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Alcohol-related brain damage [1] [2] alters both the structure and function of the brain as a result of the direct neurotoxic effects of alcohol intoxication or acute alcohol withdrawal. Increased alcohol intake is associated with damage to brain regions including the frontal lobe , [ 3 ] limbic system , and cerebellum , [ 4 ] with widespread ...
The long-term impact of alcohol on the brain has become a growing area of research focus. While researchers have found that moderate alcohol consumption in older adults is associated with better cognition and well-being than abstinence, [ 1 ] excessive alcohol consumption is associated with widespread and significant brain lesions .
Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome in people with chronic alcohol use particularly is associated with atrophy/infarction of specific regions of the brain, especially the mammillary bodies. Other regions include the anterior region of the thalamus (accounting for amnesic symptoms), the medial dorsal thalamus, the basal forebrain , the median and dorsal ...
There is also evidence that substance abuse may damage white matter microstructure, though prolonged abstinence may in certain cases reverse such white matter changes. [ 14 ] White matter lesions on magnetic resonance imaging are linked to several adverse outcomes, such as cognitive impairment and depression . [ 15 ]
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.
Addictive behaviors include problematic use of alcohol, nicotine, and other drugs as well as disorders involving gambling, eating, spending, and sexual behavior. [28] Division 28, Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse promotes teaching, research, and dissemination of information regarding the effects of drugs on behavior. [29]
A recent study found significant reductions in opioid overdose and alcohol misuse among people taking GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic. These medications interact with a part of the brain that can help ...
Drugs of abuse increase the VTA's ability to project dopamine to the rest of the reward circuit. [6] These structural changes only last 7–10 days, [ 7 ] however, indicating that the VTA cannot be the only part of the brain that is affected by drug use, and changed during the development of addiction.