Mesolimbic pathway

After reviewing the case of 28-year-old Owen, it is evident that he suffers from an anxiety disorder due to the simple fact that he has feelings of extreme nervousness that are interfering with his job. However, this is not his only symptom of anxiety he shows. Anxiety is usually not the only mental disorder one encounters at a time and he does show symptoms of other mental disorders as well. After reading Owen’s case the generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) stands out. GAD is a serious and common…

Sexual, Physical and Verbal abuse have devastating long-term effects on children and their development. Child abuse causes higher rates of depression, an increase in the likelihood of developing an addiction as well as negative socioeconomic consequences later in life. When a child has been abused, they tend to begin forming negative thought patterns, which, after many years will develop into mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety. In addition to mental health problems, abuse survivors…

The brain, like most body organs, is vulnerable to damage from the consumption of alcohol (Oscar–Berman & Marinkovic, 2004). Alcohol, unlike most other drugs with abuse potential has no identified target receptor in the brain (Stanford, 2009). Alcohol affects numerous neurotransmitter systems through its action on the membranes of neurons (Stanford, 2009). The probability of brain damage and related neurobehavioral deficits from alcohol consumption differs among individuals (Oscar–Berman &…

As mammals, one of our many natural instincts is sleep. The importance of slumber is comparable to the life-sustaining function of eating. In fact, a human being can die from sleep deprivation in a shorter time than starvation. The longest recorded period of sleep deprivation is 264 hours (eleven days) set by 17 year-old Randy Gardener in 1965 and in 2012, when a Chinese man named Jiang Xiaoshan died after eleven days of unrest (Gillian, Chan). Additionally, Scientific American reports that in…

2013, Keller et al. 1996). Repeated cocaine use often leads to dependence because the extraneous dopamine effects the mesolimbic reward pathway in the brain. In particular, the increased dopamine levels effect the nucleus accumbens region of the brain and produces the feeling of pleasure and satisfaction (Frank et al. 2011). The limbic system also contains the hippocampus and the…

Association, 494). This means that over half of Joe’s disorder could be genetically determined. Neuroanatomy and neurochemistry are other biological factors to be considered. Alcohol influences reward pathways in the brain and affects several different types of neurotransmitters. The mesolimbic dopamine pathway, whereby dopamine levels increase by the body’s response to natural rewards (i.e., sex and hunger), is influenced by the effects of alcohol. GABA interneurons play a role within this…

et al., 2010). Drugs of abuse and consumption of pornography trigger the reward pathway in our brain to release high levels of dopamine (Nestler, 2005). Dopamine is a chemical that is released into the brain that gives us the feeling of pleasure. This gives us all of the pleasure that we normally get from accomplishing something without having to do the work for it. “Repeated activation of mesolimbic dopamine system results in persistent…

Methamphetamine and its Effects on the Body and Brain Methamphetamine (n-methyl-1-phenyl-propan-2-amine) has a molecular weight of 149.237 g/mol and is an addictive man-made stimulant affecting the central nervous system (Methamphetamines: An Overview, n.d.). There are two different types of methamphetamine: l-meth (Levo-methamphetamine), and d-meth (Dextro-methamphetamine), which is the more common form. It is 2 to 10 times as physiologically active as l-meth (Crystal Meth Facts, n.d.).…

body leaving them searching for that first high. In addition, after a period of time the brains receptors become blocked from the large amounts of dopamine produced by the meth. Throughout that time the brains reward system which is called the mesolimbic pathway is affected. Lee states, “this is one of the areas of the brain that is most powerfully associated with pleasure… also highly associated with addiction”…

phase, as they are for example: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior and negative symptoms called. There are two types of drugs, typical and atypical, both tend to block the ladopaminic receptor pathway in the brain. Some side effects include weight gain, agranulocytosis, dyskinesia and tardive akathisia. The aripiprazole is an atypical antipsychotics. Atypical antipsychotics are a heterogeneous group of unrelated, except for the fact that…