Substance Use Disorders and Psychoactive Drugs

depressants

depress neural activity + slow down body function

examples: alcohol, barbiturates, opiates

stimulants

speed up neural activity + arouse body function

examples: caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, cocaine, ecstasy/MDMA

MDMA/ecstasy

both a stimulant and a mild hallucinogen

hallucinogens

distorts perceptions + evokes sensory images

examples: LSD, ecstasy, marijuana

LSD is an agonist for…

serotonin. it sometimes inhibits receptors but other times excites them, hence the complex sensory effects

meth is an agonist for…

dopamine. it mimics dopamine to get into the vesicles so the axon terminal pushes out more dopamine into the synapse and repeatedly binds to the receptors

ecstasy is an agonist for…

serotonin. it mimics serotonin to get taken in by the transporters and the transporters release excess serotonin

alcohol is an agonist for…

GABA. GABA is supposed to increase the inhibitory effect and alcohol increases it even more

alcohol is an antagonist for…

glutamate. glutamate is supposed to increase the excitatory effect but alcohol inhibits it

cocaine is an “agonist” for…

dopamine. it blocks the transporters responsible for reuptake

marijuana works by…

turning off the release of inhibitory neurotransmitters so dopamine can keep squirting into synapse

opiates like heroin and morphine work by…

preventing dopamine inhibitors from being released and working primarily in areas of the brain responsible for pain signals

marijuana effects

infiltrates blood and reaches brain, impedes memory-related signals and short-term recall, slows down behavior, loss of motivation and difficulty concentrating, decreased lung function

meth effects

accelerates many body systems incl. CNS, intense focus, wide awake, excess sweating and calorie burning, eventual crash, electrical system in heart gets damaged

heroin effects

dulls pain, sedating effect, irritated lungs and irreversible scarring, high chance of heart failure, functioning addiction, go into “autopilot,” move slowly, body physically can’t handle extreme stress

cocaine effects

heart beats faster, blood pressure rises, boosts energy, floods body with adrenaline and dopamine, fats and sugars break down faster, strength skyrockets, inflated self-confidence, aggressiveness and aggravation, higher risk of cardiac arrest