Recently in class we discussed neurons and neurotransmitters and the various roles they play in the body. One of the neurotransmitters we discussed in particular was dopamine. Dopamine is involved with the central nervous system; more specifically the brain and can be involved with diseases such as schizophrenia, Tourette’s syndrome and Parkinson’s disease. Not only is dopamine associated with these diseases, but it has tremendous ability for drug addiction when dealing with an excess amount. “Dopamine is the type of neurotransmitter that can perceive reward reinforcement, thus enabling it to make the brain feel pleasure when the levels increase” (Your Brain On Drugs: Dopamine and Addiction). Usually the brain feels this pleasure when people perform tasks that make them happy, such as eating chocolate, however when drugs become involved with dopamine things begin to take a turn for the worse.

According to the article, “Your Brain on Drugs: Dopamine and Addiction” the author claims that “using addictive drugs floods the limbic brain with dopamine taking it up to as much as 5 or 10 times the normal level, and the user’s brain begins to associate the drug with an outsize neurochemical reward”(Volkow). Basically, when someone chooses to use illegal substances the amount of dopamine in their brain increases so that they desire more of the drug to feel a pleasure or high. The article goes on to say that, “Over time, the consistently high levels of dopamine create plastic changes to the brain, desensitizing neurons so that they are less affected by it, and decreasing the number of receptors. That leads to the process of addiction” (Your Brain on Drugs:Dopamine and Addiction). The more a person uses a drug, the more dopamine they need to fulfill their addiction, and the less control other receptors have over the brain.

Upon reading this article, I was immediately intrigued and surprised. I never realized the extent to which dopamine played a role in the ways of drug addiction, and just how simple it is to become addicted. I also related to the article because I have seen extended family members and friends face drug addiction involving cocaine, and I never fully understood why it was so challenging to stop these addictions. I thought to myself, how could anyone be so consumed in a drug when it hurts you and those around so much? There is so much more to live for. I ignorantly based drug-addiction on a person’s personal will-power to stop, rather than the idea it could actually be severely affecting the brain. It was always disheartening to see my loved ones fall to the depths of drug abuse, but now I realize how deeply involved these drugs embedded themselves in the brain. The pleasure receptor that dopamine accesses is extremely powerful. It merely takes a few times experimenting with dopamine-addicitve drugs to allow them to consume an entire life.

Below is the link to the article I found, for some reason I could not post it in the blog.

http://bigthink.com/going-mental/your-brain-on-drugs-dopamine-and-addiction