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Psychological effects of drug abuse
Drug abuse as an essay writing
Essay writing Drug abuse
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The usage of recreational drugs has a negative effect on the body, and can interfere with one’s memory. The main question is whether this addiction to recreational drugs is the main cause of the mind that interferes with the issue of truth and memory and how is it this shown by creative nonfiction writers. I argue that the addiction to such drugs as cocaine and crystal meth can mess with the author’s cognitive ability, therefore tying it to which ties into memory. When the authors are addicted to these drugs, their brains are affected to the point that they can no longer distinguish between truth and memory and thus result in blurred and false memories. Many people use drugs once in a while. Be it for pleasure, stress, or as a profession, it cannot be denied that drugs are affecting many people’s daily lives. Drugs are not the problem in the issue of memory. When one indulges too deeply with drugs, the stimuli that is need with the drugs does not come as easily and gradually progresses into a habit or otherwise known as an addiction. What this paper will attempt to address is how serious addiction can make memory impairment and is this enough to affect the lives of these people. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter with the function of controlling emotions and impulse among others. This is usually stimulated by “rewards” (Newton), which range from reading books to eating, for when there is excitement, this is released by neurons. Similarly, when one uses drugs, the signals that dopamine sends out are disrupted, causing a reduction in cognitive function. Research has proven that this dopamine is what brings out the addictive aspect of drugs. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “drugs such as marijuana and heroin can a... ... middle of paper ... ... Psychology Today." Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness Find a Therapist. Sussex Publishers, 26 Apr. 2009. Web. 08 Nov. 2011. Rendell, Peter G., Timothy J. Gray, Julie D. Henry, and Anne Tolan. "Prospective Memory Impairment in “ecstasy” (MDMA) Users." Psychopharmacology 194.4 (2008): 497-504. SpringerLink. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. Roberts, Reverend Mark D. "Oprah, James Frey, and the Question of Truth." www.markdroberts.com. 9 Mar. 2006. Web. 6 Nov. 2011. Sheff, Nic. "After Relapse Come Terror, Hope - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. Cable News Network, 16 Apr. 2009. Web. 02 Nov. 2011. Thoma, Patrizia, and Irene Daum. "Working Memory and Multi-tasking in Paranoid Schizophrenia with and without Comorbid Substance Use Disorder." Addiction 103.5 (2008): 774-86. Wiley Online Library. Web. 5 Nov. 2011.
10 Feb. 2014. News. ABC News Network, 13 Dec. 2012. Web. The Web.
Cable News Network, 11 Feb. 2001. Web. The Web. The Web. 09 May 2011.
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Paranoid schizophrenia is the reverse of happiness. Pleasure, elation, and satisfaction are elusive. It feels like you are the only one to whom this is happening (Moore 2001 pg. 2). This quote is from a person who suffers with schizophrenia and describes it better than anyone on the outside of the disorder ever could. Schizophrenia is a key mental illness that negatively affects a person life and their surrounding environments (DSM-IV-TR. 4th). This paper will shed some light into this horrible mental ailment. It will discuss the symptoms and treatment for the disorder in a non-scientific, more familiar way.
Can memories be biased? Researchers Postarino and Doyle-Portillio (2013); Bernstein and Loftus (2009); and Bartholomew (2009) found increasing evidence to suggest that the answer to this question is yes. Explicit and implicit memories are encoded differently, but it appears both can be fallible. Also worth noting, is that this can happen without a person conscious awareness. Kolb and Whishaw (2014) examined studies that gave participants a list of words, then gave them a second list. The second list contained some, but not all items from the first list, but many participants thought the word sugar was on both, when in fact it was only on the second. Similar words like cake, sweet, and candy were on the first so this seemed to confuse participants. This phenomena researchers refer to as false memory. False memory is different from a lie; unlike a lie, the individual in this case may give false account of the past truly believing that he or she is telling the truth. In other words, false memory can simply be defined as mental experience that is wrongfully considered as the truthful representation of the past. False memories can result in both minor and serious consequences Bernstein & Loftus, 2009; Bartholomew, 2009).
In class this week we saw cases where our memory fails when recalling information in the past and even seeing changes in real time in front of our eyes. Misinformation is when someone gives information that is incorrect without the intent of giving the incorrect information. This is more likely to happen in situations where the new information would fit someone’s schema of the situation. In a crime example, we can say that a robber has a knife in his hand and pointed it at someone, someone in the situation may have seen a gun instead of the knife and give that as a description. It is the same when someone misreads a word or letter as another in a license plate. It is not on purpose but it is because our brains use shortcuts to link events together to save time. In class we discussed why the new false memory might take hold as if it was the true memory. We said that since the new misinformation was more recent, it would be more easily remembered and projected into the memory. This blocking theory can be used to explain why when someone says they saw a gun at a crime scene to the other witnesses, the other witnesses may be more likely to say that there was a gun and not a knife
Drugs seem to cause surges in dopamine neurotransmitters and other pleasure brain messengers. However, the brain quickly adapts and these circuits desensitize, which allows for withdrawal symptoms to occur (3). Drug addiction works on some of the same neurobiological mechanisms that aid in learning and memories (3). "This new view of dopamine as an aid to learning rather than a pleasure mediator may help explain why many addictive drugs, which unleash massive surges of the neurotransmitter in the brain, can drive continued use without producing pleasure-as when cocaine addicts continue to take hits long after the euphoric effects of the drug have worn off or when smokers smoke after cigarettes become distasteful." (4)
Ed. Karen F. Balkin. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. At Issue. Rpt. from "MDMA (Ecstasy) Abuse." 2006. 1-7. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 22 May 2014.
" Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness + Find a Therapist. Psychology Today, 1 May 2001. Web. 06 May 2014.
A girl named Sarah who was interviewed by channel 6 “true life on ecstasy “ had done ecstasy for 3 years. However, the mistake in her part was that she had done it almost EVERY day. When she had gotten her brain scanned, she had a brain of a 75-year-old woman who had multiple strokes. Sarah at the time was only 25, but take into consideration that she more than “abused ” the drug.
Socrates’ Doctrine of Recollection is invalid because of the flawed procedure that was employed to prove it, its inability to apply to all types of knowledge, and the weakness of the premises that it is based on.
In the field of cognitive neuroscience a memory study usually involves a combination of behavioral tasks and a machine that permits t...
Nearly all drugs of abuse increase dopamine release. Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter in drug abuse and addiction. Dopamine plays a role in reward-motivated behaviors, motor control and important hormones. It’s known as the “feel good hormone” which is why people abuse drugs that increase the release of dopamine. Since life is unpredictable, our brains have evolved the ability to remodel themselves in response to our experiences.
The use of drugs is a controversial topic in society today. In general, addicts show a direct link between taking drugs and suffering from their effects. People abuse drugs for a wide variety of reasons. In most cases, the use of drugs will serve a type of purpose or will give some kind of reward. These reasons for use will differ with different kinds of drugs. Various reasons for using the substance can be pain relief, depression, anxiety and weariness, acceptance into a peer group, religion, and much more. Although reasons for using may vary for each individual, it is known by all that consequences of the abuse do exist. It is only further down the line when the effects of using can be seen.