Long-Term Effects of Drugs on The Brain

Studies have correlated regional brain patterns in response to taking a drug with vulnerability to drug abuse, addictive symptoms and behaviors, and long-term cognitive capacity. NIH-funded researchers are also evaluating experimental therapies that might enhance the effectiveness of established treatments. Mindfulness meditation and magnetic stimulation of the brain are being assessed for their ability to strengthen brain circuits that have been harmed by addiction.

• We have identified many of the biological and environmental risk factors and are beginning to search for the genetic variations that contribute to the development and progression of the disorder.
• At least 1 in 7 people suffer from some form of substance addiction.
• Yet only about 7.6 percent are estimated to receive any type of intervention.
• This is data — the Juvenile Justice Data is taken from Linda Teplin’s study; she’s been longitudinally following adolescents who have been involved in the juvenile justice system for a number of years.

Looking at assessment over time and assessment that could be used to measure both risk, including criminogenic risk, treatment needs and then progress that was being made in treatment over time. We also know that there is a heavy mental health burden within the criminal justice system. You can see here on the far left, the rates of three different types of mental health disorders in the general population, including mania, psychotic disorders and major depressive disorders. And yet for those who are incarcerated in state, federal systems, or within jails you can see that there is a many-fold increase in the presence of these different mental health conditions.

Addiction’s Impact on Cognitive Function and Brain Health

And although addiction can cause imbalances to one’s biochemistry and brain activity, in most cases, any dysfunction will start to repair itself in due time with abstinence from drugs. How the brain recovers from addiction is an exciting and emerging area of research. There is evidence that the brain does recover; the image below shows the healthy brain on the left, and the brain of a patient who misused methamphetamine in the center and the right.

Among substances of abuse that penetrate the brain after being ingested or administered, alcohol is readily apparent with MRS (Hetherington et al., 1999). Several structural MRI studies have shown enlargement of the brain’s basal ganglia in cocaine-dependent (Jacobsen et al., 2001) alcohol vs drugs and methamphetamine-dependent (Chang et al., 2005a; Jernigan et al., 2005) subjects compared with healthy subjects. This is similar to enlarged basal ganglia structures seen in schizophrenic patients who have been treated with typical antipsychotic medications (Gur et al., 1998).

Key Points to Understand the Brain and Addiction:

As always, it is critical that people take medications as directed by a medical professional. Those in recovery can also benefit from support groups such as Narcotics Anonymous (NA) or Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). These groups foster a sense of community, peer support, and a safe area for people to share their addiction experiences and difficulties. Research has shown that participation in support groups can improve treatment outcomes and reduce the risk of relapse.

This disrupts any of the conversations we have going on between our brain and the nervous system. When someone uses drugs, these neurotransmitters are either enhanced or depleted. Certain drugs, like marijuana, mimic chemicals and actions that already occur within the brain.

Medication Development

She really wanted to follow the programs
and quit drinking, but she was so impulsive she couldn’t stop herself if she
was around alcohol. When she had her brain scanned using technology called
SPECT, it revealed abnormal activity in an area called the prefrontal
cortex (PFC), which is involved in impulse control. It’s like the
brain’s brake, making you stop before engaging in risky or unhealthy
activities. Alcohol and drugs affect your brain’s neurotransmitters – many emulating the effect of dopamine while some affect other neurotransmitters. Even into adulthood, your brain is still remarkably capable of changing and adapting. As it seeks balance between these affected neurotransmitters and normal functioning, your brain may reduce its production of dopamine.

People will sometimes abuse these drugs because they can produce a slight euphoria in users who are not used to taking potent opioids like heroin or OxyContin. People who are addicted https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/binge-drinking-how-to-stop-binge-drinking/ to heroin may also obtain medications like Suboxone to prevent painful withdrawals. While this isn’t necessarily dangerous, it is still considered illicit use of the drug.