On the learn genetics web page I used multiple programs including; Mouse Party, Drugs of Abuse, Drug Use Changes The Brain Over Time, Social Environment Impacts The Reward Pathway, Drug Delivery Methods, Genes And Addiction, Cannabis in the Clinic, and The Adolescent Brain.
I found the article titled “Drug Use Changes the Brain Over Time” to be the most interesting and informative. Drugs reduce dopamine receptors, which results in multiple consequences. For one, the more drug use the more tolerance is built up, which in turn causes the user to take more drugs, ultimately leading to a drug addiction. Additionally, as the drugs ruin the brains response to natural rewards making it harder to feel good off anything other than drugs.
Dopamine was a common topic throughout because drugs often block the dopamine receptors which over stimulate the cell receptor causing major feelings of reward in the brain. This pleasure of reward is what keeps drug users coming back.
Drugs literally cause the brain to rewire. The brain's reward neurons are affected in addition to areas of the brain used for things like; memory, learning, decision-making, and judgment. …show more content…
Hopefully, this audience would be impacted by seeing the lasting consequences of drugs on the brain. Learning about biological predisposition is another helpful benefit in keeping young teens away from drugs. Teaching adolescents about the effects of drugs could influence public policy in specific regard to medical marijuana. One of the fears is that it introduces extra availability to kids, but if legalized and taught about as much as alcohol in schools, lawmakers may be surprised by the decline of teenage marijuana
I found the article titled “Drug Use Changes the Brain Over Time” to be the most interesting and informative. Drugs reduce dopamine receptors, which results in multiple consequences. For one, the more drug use the more tolerance is built up, which in turn causes the user to take more drugs, ultimately leading to a drug addiction. Additionally, as the drugs ruin the brains response to natural rewards making it harder to feel good off anything other than drugs.
Dopamine was a common topic throughout because drugs often block the dopamine receptors which over stimulate the cell receptor causing major feelings of reward in the brain. This pleasure of reward is what keeps drug users coming back.
Drugs literally cause the brain to rewire. The brain's reward neurons are affected in addition to areas of the brain used for things like; memory, learning, decision-making, and judgment. …show more content…
Hopefully, this audience would be impacted by seeing the lasting consequences of drugs on the brain. Learning about biological predisposition is another helpful benefit in keeping young teens away from drugs. Teaching adolescents about the effects of drugs could influence public policy in specific regard to medical marijuana. One of the fears is that it introduces extra availability to kids, but if legalized and taught about as much as alcohol in schools, lawmakers may be surprised by the decline of teenage marijuana