What do psychoactive drugs do to the brain?
What do psychoactive drugs do to the brain?
Psychoactive, also called psychotropic, is a term that is applied to chemical substances that change a person’s mental state by affecting the way the brain and nervous system work. This can lead to intoxication, which is often the main reason people choose to take psychoactive drugs.
What are the effects of psychoactive drugs on the body?
Some of the dangers of psychoactive drugs include: Short-term physical effects include higher blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, problems with sleeping and eating, nausea and vomiting, shakiness, or dizziness. Long-term effects such as cardiovascular illness, respiratory difficulties, kidney or liver damage.
How does the brain react to drugs?
Drugs interfere with the way neurons send, receive, and process signals via neurotransmitters. Some drugs, such as marijuana and heroin, can activate neurons because their chemical structure mimics that of a natural neurotransmitter in the body. This allows the drugs to attach onto and activate the neurons.
What is the mechanism of actions of psychoactive drugs?
Psychoactive drugs operate by temporarily affecting a person’s neurochemistry, which in turn causes changes in a person’s mood, cognition, perception and behavior. There are many ways in which psychoactive drugs can affect the brain.
Which chemical is released by brain cells along an activated reward pathway?
dopamine
Brain cells along the activated reward pathway release a chemical called dopamine (DOH puh meen).
Which is a class of psychoactive drugs that slow brain and body reactions?
Ch. 17 Preventing Drug Abuse
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| 3. Brain cells along an activated reward pathway release a chemical called | Dopamine |
| 4. When the effects of two or more drugs are canceled out or reduced by each other, it is called | Drug Antagonism |
| 5. A psychoactive drug that slows brain and body reactions is called a(n) | Depressant |
Are chemicals that affect the central nervous system and alter activity in the brain?
Psychoactive drugs – chemicals that affect the central nervous system and alter activity in the brain.