nerve cells from naturally re-absorbing the dopamine that's been released; it triggers cells to release even more. Once the effect wears off, the receptors stop their secretions. Over a period of months, the brain's circuitry begins to deteriorate. As a result, long-term effects may result in loss of memory, decreased learning capability and a high risk of strokes and heart attacks.

Effects

• The severity of a person's withdrawal effects is a good indicator of how dependent she's become on a drug. Once the brain reaches a point where it can't function without a fix, it has become incapable of managing normal body processes on its own. Brain damage can show in memory loss, slowed response times, and an overall personality change. When this happens, nerve cells have lost their ability to secrete the balanced levels of neurotransmitter chemicals needed by the body. The longer a person abuses drugs, the more intense these long term effects become.