Joseph Koonrajaksebonde

Chem 1010

Addiction, it is the leading cause of accidental death in society. Nearly 24,000,000

Americans over the age of 12 are either addicted to alcohol or drugs. A chemical called

Dopamine that is released within the brain in an area called the ventral tegmental, travels high

into the brain to the nucleus accumbens where it triggers emotion and motivation. In addition,

dopamine makes people happy, excited and provides enormous amounts of energy.1 Drugs like

cocaine and amphetamines multiply these feelings by ten times the normal amount. Since the

effects are multiplied, the pleasures people feel are so sensational that the body and brain

recognizes that as something normal over time.

As the brain adapts to the amount of dopamine from the usage of drugs, the dopamine

receptors in the brain begin to drop and this makes the brain less sensitive to the drugs

themselves. Over time, the brain adapts in a way that actually makes the sought-after substance

or activity less pleasurable.2 Our brains are wired to ensure that we will repeat life sustaining

activities by associating those activities with pleasure or reward. Whenever this reward circuit is

activated, the brain notes that something important is happening that needs to be remembered,

and teaches us to do it again and again without thinking about it.3

When people try to stop using drugs, the chemicals in the brain become confused and do

not understand what is happening within the brain. Since the mind and body are so use to the

amounts of drugs triggering the dopamine receptors, ultimately over time, addiction leads to

1
Darcy Gentleman, Ph.D. Abigail Marsh, Ph.D. Ryan Davison, Ph.D.
2
https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/how-addiction-hijacks-the-brain
3
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/drugs-brain
some sort of permanent brain damage, this means mental health is broken down, the body breaks

down and everything begins to shut down slowly. While this is a daunting concern, there are

people who are working on putting people back on the right track, and help them get rid of the

addiction. There is no easy way of just reversing the effects, unless someone was to decide to

knock out a slice of the nucleus accumbens, meaning taking out a chunk of someones brain so

that the want of the drug is no longer there.4

Addiction doesnt just correlate with drugs and alcohol, this extends to all sorts of things

such as; sugars, food and caffeine. All of these things can trigger dopamine to be released, and

also activates serotonin (a neurotransmitter in the body) to be used also. Serotonin is very similar

to dopamine, in which the biochemical traits within can change ones mood.5 Consuming large

amounts of caffeine day after day will stop the body from producing so much serotonin, that

without the regular amount a person can become irritable and aggressive. In addition, dealing

with these issues as a person not only hurts the individual but also effects society in a sense that

violent and criminal behavior could ensue, based on someone not having a regular amount of

dopamine and serotonin to keep the chemicals in their brain regulated.

While addiction is prevalent in society, being educated about these particular things can

help prevent further damage to oneself. Understanding the basic foundation and being aware of

the surroundings and things that are going through your body will help you live a healthier and

vibrant lifestyle. This does not mean that society should just get rid of these addictions, it is

more so being aware that they have positives and negative and that we should take the time to

realize how much of an effect things like this can have on us over time.

4
http://www.dirkhanson.org/neuroaddiction.html
5
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2612120/