Changes To Brain Function And Behavior Due To Cannabis Use - Essay Example

Changes to brain function and behavior due to cannabis use This paper will discuss the effects of cannabis and marijuana usage on the humanbrain and on human behavior. The cannabis plant produces marijuana, which is can be eaten or smoked thereby inducing a state of euphoria. A lot of research has been carried out, both on the positive and negative effects of cannabis and marijuana on the brain, and the ways in which it affects human behavior. The active ingredient in cannabis and marijuana is THC, which affects the brain's rate of turning over dopamine and serotonin, and also affects the electrical properties of nerve membranes. Thus, use of cannabis distorts an individual's perception of reality, and can cause hallucinations, delusions, psychosis and severe anxiety. Although marijuana can be beneficial in the treatment of ailments like glaucoma, cancer, multiple sclerosis, AIDS and also chronic pain, researchers like Jacques-Joseph Moreau have discovered that marijuana has numerous harmful effects on the brain and the functions of the human central nervous system. Usage of cannabis hinders movement and memory in the brain. Chemicals in marijuana, especially THC and cannabinoids directly alter the emotions, memory and function of a user's brain and central nervous system. Marijuana changes to brain function and behavior by impinging on the central nervous and attaching its elements to the neurons in the brain, thereby interfering with the natural communication between the brain's neurons. This interference causes the nerves to alter their normal behavior. For instance, after using cannabis, a nerve that was supposed to enable a person to retrieve short-term memory, tends to act do the opposite, because of the cannabinoids receptors. Thus, if a person has to recall his recent activities, maybe his activities during the last 5 minutes ago, that person will have a lot of trouble accomplishing this, if he has taken a high dose of cannabis/marijuana. Cannabis contains about 400 chemicals, and about 60 of them are known to be cannabinoids, that are psychoactive compounds that are produced inside the human body and brain after cannabis is metabolized. "Cannabinoids is known to be the active ingredient in marijuana, and "the most psychoactive cannabinoids chemical in marijuana that has the biggest impact on the brain is THC (tetrahydrocannibol). tetrahydrocannibol is the main active ingredient in marijuana because it affects the brain by binding to and activating specific receptors, known as cannabinoid receptors. "These receptors control memory, thought, concentration, time and depth, and coordinated movement." (J. Bartholomew, S. Holroyd, and T. M Heffernan 2010) When a person uses cannabis and his or her memory is affected, the short-term memory will be triggered first, as marijuana damages short-term memory as a result of the fact that the element tetrahydrocannibol interferes with the processing of information by an area of the brain called the hippocampus, which is responsible for the proper formation of memory. "One region of the brain that contains a lot of tetrahydrocannibol receptors is the hippocampus, which processes memory. Hippocampus is the part of the brain that is important for memory, learning, and the integration of sensory experiences with emotions and motivation. It also converts information into short-term memory. As a steroid, tetrahydrocannibol also acts on the hippocampus and inhibits memory retrieval. tetrahydrocannibol also alters the way in which sensory information is interpreted. When tetrahydrocannibol attaches to receptors in the hippocampus, it weakness the short-term memory, and damages the nerve cells by creating structural changes to the hippocampus region of the brain. When a user has a high dose of marijuana, new information does not register into their brain and this may be lost from memory and they are not able to retrieve new information for more than a few minutes. There is also a decrease in the activity of nerve cells." (M. Yucel, N. Solowij, C. Respondek, S. Whittle, A. Fornito, C. Pantelis, and D. I. Lubman 2008) There are 2 types of memory behavior which are known to be affected by the use of cannabis/marijuana. These are 1. Recognition memory, and 2. Free cells. Recognition memory has to do with a person's ability to properly recognize words. A user of cannabis will usually recognize a word that he saw prior to using the drug, but cannabis causes users to also claim to recognize words that they really did not see before using cannabis. This occurrence is called memory intrusion, and is as a result of the effect of tetrahydrocannibol on the brains free cells. Cannabis disrupts a person's ability to freely recall words from a list that has been presented to an intoxicated subject. According to The Office of Technological Assessment. "The capacity to produce reinforcing effects is essential to any drug with significant abuse potential." (The Office of Technological Assessment) The use of cannabis makes the user to start feeling euphoric and this gives rise to a tendency to speak and laugh much more than the individual usual does. Other effects include the enhancement of sound, color, taste, touch and smell. There may also be muscular relaxation in the user, and as a sense of relief from tension, or well-being. Cannabis also impairs a person's ability to perform complex motor tasks like driving a car, and disrupts logical thinking. "At very high doses, effects can be similar to those of hallucinogens, and the user can experience confusion, restlessness, hallucination, paranoia, and anxiety or panic. These problems have become more noted in recent years, as the strains of marijuana now available are many times more potent than the marijuana of the early 1970s." (John Gettman. 