The Brain and Drugs
You may have seen the old TV commercial which says “This is your brain and this is your brain on drugs.” The idea behind that ad involved the belief that drug abuse changed your brain. Studies have found this idea to be fact.
When a person uses an addictive substance such as alcohol, heroin or prescription drugs, the chemicals in those substances attach to an area of the brain. They connect to the brain cells which alters how they communicate with each other.
The majority of drugs abused provide dopamine to the brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps control pleasure, emotions, and movement. When it’s present naturally, it rewards good behaviors. For example, you work out at the gym and more dopamine is released which makes you feel good even though you’re tired.
When dopamine floods the brain due to drug use, it creates euphoric feelings. When the drug leaves the system, it causes the body may crave that euphoria. The brain is trained to seek out more of any behavior that produces a reward.
When a certain action is followed by the release of dopamine and good feelings result, the brain remembers that action and wants to repeat it.
Drug Abuse and Our Neurofeedback Therapy Program
Drug abuse is so addictive because the substance often releases up to 10 times the amount of dopamine as what you would get with other activities. The euphoria can happen faster and last longer than what you would feel with a natural reward such as food. This makes the brain think it’s even more important than other behaviors.
It motivates the person to repeat the drug use, which leads to stronger pathways in the brain for this behavior. Over time, with continual drug use, the pathways governing the abuse will be stronger than any other actions or behaviors. This is why you see long-term addicts who seem to care about nothing but getting more of the drug.
Understanding Dopamine and the Brain
The brain stops making dopamine on its own, which leads to feelings of lifelessness and depression when they aren’t taking the drug. They must continue to use to try to get their dopamine levels back to normal and to feel any sense of pleasure. They will need to increase the amount they’re using to achieve the desired effect. This leads to a vicious cycle they can’t destroy on their own.
Because the drug use affects the brain so strongly, other signals are often ignored. The result is the person will seek out drugs at any cost. They aren’t able to make good decisions or to focus on other actions. Over time, the cognitive function of the brain may be damaged, which means the person cannot think clearly or remember things. While any addictive drug can create a similar response, some are more dangerous than others because of how quickly and how strongly they can impact the brain. These drugs are also usually more addictive, such as heroin and meth. They can trap a person with the first use.