subject: What Happens To Your Brain Matter When You Take Drugs? [print this page] Drugs are chemicals that tap into the brain's communication system and interrupt the way nerve cells routinely send, receive, and process info. There are at least 2 ways that drugs can do this : ( one ) by imitating the brain's natural chemical messengers, and / or ( two ) by overstimulating the "reward circuit" of the brain. Some drugs , for example marijuana and heroin, have a corresponding structure to chemical messengers, called neurotransmitters, which are naturally produced by the brain. Due to this likeness, these drugs may be able to "fool" the brain's receptors and turn on nerve cells to send unusual messages. Almost all drugs, loosely or directly, target the brain's reward system by flooding the circuit with dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter present in regions of the brain that control movement, emotion, incentive, and feelings of pleasure.
This reaction sets in motion a pattern that "teaches" folk to repeat the behaviour of abusing drugs. As a consequence, dopamine's result on the reward circuit is lessened, reducing the abuser's capability to enjoy the drugs and the things that previously brought pleasure.
This decrease forces those addicted to drugs to keep abusing drugs to try to bring their dopamine function back to business. And, they may now need bigger amounts of the drug than they first did to gain the dopamine highan effect known as toleration.
Long term abuse causes changes in other brain chemical systems and circuits too.
When the best concentration of glutamate is changed by substance abuse, the brain tries to compensate, which can harm cognitive function. Drugs of abuse help nonconscious ( conditioned ) learning, which leads the user to experience wild longings when they see a place or person they associate with the drug experience, even if the drug itself isn't available. Brain imaging studies of drug-addicted people show changes in places of the brain that are crucial to judgment, decisionmaking, learning and memory, and behaviour control.
Most drugs you need to be medicaly detoxed from in a safe enviroment like a clinic, first point would be to see your GP or find a private rehab clinic to retrain your mind. There are many clinics out there with different approachs to there treatment. Using different typs of therapy like CBT and NOP.
Drug detox is a simple process, but can take time depending on the drug. Detox is phase one of drug withdrawal, the process of getting off the drugs. Without a thorough alcohol or drug detox there is the possibility that the person will go back to using the drug after rehab.
Depending on the facility you choose for treatment detox can be accomplished through many methods. Treatments to alleviate physical symptoms of withdrawal to alcohol or other drugs are provided by most detox centres. To decrease the chances of relapse a good detox program will make counselling available during the drug and alcohol detox and help with the physical effects as well.
