Addiction affects everybody.
It is leading cause of accidental death in our society.
The word itself is derived from the ancient
Roman term for “enslaved by” or “bound to.”
Beating addiction is extremely tough.
The drugs and behaviors that lead to addiction
hijack the brain and wreak havoc in the body.
Time for some real chemistry talk.
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Nearly 24 million americans over the age of
12 are addicted to alcohol or other drugs.
That’s almost the population of Texas.
Years ago, many people thought that
Addiction was just sign of a flawed character
or a lack of willpower, relegated to hobos
or hilarious Boston bar-dwelling drunkards.
But we now know that’s not it -- brain chemistry plays a big part.
Our brains like stuff that makes us feel good.
It could be alcohol, a jelly donut, romantic
encounters or all kinds of other stuff.
No matter what it is, the things that make you feel good are processed through
the reward seeking pathway in the brain.
A region deep in the brain called the
ventral tegmental area releases a “feel good”
chemical messenger called dopamine
to a region higher up in the brain
called the nucleus accumbens.
This region is involved in aspects of emotion and motivation.
As dopamine surges through the
Nucleus accumbens, we feel a surge
of pleasurable excitement and energy.
The surge of dopamine also makes us
want to do whatever we just did again.
Psychoactive drugs like amphetamines
and cocaine supersize this reaction,
increasing the amount of available dopamine
in the brain by as much as ten times.
The resulting euphoric “rush” or “high”
recalibrates the brain, making it think that this
higher level of dopamine is the new normal.
This sets some people on a course toward drug abuse.
If a person continues using drugs,
The brain adapts to these overwhelming
Surges by reducing the number of dopamine receptors
and making the existing receptors less sensitive to dopamine.
This has a double-whammy effect on drug users.
Fewer dopamine receptors and lower
dopamine sensitivity means a lower
ability to enjoy other everyday activities, like eating donuts.
In other words, you need more of a drug,
food or certain activity to get the same pleasurable rush.
For drug addicts, that might mean more
amphetamines or cocaine to get your brain
to produce that surge of dopamine again.
If you try to quit, you can go into withdrawal.
Think about it. If the drug or activity that was
at the controls of your brain is suddenly
gone, the brain has no idea what to do.
It’s like someone hopping off the
otherside of a see saw from you.
Your dopamine levels crash, and
your system goes out of whack.
Depressants like alcohol chemically slow down your brain.
Alcohol inhibits a molecule called glutamate, which is an excitatory transmitter.
It also boosts GABA, which slows down brain activity.
To counteract the effects of the depressant,
your brain has to produce more adrenaline,
more norepinephrine, to keep you alert and focused.
When you’re not drunk, suddenly you don’t
need that boost, but it’s there anyway.
That can cause tremors, nausea, difficulty
breathing and heart palpitations.
Over time, addiction can cause
permanent damage to the brain.
But this cycle can be broken, and
recovering addicts can go on to lead happy and productive lives.
Bottom line, if you know someone who is addicted
to something, anything, get them help.
There are some great links on recovery and
other resources in the description below.
Be safe out there, chemheads.
Speaking of things that are addictive, check
out our episodes on iPhones and pizza.
And for more weekly chemistry videos,
make sure to hit that subscribe button.