subject: Side Effects Of Alcohol And Drug Abuse On The Brain [print this page] Although alcohol and drugs have serious effects on the body of the drug abuser, they particularly affect the brain of these individuals. There is a broad range of these effects on the brain. Some side effects are short-term while others are long-term. Some of the important side effects of drugs and alcohol abuse are discussed here.
Effects of Alcohol Addiction:
Alcohol addiction has some invisible internal harms and some observable behavior changes. The brain of drinkers is affected despite the fact how much they drink alcohol. Alcohol also affects the brains of moderate alcohol abusers along with heavy and binge drinkers. The short lived side effects of alcohol addiction include:
Hazzy vision
Difficulty in balance and walking
Difficulty in coordination
Slow reaction times
Poor memory
Slurred speech
In the long run, alcohol abuse can have devastating effects on the brain of abuser. The long term alcohol abuse effects include:
Devastating damage to memory
Difficulties in planning, learning and thinkg
Loss of consciousness
Weaker judgment
Problems in coordination
Other side effects include Wernicke-Koraskoff Syndrome. This disease is characterized by short term but serious difficulties in coordination, mental confusion and problems with vision. Learning ability and memory is also harmed overtime.
Effects of drug abuse:
The drug abuse obstructs the function of the brain because the drugs cause harm to the neurotransmitters of the brain. The functioning of the brain's nerve cells is also interfered and disturbed by these substances. The nerve cells are responsible for processing the sensory information. The drugs imitate the natural chemical messengers in the brain and over-stimulate the "reward circuit" of the brain.
The normal communication patterns in the brain are disturbed by the use of cocaine and methamphetamine. These drugs do this by causing the nerve cells to discharge huge amounts of neurotransmitters and by interfering with the recycling of brain chemicals that are responsible for controlling the signals between neurons.
Some drugs, such as heroin, have the ability to deceive the receptors of the brain and cause the nerve cells to send abnormal messages. This happens because these drugs create effects which are similar to the neurotransmitters.
Many of the drugs overflow the brain with dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter responsible for controlling the emotions of happiness and pleasure. The changes in the level of dopamine influence the brain's reward system. The unnecessarily high levels of these chemicals produce euphoric effects in response to the use of drugs.
