Brain areas affected by drug use
What is basal ganglia?
Neurons maintain a resting state with a negative charge inside the cell compared to the outside due to the unequal distribution of ions (sodium, potassium, chloride, etc.) across the cell membrane. This resting membrane potential is around -70 millivolts.
Resting state
In the context of addiction, substances like drugs can trigger the release of large amounts of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward, into the brain's reward system
Neurotransmitter Release
Repolarization
After reaching its peak, the neuron begins to repolarize. Voltage-gated potassium channels open, allowing potassium ions to leave the cell, restoring the negative charge inside.
powerful peer support groups that help people recover from substance use disorders, behavioral addictions, and sometimes other co-occurring mental health conditions
What is prefrontal cortex?
For an action potential to occur, the neuron must reach a certain threshold of depolarization. This can happen when neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, bind to receptors on the neuron's dendrites, leading to the opening of ion channels.
Threshold
The surge in dopamine activates the brain's reward circuit, including the basal ganglia, which plays a role in pleasure and habit formation. This activation is what creates the pleasurable "high" associated with drug use.
Reward Circuit Activation
Sometimes, the repolarization phase overshoots, making the membrane potential briefly more negative than the resting state. This is called hyperpolarization.
Hyperpolarization:
Step 2
What is the extended amygdala ?
If the threshold is reached, voltage-gated sodium channels in the neuron's membrane open, allowing sodium ions to rush into the cell. This sudden influx of positive ions depolarizes the cell membrane, making the inside more positive.
Depolarization
Dopamine release during drug use reinforces the connection between drug consumption and pleasure. The brain learns to associate drug use with a rewarding experience, encouraging continued drug-seeking behavior.
Learning and Reinforcement
After an action potential, there is a brief refractory period during which the neuron cannot generate another action potential. This ensures that signals move in one direction along the neuron.
Refractory Period:
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Step 1
If the brain stem is affected by dryg use, what vital function is impacted?
Breathing.
As more sodium ions enter, the inside of the neuron becomes increasingly positive. This depolarization spreads down the length of the neuron in a wave-like fashion.
Rising Phase
Tolerance and Sensitization
Over time, the brain may adapt to the high levels of dopamine by reducing the number of dopamine receptors or by becoming less responsive to it. This leads to tolerance, where more of the drug is needed to achieve the same pleasurable effects. On the flip side, sensitization can occur, where the brain becomes more responsive to drug-related cues, leading to increased cravings and susceptibility to relapse.
feel-good” hormone
dopamine
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Step 8
What is the body's most complex organ, controlling everything we do. It consists of billions of neurons that communicate through neurotransmitters. Drugs can interfere with this communication, leading to various effects.
The action potential reaches its peak when the membrane potential becomes highly positive (around +40 millivolts).
Peak
Compulsive Drug Seeking
The disrupted balance in the reward circuit, along with changes in other brain areas, can lead to compulsive drug seeking, even when the individual is aware of the negative consequences. This is a key aspect of addiction.
the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity
Addiction
Step 12
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