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Addiction

Addiction. Human Brain. AVG WEIGHT: ABOUT 3 LBS TIME TO UNCONSCIOUSNESS (when blood supply is cut off): 8 – 10 SECONDS. Meet Your Incredible Brain. Parts of the Brain. Cerebral Cortex The largest part of your brain, this is where you think and reason .

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Addiction

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  1. Addiction

  2. Human Brain AVG WEIGHT: ABOUT 3 LBS TIME TO UNCONSCIOUSNESS (when blood supply is cut off): 8 – 10 SECONDS

  3. Meet Your Incredible Brain

  4. Parts of the Brain • Cerebral CortexThe largest part of your brain, this is where you think and reason. • Corpus callosumConnects the two hemispheres of the brain • Cerebellum Controls posture, movement, and the sense of balance • Brain StemThis structure takes care of basic functions such as the heartbeat, breathing, and digestion.

  5. Parts of the Brain • Limbic SystemLimbic system structures are involved in many of our emotions and motivations, particularly those that are related to survival • Amygdala Plays an important role in emotional behavior • HippocampusPart of the limbic system, controls learning and memory.

  6. How the brain communicates Basic nerve cell is a neuron Rate of growth (in early pregnancy) = 250,000 neurons/ minute

  7. Picture of a neuron Average neurons in the brain = 100 billion Number of synapses = 1,000 to 10,000 per neuron

  8. Peaks of Development “Plasticity” Birth 6 years 12 years 18 years 24 years Peak =14-15 yrs. Peak = 2-3 yrs. Brain scans have allowed us to see brain development as it happens. Scientists have found two huge peaks of development followed by two large but less intense periods. The peaks are associated with the development(programming, encoding, wiring)of NEW capacities, which are mastered over the next 6 years. Our brain continues to refine itself over a lifetime. Williamsgroup, 2003: Please credit Protecting You/Protecting Me (PY/PM)

  9. Neurotransmitters • Very small molecule • Dozens of different types • Dopamine • emotions, pleasure, cognitive responses…. • Serotonin • Influences mood

  10. Remember, your brain is a complex organ full of chemicals called neuro-transmitters.

  11. Neuro-transmitters are molecules of chemicals that affect how we think and feel.

  12. Brain cells, called neurons, send and receive these chemicals across tiny gaps called synapses

  13. One neuron sends a certain chemical message and the other is ready to receive it.

  14. It is very much like a key fitting into a lock. Certain keys fit certain locks

  15. Remember, certain chemical keys fit certain chemical locks.

  16. When certain natural keys fit certain locks, doors are opened to various thoughts and feelings like...

  17. Pleasant, happy or excited.

  18. We feel normal when certain numbers and kinds of doors are unlocked and opened. Normal Depressed Down Excited Up

  19. We feel excited or “up” when more of those doors are unlocked and opened. Normal Depressed Down Excited Up

  20. We feel depressed or down when more doors remain locked and closed. Normal Depressed Down Excited Up

  21. Pleasure=Survival • If you've ever dunked a basketball, held hands with someone special, or bitten into a juicy cheeseburger, you may remember the rush of pleasurable feelings those events created. These good feelings are a key to your survival—after all, if you eat well, you'll live longer, and most of us think of eating as a pleasurable experience.

  22. Unlike remembering your history homework, you remember pleasure more quickly because of a chemical called dopamine.Dopamine works in the pleasure center in the middle of your brain—the limbic system. Once you've had a "feel-good" experience, your brain builds a new path, like a shortcut. That's why you'll start to feel good the next time you just pick up a basketball, smell the cheeseburger, or see your crush in the hall. Your senses send signals, and the dopamine starts flowing. You've wired your brain to repeat what brings good feelings. You smile just thinking about it!

  23. How drugs affect the reward pathway • Drugs affect the brain’s “reward” pathway. Normally, the reward circuit responds to pleasurable experiences by releasing the neurotransmitter dopamine, which creates feelings of pleasure, and tells the brain that this is something important—pay attention and remember it. • Drugs hijack this system, causing unusually large amounts of dopamine to flood the system. Sometimes, this lasts for a long time compared to what happens when a natural reward stimulates dopamine. This flood of dopamine is what causes the “high” or euphoria associated with drug abuse.

  24. Drugs are more addictive than natural rewards • When drugs are take they can release 2 to 10 times the amount of dopamine that natural rewards do and the effects can last much longer than those produced by natural rewards. The effect of such a powerful reward strongly motivates people to take drugs again and again.

  25. Drugs Fool Your Brain • Drug abuse affects the way the brain experiences pleasure. Drugs make people "high" by invading and manipulating the brain's reward pathway. They fool your brain into good feelings that are a reaction to chemicals, instead of to real experiences • The drug resets the scale so normal is now “high” and the old normal is depressed. .

