Nucleus accumbens

of risk-taking, there are other theories investigating the link between dopamine activity in adolescents and risk-taking. Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter, released by the ventral tegmental area, affecting brain regions such as the nucleus accumbens, amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex and orbitofrontal cortex, all involved in reward processing (Siddiqui et al., 2008). Research suggests that there is increased activity of neural pathways that use dopamine during adolescence. Some…

Marijuana largely affects the nucleus accumbens, which is the same area of the brain responsible for drug addiction. Since chemicals are being “added to the brain, the normal function of the brain changes. Serious mental consequences can arise from marijuana use, especially if consumed by…

“Adolescent Brain Development and Drug Abuse” 1. Adolescents seem to show diminished sensitivity to intoxication. Alcohol promotes social competitiveness, novelty seeking and feel more pleasurable social experience, less shy, in teens than adults. Alcohol affects the adolescent brain by causing poor impulse control, favoring low-effort while still seeking thrills, and a heightened sensitivity to social benefits of intoxication. It also seems to do more brain damage in their frontal cortex and…

Many people have a general knowledge of what is and what is not addictive. Things that are addictive can be very harmful to one’s body and cause physical and mental problems. For example, drugs, nicotine, and alcohol are some of the top substances that many people get addicted to. One of the most surprising facts to most people is that sugar is also very common to become addicted to. Many different people may be hooked to sugar, and not even know that they are. Sugar can be one of the utmost…

A fantasy is often created when one is imaging things that are impossible or improbable.It may be great at times, such as when reading a book, although when one begins to prefer fantasy over reality, it becomes a problem. Being constantly preoccupied by a fantasy may lead to mental health issues as one is not at terms with what they have in life. Social media provides a massive world to escape to with false promises and the facade of a perfect life. This is dangerous as when people see a perfect…

Overview of the Monoaminergic Antidepressants A brief summary of the specific types of monoaminergic antidepressants will follow as it is important to note previous treatments of depression. Tricyclic antidepressants manipulate serotonin, and norepinephrine pathways through reuptake inhibition. These antidepressants are characterized by low levels of tolerability, and are rarely prescribed. Monoamine oxidase a inhibitors (MAOIs) increase synaptic monoamine availability. The issues of MAOIs…

The Real Reasons Why So Many People Overshare on Social Media People are becoming less and less mindful their posts on the web due to an temporary feeling media has. People are oversharing when posting because they feel drown out by the din on the contemporary media landscape. This is a problem because rather than attracting authentic attention we are only adding to the din of the noise. Before the creation of social media, an “oversharer” was someone who within the first couple minutes of…

“Someone Like You” by Adele, “Yesterday” by the Beatles, and “Wake Me Up When September Ends” by Green Day all have two distinct commonalities: they are all considered sad songs, and they have all been within the top 10 on Billboard’s “Hot 100” chart—“Yesterday” and “Someone Like You” remaining at #1 for multiple days. This is quite the paradox and raises the question: if humans generally desire to prevent sad experiences and associations, then why are some people attracted to sad music and why…

Introduction The scientific study of Huntington’s Disease (HD) had began in 1872, by George Huntington who is a family physician that had published a report on the clinical symptoms and peculiar mode of inheritance of the disorder.(1, 2) Huntington’s disease has 3 subtypes according to the age onset, which are infantile, juvenile and the adult-onset.(2) Individuals with Huntington’s disease can become asymptomatic between the ages of 1 and 80 years.(3) The typical mean age of onset is 40 years,…

Social media addiction is becoming a legitimate problem in modern society. For example, you see families eat entire meals without making eye contact , moms missing precious time with their kids, and students getting behind in school, all because that not so important Facebook post, tweet, or Instagram picture. According to “Social Media Addiction: Statics & Trends”, over two billion people actively use social media worldwide, in fact, that’s twenty eight percent of the world population. People…