The reward pathway is a part of the human brain that is responsible for feeling motivated, rewarded, and is all about our behavior. The main purpose of the reward pathway is to allow people to feel happy and positive about certain things such as eating and drinking tasty substances. It connects to several important parts of the brain allowing inferences to be made about the surroundings. Also, this pathway controls behavior towards certain things. When you eat or do something good, the reward pathway releases a bit of dopamine, which gives a jolt of happiness to you.
Other Brain Cells
Neurons need some help to send signals to and from your brain, and that is where glial cells come in. Oligodendrocytes form the myelin sheath, and without them, electrical signals that go down the axon would be 30 times slower. Microglia are the immune cells in the brain. When bad neurons are found or bacteria is detected, microglia eat them before harm can be done. Lastly come the astrocytes. These may be the most important helper cells in the brain because they do three things. One, they hold neurons in place. Two, they give the neurons nutrients. Three, they digest dying or bad neurons. They also release gliotransmitters that send signals to neurons, and they can also alter the signals from other neurons.
Drugs Alter the Brain's Reward Pathway
Drugs of Abuse
All of the drugs shown (alcohol, nicotine, steroids, cocaine, inhalants, marijuana, etc.) do nearly the same thing to nerves and neurotransmitters, except cocaine. Some of the injection or inhalant drugs give an almost immediate high, bring serotonin and dopamine levels to an all time high due to forcing excess neurotransmitters to be released, or even the drugs themselves, sending signals to the next nerve and so forth to give the effect of relaxation or relief (or the drugs will speed up the nervous system, giving you too much unnatural energy). Cocaine, however, blocks the dopamine pumps/valves/transporters to force dopamine to connect to the receptors on the next neuron, causing fidgety activity and overexcited nerves.
Beyond the Reward Pathway
There are really three total dopamine pathways. First is the reward pathway, then comes the nigrostriatal pathway, and lastly, the tuberoinfundibular pathway. When drugs that effect dopamine levels are messing with neurons, it really effects each of these pathways, not just one.
The serotonin pathway is key for regulation of body functions, and when drugs disturb this, it can lead to a number of things such as depression and OCD.
Glutamate and GABA are key neurotransmitters that are the exact opposite of each other, but keep a balance in the brain. When drugs inhibit one from working or force another to be more commonly found, it can lead to horrible side effects that can even cause brain damage.
Drug Delivery Methods
New studies have shown that addictive drugs are the ones that actually cause a reaction the fastest, or at least as fast as needed. This is because it allows for a faster "high" which gives the drug abuser the feeling that they want at an unnatural level. The fastest way to get a drug to have its effect is to smoke or inhale it. When a drug like nicotine is smoked, it has its effective addictive chemicals absorbed by the lungs, bringing them to the brain via the blood stream. Next comes injection. This is the second fastest way because the drug will pass through the blood and eventually make it to the brain as wanted. Then comes snorting, which takes longer, and lastly, drinking or swallowing the drugs. People don't want to wait to get "high", but using a fast delivery method is harmful to your brain, very harmful. The brain, in fact, will actually suffer damage from the severe change it undergoes with the drugs. Thankfully, new technology allows a slow and gradual release of the drug into your system to get off of your addiction, and you can't get addicted to the slower release, allowing effects to last longer but with less side effects.
How Drugs Can Kill
Heroin and alcohol can easily kill you if enough of the drug is taken. Heroin only needs a little bit to slow breathing, and if you take just a little more, breathing can and most likely will entirely stop, causing death to occur. Alcohol, on the other hand, needs to be used more than enough to entirely stop breathing, but it still wouldn't take too long. A minor overdose would easily get you killed. Overdosing on nicotine would (instead of only affecting the brain) actually affect muscles and force them to stop moving and it may prevent breathing as well, causing a death quickly. It would bring seizures and violent convulsions into play, bringing immense pain before a death. Cocaine kills with heart attacks, brain damage, and even overheating. If you even take a little bit of it, you are 24 times more likely to die of a heart attack than a drug-free person. Ecstasy can also bring overheating, and it is the most common form of death.
