Running head: EFFECTS OF HEROINE TOTHE BRAIN

Heroine Effects to the Brain

Name
Institution

HEROINE EFFECTS TO THE BRAIN

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Abstract

Heroine is obtained from morphine, and its appearance is in the form of white or black
powder. The routes of administration are injection, sniffing or smoking. In this paper we have
looked at the parts of the brain and how they are affected by the consumption of heroine.
Cerebrum which is the forebrain, the cerebellum which is the hindbrain and the brain stem are
the main parts of the brain. When heroin reaches the brain, there is a conversion of heroine back
to morphine by enzymes. Being in the morphine form leads it to bind to opioid receptors in the
brain quickly. The action of binding triggers the feeling of pain relief and euphoria. When one
uses heroine of a long o period, parts of the brain like prefrontal cortex and medial temporal lobe
which are responsible for long-term memory, making decisions, complex thinking, and control of
a persons social conduct are damaged

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Heroine a drug that leads to addiction and is obtained from morphine, and its appearance
is in the form of white or black powder. The routes of administration are injection, sniffing or
smoking. Abusing these drugs affects some part of the brain which hinders proper functioning of
the body.
The parts that make up the central nervous system which is abbreviated as CNS are the
brain and the spinal cord. All the body functions are coordinated here because CNS is known to
be the control center. The brain is confined inside the skull which plays a role in protecting it. In
the middle of the skull and the brain, meninges, which are the three layers of membranes, are
found. The membranes act as the cover to the brain and the spinal cord and also assist in
protecting it. Subarachnoid space is the space that is located between two of the above layers.
Cerebrospinal fluid is found within this area.
Cerebrum which is the forebrain, the cerebellum which is the hindbrain and the brain
stem are the main parts of the brain. The largest part of the brain is the cerebrum, and its role is
controlling all higher functions of the brain for instance memory and thinking. It contains two
halves hemispheres which are right cerebral hemisphere and left cerebral hemisphere. The
body,s right side and the left side of the body are controlled by the left cerebral hemisphere and
right cerebral hemisphere respectively. Every cerebral hemisphere is separated into four areas.
The first one is the frontal lobe which is responsible for behavior and problem solving, planning,
memory and also it usually controls thoughts. Parietal lobe plays a role in assisting us in the
formation of words and thoughts, and it is responsible for language. Moreover, it enables us to be
conscious of the position of our body and also deals with touch and our recognition in sensations.
The third one is the temporal lobe which aids in understanding and processing the things that we
listen to and also concerns itself with the learning and the way in which we organize the

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information. Emotions and emotion memory are also the responsibility of the temporal lobe. The
last lobe is the Occipital lobe where all the information we see is processed. Such information
include distance, color, and shape
The cerebellum, the part located behind the brain concerns itself with balance and
coordination. It carries these functions automatically without the control of a person. The part in
charge of the primary features that are essential for the maintenance of life is the brain stem.
These are inhaling and exhaling, the temperature of the body, blood pressure, and heart rate.
Also, it controls swallowing and the movement of the eyes. The brain stem is a very crucial brain
part, and it joins the cerebral hemisphere to the brain.
The pituitary gland is a minute gland that synthesis various hormones responsible for
controlling and regulating other glands that produce hormones in the body. It is located below the
base of the brain. The brain contains cells just like other body organs. The total numbers of nerve
cells in the human brain are 40 billion and all people are born with the similar quantity. These
cells are called neurons. Nerve cells do not have the capability of replacing themselves like the
other cells( Boeree, 2010 ) There is a gradual decrease of the cells as we grow older. There is a
communication between the nerve cells and the other parts of the body by sending messages via
a system of nerve pathways or pathways. Glial cells are responsible for holding the nerve cells
in place and supporting them. The various types off glial cells are astrocytes, oligodendrocytes,
and ependymal cells.
The heroine is a stimulant that has adverse effects on the brain. These effects had not
been understood well until 1972 when Johns Hopkins University researchers exposed the fact
that the brain has particular protein receptors sites for opiates which includes codeine, opium,

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morphine, and heroin. A short period of the above discovery, another research revealed that the
body can produce its opioids including endorphins, enkephalins, and dynorphin. On opioids
binding to the above specific receptors of opiate, they have the ability to lower the perception of
body pain and increase mood by raising dopamine levels. When heroin is introduced to the body,
the opioids floods resulting to increasing levels of dopamine.
When heroin reaches the brain, there is a conversion of heroine back to morphine by
enzymes. Being in the morphine form leads it to bind to opioid receptors in the brain quickly.
The action of binding triggers the feeling of pain relief and euphoria. Euphoria is more
intensified than the feelings produced by the endorphins of the body which are bound to these
receptors. When heroin is abused, the center of pleasure in the brain is affected. The brains
circuits such as frontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, and ventral tegmental area are essential for
natural rewards such as sex, music, and food. The response of dopamine towards the ordinary
rewards such as food is increased naturally. However, on heroin consumption, there is an
exaggeration of dopamine increases and an alteration to communication happens. The dopamine
levels flooding the body during the use of heroine is much more than the level of dopamine
which is produced naturally by the body for the purpose of pain relief or pleasure. There is an
estimation that the use of heroin can multiply the level of dopamine in the body ten times their
usual levels. When the heroine is injected intravenously straight in the blood or made into vapor
and then smoked, it is absorbed very fast in the brain.
After being exposed to a stable flux of opioids and the resultant for some time, an
adjustment by the victim occurs, and they become tolerant to heroin. There is the effective
decrease of pain threshold and pain sensitivity signaling becomes greater than before. It has
been suggested that administering one dose of the drug into the body can bring about similar