  26. Certain drugs mimic the natural keys of our brain and unlock doors to feelings and thoughts.

  27. When we use these drugs, many doors are quickly opened and we feel very up or “high.” Normal Depressed Down Excited Up VERY UP

  28. In fact, this new up may be off the scale of anything that occurs naturally. Normal Depressed Down Excited Up VERY UP

  29. The scale becomes broken and a new normal is set. Normal New Normal Depressed Down Excited Up VERY UP

  30. What was once normal now seems drab and “down.” Normal New Normal Depressed Down Excited Up VERY UP

  31. The brain quits making the natural keys... Normal New Normal Depressed Down Excited Up VERY UP

  32. and the imitators are flushed from the body. Normal New Normal Depressed Down Excited Up VERY UP

  33. No more keys means no more doors can open and there is a crash. Normal New Normal Depressed Down Excited Up VERY DOWN VERY UP

  34. There are not enough natural keys to unlock the “good feeling” doors and the person may seek counterfeit keys to feel “new normal” again. Normal New Normal Depressed Down Excited Up VERY DOWN VERY UP

  35. The more these mimic keys are used, the more the body quits making its own keys. Normal New Normal Depressed Down Excited Up VERY DOWN VERY UP

  36. The person then starts to rely on the mimic keys to feel emotion, even the “new normal.” Normal New Normal Depressed Down Excited Up VERY DOWN VERY UP

  37. What happens to the brain if a person continues to take drugs? • The body stops making the chemical keys and the person needs to take the drug just to function, they no longer feel pleasure OR they need to take more and more of the drug to feel anything.

  38. Drugs give a short-term high Mood High Crash and low Duration And a long-term low

  39. ALL addictions have similar effects on the brain (shopping, alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, drugs, texting, video games, reading, gambling, chocolate…)

  40. Addiction begins as abuse. You can abuse a drug without having an addiction. For example, just because you smoke a few times doesn’t mean that you’re addicted, but it does mean that you are abusing the drug and that could lead to an addiction. • Addiction means a person has no control over whether he or she uses a drug or drinks. • Addiction can be physical, psychological, or both.

  41. A person crosses the line between abuse and addiction when he or she is no longer trying the drug to have fun or get high, but has come to depend on it. (Again, dependence on a drug means you are influence or controlled by the substance. You have to have it to function.) • An addicted person—whether it’s a physical or psychological addiction or both—no longer feels like there is a choice in taking a substance.

  42. We can’t predict how many times a person must use a drug before becoming addicted. A person's genetic makeup, the genes that make each of us who we are, and the environment each play a role. What we do know is that a person who uses drugs, risks becoming addicted, craving the drug despite its potentially devastating consequences.

  43. Physical Addiction • a person’s body actually becomes dependent on a particular substance. It also means building a tolerance to that substance, so that a person needs a larger dose than ever before to get the same effects. • Dependence on a drug means you are influence or controlled by the substance. You have to have it to function. • Someone who is physically addicted may experience withdrawal symptoms.

  44. Physical Signs of Addiction • Changes in sleeping habits • Feeling shaky or sick when trying to stop • Needing to take more of the substance to get the same effect (they build a tolerance) • Changes in eating habits, including weight loss or gain.

  45. Psychological Addiction • Happens when the cravings for the drug are psychological or emotional. People who are psychologically addicted feel overcome by the desire to have the drug. Their whole life revolves around the drug: obtaining the drug, using the drug, and when the next fix will be. They may lie or steal to get it.

  46. Psychological Signs of Addiction • Use of drugs or alcohol as a way to forget problems or to relax • Withdrawal or keeping secrets from family and friends • Loss of interest in activities that used to be important • Problems with schoolwork, such as slipping grades or absences • Changes in friendships, such as hanging out only with friends who use drugs

  47. Psychological Signs Cont’d. • Spending a lot of time figuring out how to get drugs • Stealing or selling belongings to be able to afford drugs • Failed attempts to stop taking drugs or drinking • Anxiety, anger, or depression • Mood swings

  48. Vocabulary • Tolerance: a person needs more and more of a drug to feel its effect • Dependence: The body can’t function normally without the drug • Addiction: the need for a habit-forming substance • Withdrawal: feelings of discomfort, distress, and intense craving for a substance that occur when use of the substance is stopped

  49. Getting Help • Recognizing that you have a problemis the first step to getting help. • Overcoming addiction is NOT easy. A lot of people think they can kick the problem on their own, but that doesn’t work for most people. • Find someone you trust to talk to. It may help to talk to a friend or someone your own age at first, but a supportive and understanding adult is your best option for getting help. If you can’t talk to your parents, you might approach a school counselor, relative, doctor, or favorite teacher, or religious leader.

  50. Nothing magical about drugs • Similar shape to neurotransmitters • Act upon different parts of the brain • Overload the natural system • Short term, but long lasting side effects

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