The Teenage Brain on Drugs

The Teenage Brain on Drugs

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS & ADDICTION

Psychoactive Drug chemical substance that alters perceptions, mood, or behavior

• Psychoactive drugs can induce an altered state of consciousness

• Most commonly used psychoactive substances: caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine

How do drugs affect the brain?

Tolerance a state in which a person no longer responds to a drug and a higher dose is required to achieve the same effect

• Chasing the Dragon, expression given to the pursuit of the original or ultimate but unattainable high, which can lead to a dangerous spiral of legal and health consequences

Tolerance can happen with any drug, including prescription and unregulated drug

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS & ADDICTION

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS & ADDICTION

Psychological Dependence

• Cravings
• Issues with anxiety that occur when someone tries to stop their addictive behavior
• Issues with depression when one is not using their drug of choice or tries to stop their addictive behavior
• Irritability and restlessness that occur when someone is not using their drug of choice or trying to quit
• Any other issues with mood swings that occur when one is not using their substance of choice or attempting to quit
• Appetite loss or increased appetite associated with not using the substance of choice
• Issues with sleep associated with quitting or not using the drug of choice
• Issues with uncertainty about being able to stop using the substance of choice
• Denial that one has a substance use issue or romanticizing one’s substance use/abuse
• Obsessing over obtaining or using the drug of choice
• Cognitive issues, such as issues with concentration, memory, problem-solving, and other aspects of judgment, etc

Dependence: State of physiological or psychological need (or combined need) to take more of a drug after continued use

• A person who has psychological dependence has an emotional, rather than physical, need for the drug and may use the drug to relieve psychological distress

Withdrawal the wide range of symptoms that occur after stopping or dramatically reducing drug use after heavy and prolonged use

• Withdrawal symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, hallucinations, etc.

• Withdrawal symptoms often resemble the opposite of a psychoactive drug’s intended effect

Addicted persons often find their pursuit of drugs is no longer for the purpose of getting high but to avoid experiencing the symptoms of withdrawal

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS & ADDICTION

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS & ADDICTION

Addiction: People who have a drug addiction experience compulsive, sometimes uncontrollable, craving for their drug of choice

• Typically, they will continue to seek and use drugs in spite of experiencing extremely negative consequences as a result of using

• Addiction is a disease, and it can be treated

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS & ADDICTION

Depressants “Downers”: Reduce arousal and stimulation. They affect the central nervous system, slowing down the messages between the brain and the bod

• Alcohol and sedatives are considered depressants

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS & ADDICTION

Alcohol: Alcohol tends to shut down that parts of your brain responsible for controlling inhibitions and making judgments leading to poor decisions and unfiltered behaviors

• Alcohol impairs memory

• Binge drinking (4-5 drinks in a single session) typically begins around age of 13 and peaks between 18-22

Any alcohol use by underage youth is considered to be alcohol abuse. 40% of individuals who start drinking before the age of 13 will develop alcohol abuse problems later in life, according to a report in the Journal of Substance Abuse

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS & ADDICTION

Alcohol & The Teenage Brain

• Attention deficit, depression, memory problems and reduction in goal-directed behaviors have all been linked to alcohol abuse in teens

• Alcohol has been shown to affect the size and efficiency of the prefrontal cortex as well as the hippocampus vital to learning/memory (earlier the use, longer the abuse, smaller the hippocampus)

One of the biggest contributing risk factors for adolescents who drink is a family history of alcohol abuse. 50% risk of alcohol dependence is genetically influenced and environment is another 50%

• Alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco are substances most commonly used by adolescents
• By 12th grade, about two-thirds of students have tried alcohol
• About half of 9th through 12th grade students reported ever having used marijuana
• About 4 in 10 9th through 12th grade students reported having tried cigarettes
• Among 12th graders, close to 2 in 10 reported using prescription medicine without a prescription
• Although it is illegal for people under 21 years of age to drink alcohol, the findings show that people from 12 to 20 years of age consume about one-tenth of all alcohol consumed in the United States