Brain Imaging
PET scans are common forms of measuring the brain's activity levels. A small amount of non-deadly radioactive material binds to glucose, which is then inserted into the blood stream and sent to the brain. Then the machine scans to see what parts of the brain have more or less glucose. MRI scans are another common form of brain imaging that work without the need for glucose. Instead, the machine measures the amount of blood flow to the brain because, the more active the brain section, the more blood and oxygen it would need.
Other Brain Cells
Neurons need some help to send signals to and from your brain, and that is where glial cells come in. Oligodendrocytes form the myelin sheath, and without them, electrical signals that go down the axon would be 30 times slower. Microglia are the immune cells in the brain. When bad neurons are found or bacteria is detected, microglia eat them before harm can be done. Lastly come the astrocytes. These may be the most important helper cells in the brain because they do three things. One, they hold neurons in place. Two, they give the neurons nutrients. Three, they digest dying or bad neurons. They also release gliotransmitters that send signals to neurons, and they can also alter the signals from other neurons.
Drugs Alter the Brain's Reward Pathway
Drugs of Abuse
All of the drugs shown (alcohol, nicotine, steroids, cocaine, inhalants, marijuana, etc.) do nearly the same thing to nerves and neurotransmitters, except cocaine. Some of the injection or inhalant drugs give an almost immediate high, bring serotonin and dopamine levels to an all time high due to forcing excess neurotransmitters to be released, or even the drugs themselves, sending signals to the next nerve and so forth to give the effect of relaxation or relief (or the drugs will speed up the nervous system, giving you too much unnatural energy). Cocaine, however, blocks the dopamine pumps/valves/transporters to force dopamine to connect to the receptors on the next neuron, causing fidgety activity and overexcited nerves.
Beyond the Reward Pathway
There are really three total dopamine pathways. First is the reward pathway, then comes the nigrostriatal pathway, and lastly, the tuberoinfundibular pathway. When drugs that effect dopamine levels are messing with neurons, it really effects each of these pathways, not just one.
The serotonin pathway is key for regulation of body functions, and when drugs disturb this, it can lead to a number of things such as depression and OCD.
Glutamate and GABA are key neurotransmitters that are the exact opposite of each other, but keep a balance in the brain. When drugs inhibit one from working or force another to be more commonly found, it can lead to horrible side effects that can even cause brain damage.
Drug Delivery Methods
New studies have shown that addictive drugs are the ones that actually cause a reaction the fastest, or at least as fast as needed. This is because it allows for a faster "high" which gives the drug abuser the feeling that they want at an unnatural level. The fastest way to get a drug to have its effect is to smoke or inhale it. When a drug like nicotine is smoked, it has its effective addictive chemicals absorbed by the lungs, bringing them to the brain via the blood stream. Next comes injection. This is the second fastest way because the drug will pass through the blood and eventually make it to the brain as wanted. Then comes snorting, which takes longer, and lastly, drinking or swallowing the drugs. People don't want to wait to get "high", but using a fast delivery method is harmful to your brain, very harmful. The brain, in fact, will actually suffer damage from the severe change it undergoes with the drugs. Thankfully, new technology allows a slow and gradual release of the drug into your system to get off of your addiction, and you can't get addicted to the slower release, allowing effects to last longer but with less side effects.
How Drugs Can Kill
Heroin and alcohol can easily kill you if enough of the drug is taken. Heroin only needs a little bit to slow breathing, and if you take just a little more, breathing can and most likely will entirely stop, causing death to occur. Alcohol, on the other hand, needs to be used more than enough to entirely stop breathing, but it still wouldn't take too long. A minor overdose would easily get you killed. Overdosing on nicotine would (instead of only affecting the brain) actually affect muscles and force them to stop moving and it may prevent breathing as well, causing a death quickly. It would bring seizures and violent convulsions into play, bringing immense pain before a death. Cocaine kills with heart attacks, brain damage, and even overheating. If you even take a little bit of it, you are 24 times more likely to die of a heart attack than a drug-free person. Ecstasy can also bring overheating, and it is the most common form of death.
Brain Imaging
PET scans are common forms of measuring the brain's activity levels. A small amount of non-deadly radioactive material binds to glucose, which is then inserted into the blood stream and sent to the brain. Then the machine scans to see what parts of the brain have more or less glucose. MRI scans are another common form of brain imaging that work without the need for glucose. Instead, the machine measures the amount of blood flow to the brain because, the more active the brain section, the more blood and oxygen it would need.
