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Drugs of abuse change the complexity of dendritic branching as well as the number and size of the branches in both the VTA and the NAc. [17] [7] By correlation, these structural changes have been linked to addictive behaviors. The effect of these structural changes on behavior is uncertain and studies have produced conflicting results.
An issue with this theory is that most addictive drugs cause an individual to build up a tolerance and the effects of the drug will decrease as an individual's tolerance increases. This requires individuals to use a higher dosage of the substance which in many causes can cause adverse side effects. [34] Dopamine is correlated with increased ...
These factors are: the chemical makeup of the drug, the effects on the brain, and the age, vulnerability, and the health (mental and physical) of the population being studied. [172] There are a few drugs with a specific chemical makeup that leads to a high abuse liability.
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.
Addiction is a brain disorder characterized by compulsive drug use despite adverse consequences. [36] [56] [57] [58] Addiction involves the overstimulation of the brain's mesocorticolimbic reward circuit (reward system), essential for motivating behaviors linked to survival and reproductive fitness, like seeking food and sex. [59]
Forty-four percent used drugs, such as marijuana, as sleep aides. The same percentage cited drug use as a way to "stop worrying about a problem or forget bad memories." And 40% said they used to ...
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.
It's no secret that heroin, of the opioid drug family, is a dangerous epidemic in the United States. The number of U.S. deaths from heroin per year has spiked from roughly 3,000 in 2008 to roughly ...