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Psychoactive Drugs

Psychoactive Drugs. How Psychoactive Drugs Work. Psychoactive Drug: chemicals that affect the nervous system, alter consciousness Often work like neurotransmitters, affecting neuron function.

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Psychoactive Drugs

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  1. Psychoactive Drugs

  2. How Psychoactive Drugs Work • Psychoactive Drug: chemicals that affect the nervous system, alter consciousness • Often work like neurotransmitters, affecting neuron function. • Prolonged use of some drugs can lead to the body’s inability to create enough of its neurotransmitters naturally. • Some move through the blood stream

  3. Depressants (alcohol) • Alcohol slowly dissipates over time in the blood-stream, so rapid (binge) drinking can lead to a dangerous build-up • Slows/stops some neuron activity, leading to poor judgment and weakened inhibition • You are more likely to act on (dumb) impulses • Memory processing is impaired by alcohol and other depressants

  4. Depressants (alcohol) • Alcoholic drinks are a part of our cultural identity. • Societal expectations create a placebo effect: The person with non-alcoholic drinks at the party will still act “drunk” • As a society, we often expect people to drink, but not to actually be “drunk”

  5. Depressants (barbiturates & opiates) • Barbiturates: Tranquilizers that depress the nervous system(s) • Mixing sleeping pills (“mild” barbiturates) with alcohol often leads to death • Opiates: opium and its derivatives, depressants that reduce pain, induce a “blissful” state. • Heroin, morphine, opium…

  6. Stimulants • Stimulants: excite neural activity & body functions • Caffeine- mild stimulant, increases alertness • Nicotine- mild stimulant, but smokers claim it calms them • Riskier stuff: cocaine, ecstasy, methamphetamine (meth) • Stimulants in general come with a “high” followed by a “crash” in neural activity, heart rate, mood, and even appetite

  7. Stimulants • Cocaine comes with a fast high followed by a prolonged low • Neurotransmitters are triggered. • This lead to a “chemical dependency” because the body looses its ability to trigger these mood-affecting chemicals itself • Crack is whack: it’s has an even faster high and low

  8. Hallucinogens • Hallucinations: perceptions with no direct, external cause. • LSD: powerful hallucinogen that distorts perception and thought • “Trips” can last for 6-14 hours (or longer) • Intense experiences, often filled with terror. • External stimuli distorted (sometimes beyond recognition) • Walls that scream at you, pile of rice as a pile of rotting corpses, etc. • Panic is a common reaction.

  9. Hallucinogens (marijuana) • #1 Illegal drug used in the U.S., it is a mild hallucinogen • Can be smoked or eaten, smoking has faster effect • Amplifies sensitivity to stimuli like colors, sounds, tastes, smells, etc. • Negative effects: negative emotions are also strengthened, memory-formation hurt, impaired mental ability/focus, lung cancer • Not physically addictive, but one can develop a psychological dependence

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