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Chemistry, not moral failing, accounts for the brain’s unwinding. In the laboratories that study drug addiction, researchers have found that the brain becomes conditioned by the repeated dopamine rush caused by heroin. “The brain is not designed to handle it,” said Dr. Ruben Baler, a scientist with the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Because of their effect on the part of the brain that regulates breathing, opioids can cause very slow or stopped breathing during overdoses, leading to hypoxia [16] or death if left untreated. [1] Hypoxia is typically caused by respiratory depression. [17] [18] The brain uses oxygen to regulate the homeostasis of the body.
Chronic intake of opioids such as heroin may cause long-term effects in the orbitofrontal area (OFC), which is essential for regulating reward-related behaviors, emotional responses, and anxiety. [75] Moreover, neuroimaging and neuropsychological studies demonstrate dysregulation of circuits associated with emotion, stress and high impulsivity ...
A 2010 study ranking various illegal and legal drugs based on statements by drug-harm experts. Heroin was found to be the second overall most dangerous drug. [58] Heroin is classified as a hard drug in terms of drug harmfulness. Like most opioids, unadulterated heroin may lead to adverse effects. The purity of street heroin varies greatly ...
The main side effects heroin causes on appearance according to New Health Advisor are: Weight loss due to loss of appetite, or because a heroin abuser may not prioritize eating Painful abscesses ...
The reasons believed to cause the increased risk of suicide include the long-term abuse of alcohol and other drugs causing physiological distortion of brain chemistry as well as the social isolation. [25] Another factor is the acute intoxicating effects of the drugs may make suicide more likely to occur.
addictive drug – psychoactive substances that with repeated use are associated with significantly higher rates of substance use disorders, due in large part to the drug's effect on brain reward systems; dependence – an adaptive state associated with a withdrawal syndrome upon cessation of repeated exposure to a stimulus (e.g., drug intake)
Comments by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., US Health and Human Services secretary, sparked talk about whether antidepressants are as addictive as heroin. Experts weigh in.