What can recreational drugs tell us about how neurons normally operate?

Question

What can recreational drugs tell us about how neurons normally operate?

Answer 1

As much as legal drugs can.

Answer 2

The CAB has a good information leaflet about reporting Child Abuse - you can either get in touch with Social Services, report it to the police or contact Childline and ask them to forward an anonymous complaint. If you feel that something is going on, you need to take action, even if you fears may be unfounded - it isn't worth the risk. You can also get in touch with the courts to ask for access to be reassessed and ask for supervised visitation only. Hope this helps xx

Answer 3

Different drugs of abuse disrupt communication between neurons.

How do drugs cause their effects on the brain and behavior? A specific brain region, the reward system (part of the limbic system), regulates feelings of pleasure and that this region is activated
by drugs of abuse. But what do drugs actually do in that brain region? Drugs interfere with neurotransmission. More specifically, drugs of abuse produce
feelings of pleasure by altering neurotransmission by neurons in the reward system that release the neurotransmitter dopamine.Thus, drugs of abuse alter the communication between neurons that is mediated by dopamine. Because the synapse is so complex, there are a variety of sites at which drugs may affect synaptic transmission. One way to affect synaptic transmission is to increase the amount of neurotransmitter that is released into the synaptic space.


Drugs like alcohol, heroin, and nicotine excite the dopamine-containing neurons
in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) so that they produce more action potentials. As the number of action potentials increases, so does the amount of dopamine released into the synapse. Amphetamines (e.g., methamphetamine, crystal, crank) actually cause the release of dopamine from the vesicles. This is independent of the rate of action potentials and, depending on dose, can cause a relatively quick and prolonged rise of extracellular dopamine levels.


Methamphetamine alters dopamine neurotransmission in two ways. Methamphetamine enters the neuron by passing directly through nerve cell membranes. It is carried to the nerve cell terminals by transporter molecules that normally carry dopamine or norepinephrine. In the nerve terminal, methamphetamine enters the dopamine- or norepinephrine-containing vesicles and causes the release of neurotransmitter. Methamphetamine also blocks the dopamine transporter from pumping dopamine back into the transmitting neuron. Methamphetamine acts similarly to cocaine in this way.


Nicotine not only acts at the cell body in the VTA to increase the number of action potentials and number of vesicles released from a neuron, but it also acts by another mechanism to alter dopamine release. When nicotine binds to nicotine
receptors on the dopamine-containing axon terminals in the nucleus accumbens, more dopamine is released with each action potential.


Drugs may also alter synaptic transmission by directly affecting the postsynaptic
receptors. Some drugs activate receptors and others block them.


While THC (the main psychoactive chemical in marijuana) and morphineactivate
their specific receptors, other drugs block specific receptors. Caffeine, the mild stimulant found in coffee and some soft drinks, exerts its effects by pre-venting a neurotransmitter/neuromodulator called adenosine from binding to its receptor. Normally, the binding of adenosine to its receptor causes sedation; it is a natural sleep-inducer. Instead of causing sedation, the blocking of the adenosine receptors with caffeine leads to an increase in activity and arousal levels.


The actions of some drugs are very complex. LSD, for example, acts on serotonin receptors. Serotonin, an important neurotransmitter in many brain regions, is involved in regulating a wide variety of functions, including mood and basic survival functions such as sleep and eating.

Scientists continue to study how hallucinogens act, but apparently LSD activates some serotonin receptors (LSD acts as a receptor agonist) and blocks other serotonin receptors (LSD acts as a receptor antagonist).


A third way to affect synaptic transmission is to alter the removal of neurotransmitters
from the synapse. Cocaine and amphetamines work this way (this is the second way in which amphetamines can alter neurotransmission). Both drugs block the dopamine transporter (reuptake pump) that removes dopamine from the synapse. The result is a fairly rapid rise of dopamine in the synapse, leading to feelings of euphoria and well-being. There are no drugs of abuse that block enzymatic destruction of neurotransmitters, although some antidepressants work by this mechanism.

Answer 4

It depends on what you classify as normal. Normal being per individual or normal as a whole.

Answer 5

To be honest, I don't think so