SUBSTANCE USE AMONG TEENS -CDC

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS & ADDICTION

Opioids: Opium or any of the drugs derived from opium, including morphine, heroin, codeine, oxycodone, fentanyl

• Opioids in the form of prescription painkillers are prescribed to reduce the perception of pain

• Two in three adults treated for opioid use disorder (OUD) first used opioids when they were younger than age 25

Prescription drug abuse has been on the rise nearly every year for the past decade. Researchers at Rockefeller University found that adolescents exposed to OxyContin can suffer lifelong damage to their brains because of permanent changes in the reward system

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS & ADDICTION

Stimulants “Uppers”: Drugs that excite neural activity and speed up body functions

• Caffeine, nicotine and more powerful amphetamines and cocaine

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS & ADDICTION

Caffeine: Stimulant found in coffee, tea, cocoa, and soda, as well as the primary stimulant in energy drink

• Caffeine is the most widely used psychoactive drug in the world

• Regular caffeine use produces tolerance as well as dependence

Teenagers are turning to artificial stimulants to keep themselves awake during the day such as energy drinks and coffee

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS & ADDICTION

Nicotine Stimulant found in tobacco

• 90% of new smokers begin before the age of eighteen (three-quarters of all adolescent smokers continue the habit into adulthood)

• The more teens smoke, the less activity there is in their prefrontal cortex (interfere with normal development)

After just a few cigarettes, the adolescent brain begins to remodel itself and create new nicotine receptors making quitting much harder

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS & ADDICTION

Cocaine: The most powerful natural stimulant now known (central active ingredient of the coca plant, found in South America)

• Stimulates the higher centers of the central nervous system, making users feel excited, energetic, talkative and even euphoric

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS & ADDICTION

Amphetamines: Drugs that stimulate neural activity, speeding up body functions

• Methamphetamine (meth, crystal meth)

• It increases the amount of dopamine, This rapid release of high levels of dopamine in reward areas of the brain strongly reinforces drug-seeking behavior, making the user want to take more of the drug

Beautiful Boy, one of very few films that explores methamphetamine use, and the ups and downs of addiction in general

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS & ADDICTION

Ecstasy: Also called MDMA (molly), a hallucinogenic stimulant that produces lowered inhibitions, pleasant feels, and greater acceptance of others

• In 2011 the use of Ecstasy had risen 67% among teens

• Research shows that adolescent brains exposed to MDMA undergo changes in their synapses in almost every system you could imagine

Negative side effects include confusion, agitation, irregular heartbeat, seizures, sleep disorders, liver and brain damage, and of course death. Regular use has been found to impair short-term memory and learning/production of serotonin

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS & ADDICTION

Teenagers & Ecstasy:

• Researchers found sustained damage on white matter maturation and hippocampal development, even in low doses

• Because white matter is still being laid down in adolescence, the brains of teenagers are more susceptible than adults’ brains to the destructive effects of Ecstasy

An adolescent who doesn’t have a negative reaction the first time he or she takes drugs is much more likely to take those drugs again-and again and again and again

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS & ADDICTION

Hallucinogens: Psychedelic (mind-manifesting) drugs that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input

• Also called a psychedelic drug

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS & ADDICTION

LSD: Powerful hallucinogenic drug, also known as acid

• Consciousness-altering LSD is made in the laboratory and produce perceptual disruption of time and space

• LSD can also cause a “bad trip,” in which users experience:
• Terrifying visions
• A feeling of sadness or despair
• Fears of losing control or going insane
• Panic

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS & ADDICTION

Marijuana: Leaves, stems, resin and flowers from the hemp plant; when smoked, lowers inhibitions and produces feelings of relaxation and mild euphoria

• Recently, marijuana abuse has been responsible for almost two-thirds of admissions of teenagers, ages 15-19 to rehabilitation centers

• “The earlier the use, the greater the abuse.”

The most critical issue for teens is that THC disrupts the development of neural pathways. In an adolescent brain that is still laying down white matter and wiring itself together, such disruptions are far more harmful than if they were taking place in an adult brain

Click on the following link to go to the Mouse Party website:

An informative TedTalk video on how drugs affect the brain.