Psychoactive Drug Stimulant Depressant and Antipsychotic - Essay Example

Psychoactive Drug-Stimulant-Depressant-&Antipsychotic A psychoactive drug is a chemical effect drug that acts with the central nervous system and can cause a variety of effects on the human body. Once acting upon the nervous system, a psychoactive drug can change a person’s entire mood, as well as changes in perception as a whole. The drugs work with the central nervous system to change how the brain works. These drugs can sometimes form hard to break addictions, but other forms of psychoactive drugs can also help break people of life long addictions. There are many different types of psychoactive drugs, from the often used drugs such as caffeine and alcohol, to psilocybin found in mushrooms, and even the medically elite drugs that help people with depression and other mind illnesses. There are four main groups of psychoactive drugs, which can then be divided down into many different subgroups. The groups at times often overlap, causing some drugs to fall into more than one category. The main groups are stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, and antipsychotics. All of these different groups of drugs are classified as psychoactive drugs, and all work with the brain and nervous system (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoactive_drug). However, these drugs can all affect the brain in different ways, to a myriad of different effects as well . The first way in which these drugs can effect perception and brain function is by preventing the action potential from starting. Drugs such as Lidocaine and TTX do this. Lidocaine changes the working of neurons, and in doing so blocks the sodium channels in cell membranes. With the cell membrane blocked, it is unable to change its polirazation, and prevents the action potential from starting. This leads to the drugs anesthetic qualities(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lidocaine) TTX works in a similar function, by binding to the sodium channels in nerve membrane cells. This drug is a neurotoxin, and contains no known antidote, and can be transferred by fish in some types of food poisoning. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrodotoxin) The second way drugs can alter perception is by Neurotransmitter Synthesis. Different drugs can work to increase this synthesis, decrease the synthesis, or even totally increase the working of the five senses by increasing the numerous signals sent to the brain. Levodopa falls under this category of drugs. It is used to treat Parkinson’s disease, as it is able to cross the barrier between the blood and the brain. The drug can also enter the central nervous system and is used with combinations of other drugs to help treat other diseases. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L-Dopa) Psychoactive drugs can also affect the human body by messing with Neurotransmitter Packaging. Drugs can either increase or decrease the packaging of neurotransmitters. MAO Inhibitors are one such drug used to help treat depression. It acts by inhibiting certain chemicals and thus preventing the breakdown of the neurotransmitters, thus making more neurotransmitters available. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monoamine_oxidase_inhibitors) Reserpine is another type of these drugs, however its use as an psychoactive drug has almost been abandoned. It was once used to help treat hyper tension. Now it is also used as a sedative for horses. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reserpine) The fourth way psychoactive drugs can inhibit bodily function are by affecting the release of neurotransmitters. Drugs can either increase or decrease the release of these molecules. The venom of the black widow spider is such a drug, and it acts to increase the release of neurotransmitters. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Widow_Spider) Botulinum toxin is another toxic protein that is produced by a bacterium. It is highly toxic, and works by decreasing the release of neurotransmitters. Although it is one of the most toxic natural substances, it is often used in small doses to treat muscle spasms. Botox, used as a cosmetic treatment is made from this drug. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botulinum) The fifth way drugs can change bodily happenings is by becoming Agonists. The drugs copy the body’s neurotransmitters and act as if they were them. Nicotine is one type of this kind of psychoactive drug. It is a strong neurotoxin, and used to be used to kill insects in the past. Now used in smaller doses, Nicotine acts as a stimulant and is responsible for the habit forming addiction of smoking tobacco. It is a horribly addictive substance. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine) Alcohol is another kind of these drugs, which also has the ability to become habit forming and addicting. Both physical and psychological addictions can happen with this drug, which also holds the potential for overdoes or toxic poisoning if to much is taken. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol) The sixth way psychoactive drugs can act on body behavior is by becoming Antagonists, the opposite of the previous drugs. Antagonists connect to the receptors and block activation from happening. The drug caffeine is one kind of this psychoactive drug. Caffeine acts as a stimulant in humans. Caffeine affects the central nervous system, and is able to temporarily fight off the feeling of being tired. The drug also helps make people become more alert. Caffeine is the world’s most commonly used psychoactive drug and is used by 90 percent of people in North American every day through the use of coffee, energy drinks, tea, or soda. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine) Another type of this kind of psychoactive drug is antropine. Antoepine is taken from different forms of plant life. As a drug is has a wide range of different effects. It can sometime be deadly, and can cause problems swallowing. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atropine) The seventh way that psychoactive drugs can change the way our body normally performs is by the prevention of the breaking down of Ach. Insecticide is a drug that fits in this category. Insecticide is used to control the population of insects in areas, but the drugs can also be dangerous to humans if they become to entwined in the ecosystem. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insecticide) Nerve gas also prevents the break down of Ach. If under the effects of nerve gas one’s pupils would shrink, drool without stopping, possible urination, and eventually death as control of muscle is loss when Ach is unable to breakdown. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerve_Gas) The final way in which psychoactive drugs can change the functions of our bodies is by preventing Reuptake. Amphetamine is one drug that does just this. Know by many slang names, amphetamine is a commonly used stimulant drug. It is also used to treat narcolepsy and ADHD. Amphetamines prevent the chemical process of reuptake inhibition. The drugs can produce of feeling of ego-ness, and increase a person’s acting in social settings. It can also cause a person to talk rapidly, increase sex drive, and eventually leads to fatigue as the drug wears off. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphetamines) Cocaine is another drug that prevents Reuptake. It is also a stimulant of the central nervous system, and also suppresses appetite. It creates a feeling of happiness and increases energy. Cocaine is addictive, and is illegal pretty much world wide. Cocaine also used to be found in Coca­-Cola soft drinks. Even thought the drug is now illegal it is still often used by many different people. It was also a main drug of the counter culture movements. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocaine) Tricyclic antidepressants are another type of this from of psychoactive drugs. They are used as antidepressants, but also can be used to treat ADHD, several types of pain, and other ailments. This drug was long used as the first step in taking action against forms of depression. They now have been replaced by newer drugs, however Tricyclic drugs are still considered very effective. The drug is also used in the treatment of ADHD, Analgesia, and Nocturnal enuresis. Side effects of this drug include dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation and hyperthermia. However a tolerance to these side effects is often grown. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tricyclics) SSRI’s are another form of antidepressants, and have become one of the most used antidepressant drugs. It is also used to treat premature ejaculation, as the drug has been found to keep people from reaching orgasm quickly. SSRI drugs work by stopping the reuptake of neurotransmitter serotonin, and act similarly to other reuptake inhibitor drugs. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSRI) In conclusion, while the many types of drugs may be vast, almost as vast as their wide arrangement of effects, all psychoactive drugs change the way our body works. By working and changing the underlying foundations of our nervous system, psychoactive drugs change our abilities to perceive, work, and even think. They create inside us a new reality and change the very mold on which we were created. For some these drugs can be used to treat diseases, for other they can form life long habits. However, the use of these drugs is left up to the user, and all that can be said is that the many different types of psychoactive drugs can definitely cause many different changes to the chemical makeup of our bodies. Read More