SMARTER UK – RESOURCES FOR SCHOOLS

1. SMARTER UK – RESOURCES FOR SCHOOLS Please feel free to use this PowerPoint presentation in the classroom. It is intended to support the KS3 & KS4 curriculum and the Scottish S3-S4 curriculum. KEY LEARNING: The different effects of drugs, from stimulants through to depressants, and how they act upon the central nervous system. Specific curriculum areas include: • KS3 Science • 3.3 Organisms, behaviour and health • c) conception, growth, behaviour and health can be affected by diet, drugs and disease • Links to KS4 GCSE Biology Syllabuses • OCR • 3.3 Fundamental Scientific Processes • Item B1e: Drugs and You • Foundation tier only: low demand • Recognise that drugs can be beneficial or harmful. • Explain the terms: addiction, withdrawal symptoms, tolerance and rehabilitation. • Describe the general effects of each drug category: • depressants: slow down brain’s activity • pain killers: block nerve impulses • stimulants: increase brain’s activity • performance enhancers: muscle development • hallucinogens: distort what is seen and heard • Both tiers: standard demand • Recall examples of drugs: • depressants, limited to alcohol, solvents and temazepam • pain killers, limited to aspirin and paracetamol • stimulants, limited to nicotine, ecstasy and caffeine • performance enhancers, limited to anabolic steroids • hallucinogens, limited to LSD • Higher Tier only: high demand • Explain the action of depressants and stimulants on the synapses of the nervous system: • depressants bind with receptor molecules in the membrane of the next neurone blocking the transmission of the impulses • stimulants cause more neurotransmitter to cross the synapse • OCR 21st Century Science • MODULE B6: BRAIN AND MIND – OVERVIEW • B6.6 How do drugs affect our nervous systems? Effects of Ecstasy on synapse action. • AQA • 11.3 How do we use/abuse medical and recreational drugs? • Drugs can be beneficial but may harm the body. • Drugs change the chemical processes in people’s bodies so that they may become dependent or addicted to them and suffer withdrawal symptoms without them. Heroin and cocaine are very addictive. • Edexcel • Topic 3: Problems of, and solutions to a changing environment • 3.2) Describe the general effects of: • painkillers that block nerve impulses, including morphine • hallucinogens that distort sense perception, including LSD • stimulants that increase the speed of reactions and neurotransmission at the synapse, including caffeine • depressants that slow down the activity of the brain, including alcohol • Scottish S3-S4 science • Health and Wellbeing - Substance misuse • HWB 3-38a/HWB 4-38a . I understand the positive effects that some substances can have on the mind and body but I am also aware of the negative and serious physical, mental, emotional, social and legal consequences of the misuse of substances

2. Drugs and the human body How do drugs affect the brain?

3. in the brain most drugs work by altering activity at the synapse synapse nerve endings dendrites vesicle myelin sheath synaptic cleft cell body receptor the signal is transmitted to another neurone across a junction called a synapse by chemicals called neurotransmitters. nucleus neurotransmitter axon Smarter UK

4. different drugs do different things to the brain Some drugs affect the whole brain (e.g. alcohol) Others mainly affect specific areas (e.g. cocaine) Some drugs mimic the effects of neurotransmitters (e.g. heroin) Many drugs change the rate that neurotransmitters are released into and removed from the synaptic cleft (e.g. ecstasy) Credit: Wellcome Library, London Smarter UK

5. different drugs give a different experience to the drug-user Some drugs, such as morphine, block nerve impulses that cause pain. These are known as… pain killers Some drugs, such as alcohol and solvents, slow down the brain’s activity by making the synapse less active. These are known as… depressants Some drugs, such as LSD distort what the user sees and hears, by effecting the receptors for a particular type of neurotransmitter: serotonin. These are known as… hallucinogens And some, such as nicotine, ecstasy and caffeine, make the synapse more active. These are known as… stimulants Credit: Wellcome Library, London

6. drugs cause addiction because they over-activate the parts of the brain responsible for feeling pleasure addictive drugs cause an increase in levels of a neurotransmitter called dopamine this makes you feel good feeling good makes you want to keep on feeling good your brain tries to get things back to normal by becoming less sensitive to dopamine. (You become tolerant to the drug) you need more and more of the drug to make you feel good you need some of the drug just to feel normal without the drug, there isn’t enough dopamine in your brain and you feel terrible. This is called withdrawal messing with the delicate balance of your brain can have very serious consequences! Smarter UK