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Alcohol acts as a general central nervous system depressant, but it also affects some specific areas of the brain to a greater extent than others. Memory impairment caused by alcohol has been linked to the disruption of hippocampal function—particularly affecting gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) neurotransmission which negatively impacts long-term potentiation ...
Behavioral neuropharmacology focuses on the study of how drugs affect human behavior (neuropsychopharmacology), including the study of how drug dependence and addiction affect the human brain. [2] Molecular neuropharmacology involves the study of neurons and their neurochemical interactions, with the overall goal of developing drugs that have ...
The effects of alcohol on the body's neurochemistry are more difficult to examine than some other drugs. This is because the chemical nature of the substance makes it easy to penetrate into the brain, and it also influences the phospholipid bilayer of neurons.
Adolescents, females and young adults are most sensitive to the neuropsychological effects of binge drinking. Adolescence, particularly early adolescence, is a developmental stage which is particularly vulnerable to the neurotoxic and neurocognitive adverse effects of binge drinking due to it being a time of significant brain development. [1]
As with most addictive substances, nicotine increases levels of a chemical messenger in the brain called dopamine, which affects parts of the brain that control reward (pleasure from natural behaviors such as eating). [30] These feelings motivate some people to use nicotine again and again, despite possible risks to their health and well-being ...
Psychoactive drugs operate by temporarily affecting a person's neurochemistry, which in turn causes changes in a person's mood, cognition, perception and behavior. There are many ways in which psychoactive drugs can affect the brain. Each drug has a specific action on one or more neurotransmitter or neuroreceptor in the brain.
Methocarbamol is a popular drug that is commonly known as Robaxin and is over-the-counter in some countries. It is a carbamate with muscle relaxant effects. Tetrabamate is a controversial drug that is a combination of febarbamate, difebarbamate, and phenobarbital. It is marketed in Europe and has been largely, but not completely, discontinued.
Another chemical in the brain that Aβ regulates is JNK; this chemical halts the extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) pathway, which normally functions as memory control in the brain. As a result, this memory favoring pathway is stopped, and the brain loses essential memory function. The loss of memory is a symptom of neurodegenerative ...