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changes in the brain. A soon as one begins using heroin, an overreaction of the paths that signal
pain can happen and as a result, the individual feels the urge to consume more amounts of heroin
so as to have a healthy feeling(Fernndez, Prez-Garca, Verdejo, 2011)
When one uses heroine of a long o period, parts of the brain like prefrontal cortex and
medial temporal lobe which are responsible for long-term memory, making decisions, complex
thinking, and control of a persons social conduct are damaged. Some changes in behavior may
be evident when the above parts of the brain have been affected. For instance, one may show
inability in the control of his conduct, minimal capability for decision-making, impaired
memory, and impaired emotional processing. Also, the executive functioning is poor in that one
has poor planning skills, inability to solve problems, impaired reasoning skills and one is not
able to be flexible in tasks.
As we understand the biological effects of heroine, it would be of much help if we
recalled that mental and emotional conditions are mostly the manifestation of the chemical and
mental activity of our brain. If the activity of the particular brain chemicals messengers is
altered, dramatic changes in the moods, sensations and the ability to think reasonably become
noticeable (Mercuri K et. al. (2015).The reason as to this is that that the brain is made up of
about two hundred billion neurons and cells which are lengthy, thin-electrically charged, full of
chemicals cells which look like wire and contains electrical chemical contacts at every end.
These brain chemicals are referred to as neurotransmitters. In other parts of the body, the body
cells physically connect to each other, but in the brain, there are no double neurons which touch.
The collective action of the neurons can only happen if the neurons are communicating with and
can affect the activities of other neurons. The communication of neurons occurs by the
interchange of chemical signals through the gaps that are usually between them which are known

HEROINE EFFECTS TO THE BRAIN

as synapses, and the process is referred to as neurotransmission. The introducing heroine in the
body shows effects by imitating, intensifying, obstructive or tampering with the procedure of
neurotransmission (Perrino, 1996).
Research studies have recognized approximately 30 neurotransmitters in the brain of the
humans. Everybody have 30-odd similar neurotransmitters which functions in a justly taskspecific manner as they account for a small number of action ( Ersche, Clark, London, Robbins,
Sahakian, 2006). The part of the brain that the neurochemical activity happens determines the
effects. Among these 30 neurotransmitters are dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine.
Opiate entails all the drugs that result from opium and heroin is one of them. Opiates help
in relieving an individual from pain, suppressing the response of a cough and paralyzing the
digestive cough. Opiates functions by impersonating or making stimulation in the manufacture of
endogenous opioid peptides referred to as endorphins and endephalins( Friswell, Phillips,
Holding, Morgan, Brandner,2008). The neural system of every animal produces endorphins, and
their activation comes when there is the pain. In cases where it is injected right to the brain,
pharmacological actions of endorphins have a similarity to those of morphine and related
opioids. Enkephalins are similar to endorphins, and their release takes place in the presence of
pain and mental distress. Some research has found plasma endorphin in people addicted to heroin
to be significantly minimal compared to other subjects (Bell, 1988). Using opiates for an
extended period can have adverse effects on the ability of the brain to regulate the
neurotransmitters.
When a person uses heroin, the nervous system recognizes the presence of opiate and
confuses it for excessive endorphins and enkephalins. As the brain tries to stabilize the

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functioning, it fails in producing the natural pains and the neurotransmitters that calm
nervousness. Continuation of introducing exogenous opiates to the body causes the reduction in
the total sum of the opioid receptors positions in the brain of the user. The victim may realize the
cessation of encephalin and endorphin production and the regulated opiate sites and will respond
to the variations by increasing the dosage. The continuation of the brain to regulate the sites of
opioid receptors brings about the development of tolerance and the user feels the urge to highly
increase the dosage so as to meet the high demand.
Taking heroin for a period can result in the depletion of the neurotransmitters. The
victims go through this dis-regulation with a sour attitude. After doing away with the chemicals
that alter the mood and the healing process is begun, the brain goes into a moment of
physiological and biological reformation. The process of brain adjustment is the restoration of
the neurochemical deregulated by the heroine. During this period and until completion of the
process, the individual has a likelihood of experiencing the shortage of neurochemical by
experiencing bad moods or may have problems in focusing and thinking (Aguilar de Arcos F, et
al. (2008 ). This process is called withdrawal, and it happens in two stages which are acute
withdrawal and post -acute withdraw. The acute withdrawal phase happens so fast, and the postacute phase lasts for relatively eighteen months. After stopping the use of heroin, the first few
days results to Acute-withdraw.
Heroin addiction is the most challenging drug addiction to stop. Heroin may lead to
adverse changes in the brain by only consuming it once, and this makes the person have the urge
to use it again (Cheng GLF, et al. (2013). Various treatment options that can assist in stopping its
use can be applied. Rehabilitation programs offer treatment for psychological and physical
effects of heroin addiction by involving the following strategies; heroin detoxification, either

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individual or group therapy, addiction awareness, dual diagnosis treatment and addressing other
medical cares, prevention of relapse, support group participation, and aftercare. The programs
also apply pharmaceutical treatment often in helping the heroin victims get the drug in their
system more gently.

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