Alcohol & Drugs

Define the term “drug”.

Drugs can be used for therapeutic purposes and / or they can be abused. Drugs relevant to this topic, modify brain activity by affecting neural behaviour. Check you know this!

• Therapeutic drugs: Dopamine can be used for the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease, diamorphine (heroin) is used for pain relief. Cannabis can be used therapeutically.
• What is Dopamine? How does it work?
• Drug abuse: used in a so-called “recreational” manner (heroin, cannabis etc.)

Both forms of drug use can however result in drug dependancy with physiological a& psychological side-effects.

Question / Activity: Discuss the therapeutic & recreation use of cannabis

You need lots of technical knowledge about how the nervous system works including that of the brain to be able to discuss this topic. You’ll need to know the properties of cannabis too so you relate the products of cannabis to its effects on the brain. Try this site for some ideas: http://www.nida.nih.gov/scienceofaddiction/brain.html

A Word on Alcohol

• Alcohol might seem a strange inclusion to a topic about the brain & drugs. Yet alcohol can be addictive & it affects how the brain functions.
• Reaction times are slowed by the effect of alcohol on the brain, speech, motor function & memory are all influenced by alcohol reaching the brain.
• Why does alcohol have such effects on brain functioning? http://www.chemcases.com/alcohol/alc-07.htm There’s a lot of reading at this website but well worth a proper look. There are diagrams & images too.