1995) Conclusion The discovery of cannabinoid receptor sites, and the fact that these receptors are relevant to understanding the pharmacology of tetrahydrocannibol in the brain, seems to have provided the basis for fresh challenge of the legitimacy of cannabis, as this drug seems to have seriously negative effects on the brain and behavior of human beings. Up until the 1980s, there was a lot of obstruction to the scientific understanding of the ways in which cannabis affected the human brain and behavior. This was because of the technological limitations involved in researching how the active ingredients in marijuana actually affected the functions of the brain. Some important brain functions that affect the behavior of human beings involve the neurotransmitter dopamine. Cannabis can also interfere with the brain's use of dopamine in ways that can seriously change the behavior of an individual who uses cannabis. According to The congressional Office of Technology Assessment, "A drug's ability to affect the neural systems related to dopamine production has now become the defining characteristic of drugs with serious abuse potential." (The congressional Office of Technology Assessment) References J. Bartholomew, S. Holroyd, and T. M Heffernan (2010) Does cannabis use affect prospective memory in young adults M. Yucel, N. Solowij, C. Respondek, S. Whittle, A. Fornito, C. Pantelis, and D. I. Lubman (2008) Regional Brain Abnormalities Associated With Long-term Heavy Cannabis Use J H Allen, G M de Moore, R Heddle, and J C Twartz (2004) Cannabinoid hyperemesis: cyclical hyperemesis in association with chronic cannabis abuse John Gettman. (1995) Marijuana and the Brain High Times Section A: Characteristics of Scholarly Writing Activity 1 In Assignment 2 (Section A) you will be asked to write an essay on one of three possible topics. For the current activity, choose one of those essay topics. Having chosen an essay topic, use the information in Granello (2001) to outline how you will go about the writing process to produce an essay that is consistent with Bloom's 'evaluation' category. The focus of your response should be on the general principles of essay construction at the evaluation level (i.e., summarising the information in Granello, 2001). However, you will get the most out of this activity by using your chosen essay topic to provide specific examples of how you will apply the general principles discussed in your own essay. You do not need an extensive knowledge of your chosen topic to do this. References Brown, I. D., & Copeman, A. K. (1975). Drivers' attitudes to the seriousness of road traffic offences considered in relation to the design of sanctions. Accident analysis and prevention, 7, 15-26. Smith, P., & Richards, A. P. (1993). Risk-taking behaviour in adolescence. In T. A. Brinsden (Ed.), The economic cost of risk taking behaviour (pp.123-135). New York: Sage Publications. Granello, D. H. (2001). Promoting cognitive complexity in graduate written work: Using Bloom's taxonomy as a pedagogical tool to improve literature reviews. Counsellor Education and Supervision, 40, 292-307. Section B: Citation and Referencing Exercise Activity 1 A range of APA formatting errors are present in the following extract of text taken from a research report. Your task is to correct these APA errors. There are SEVEN formatting errors within the text itself and EIGHT within the reference list relating to the text. However, you should identify as many errors as you can find to make sure you get them all. In identifying the errors, show the correct formatting and explain which APA formatting rule has been violated. Each of the 15 errors is worth 2 marks. Submission format: There is more than one way to present your answers for this activity. We suggest you either: 1. Neatly handwrite your answers below then submit a photocopy of the activity with answers to your tutor. 2. Number the errors below and create a Word document with the descriptions of each error numbered accordingly. Then submit a photocopy of the activity with a print out of the Word document to your tutor. We advise you to submit a photocopy of your answers so you retain a copy in case the assignment goes astray. In Australia, motor vehicle accidents are the single most common cause of death in people aged 17-25 and a leading cause of death for people in general (Lam, 2002). During the 1960s about 1.5 million people were killed in traffic accidents in Europe and the USA (Trimpop, R., 1994). In 1987, 47,093 people were killed in the USA, resulting in 1.4 million person years lost (Elander et al., 1993). Injuries stayed at the same level of about 1.8 million-2.0 million injuries per year in the USA (Jacobs, 1992). Thus, when participating in traffic as a driver, passenger, or pedestrian, one tolerates a considerable risk of dying. Similar arguments can be made for the approximately equal number of accidents per year at the workplace (Murphy, Du Bois and Hurrell, 1986). It has been reported that "about 3.5 million athletic and recreational sport injuries occur annually in the USA alone" (Trimpop, 1994). Several studies have specifically focused upon either risk personality factors, or risk perception and risk utilities. Young drivers often had less experience, and overestimated their abilities, while underestimating the dangers (Zuckerman, 1979 p. 10). Brown & Copeman (1975) reported that "young male drivers rated traffic offences as less serious than traffic participants, and they also rated their own responsibility as less serious than other traffic participants did." They also reported that young males in general and particularly young drivers overestimate their abilities. "The risk behavior syndrome denotes that some young people in general engage in risky behavior" (Trimpop, R. 1994). References Lam, L. T. (2002). Distractions and the risk of car crash injury: The effect of drivers' age. Journal of Safety Research, 33, 411-419. Elander, J., West, R., and French, D. (1993). Behavioral correlates of individual differences in road-traffic crash risk: An examination of methods and findings. Psychological Bulletin, 113. Murphy, L. R., Du Bois, D., & Hurrell, J. J. (1986). Accident reduction through stress management. Journal of Business and Psychology, 1, 5-18. Trimpop, R. (1994). The psychology of risk taking behavior. Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishers. Zuckerman, M. (1979). Sensation seeking: Beyond the optimum level of arousal. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Read More