Alcohol is a drug categorized as a depressant. This means it slows down vital functions of the body and brain. Some of the short term effects of alcohol on the brain include difficulty in walking, blurred vision, slurred speech, slowed reaction times and impaired memory. Long term effects may lead to a complete brain damage according to Berman alcoholism leads to deficiency in thiamine an essential vitamin required by the brain-which eventually results to “severe short–term memory loss and collateral cognitive impairments” (2003) which means acute memory loss and damage of other organs in the brain responsible for memory configuration.
Addiction to a drug usually starts with experimentation of the same,. This can be due to peer influence or depression or even through forceful consumption. After experimenting one starts to use the drug more frequently, then the misuse stage where one abuses the amount they ingest and eventually to addiction a stage where one cannot do without the drug (Lazzara 2016).
Drugs contain a chemical substance called dopamine, this chemical releases pleasure to the brain thus making the brain produce less of it. The user will now start having a rush to injest more drugs in order to keep the pleasure levels high. This rush to keep the brain stimulated is what causes one to consume more of the chemical and eventually become dependent on the drug.
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The experiment shows that when the rats are injected with morphine in the midland of the brain they derive some pleasure and are stimulated to push the lever even more. The ones injected in the cerebellum did not experience pleasure thus showed no sign of motivation in pushing the lever. This answers the question that the location of the injection does make a difference in stimulating the rat.
Some people are more susceptible to drug use more than others; this is so because of three main factors. one, it could be biological in that children of addicts are eight times more likely to become addicts(Cabin Group, 2015). This is effected by the passing on of genetic information from parent to child. Secondly, it could be due to environmental influences such as childhood abuse, peer influence or stress. Such individuals experiencing these issues are more vulnerable than others and so control of such substances for them can become a problem.
Finally the type of drug being consumed is also a determinant. There are more powerful drugs as compared to others and their effects are disastrous than others. People who consume heavy drugs like cocaine or heroin through smoking or injecting are most likely to be addicted faster than others.
References
- Oscar-Berman, M., & Marinkovic, K. (2003). Alcoholism and the brain: an overview. Alcohol Research and Health, 27(2), 125-133.
- Lazzara, L. (2016). How Does Recreational Drug Use Turn into Addiction?: Substance Abuse
- Cabin Group. (2015). Causes of Addiction: Why do Only some Become Addicted? The Blog at the Cabin Chiang Mai.
