Overview:
Drugs are any synthetic or natural substances used in the treatment, cure, prevention, or diagnosis of disease or used to otherwise enhance physical or mental well-being. [1] Drugs can be everyday substances (caffeine, nicotine, ethyl alcohol) ; illicit substances (cannabis, heroin, cocaine) and food additives. [2] The study of drugs – what they are, how they work and what they do – is called Pharmacology.
Pharmacology comprises of:
• Pharmacodynamics-what a drug does to the body (includes biological effects and mechanism of action)
• Pharmacokinetics- what the body does to a drug(includes absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of drugs and their metabolites)
The most common ways in which a drug can produce its effects are shown in Fig.2. [3] Drugs that enter the body stimulate certain receptors, ion channels act on enzymes or transporter proteins.
• Agonists – chemicals or drugs that activate receptors and produce a response. Agonists activate receptors for endogenous mediators –e.g. Salbutamol is an agonist β2 adrenoreceptors. The after effect may be excitatory (e.g. increased heart rate) or inhibitory (e.g. relaxation of airway smooth muscle). Agonists at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors exert an inhibitory effect causing long-lasting depolarization at the neuromuscular junction and hence inactivation of the Na+ channels that initiate the action potential. Agonists possess affinity and efficacy.
• Antagonists – chemicals that combine with the receptor and block the action of the transmitter substance. Neutral antagonists block the effect of the agonist. There are two types of antagonism – Competitive (reversible and surmountable) and non-competitive (irreversible and insurmountable). Competitive a...
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[14] Hernández F, Avila J. Tauopathies. Cell. Mol. Life Sci.. 2007;64(17):2219–33. doi:10.1007/s00018-007-7220-x
[15] Dorlands Medical Dictionary. No Date. Available from -http://web.archive.org/web/20080130031824/http://www.mercksource.com/pp/us/cns/cns_hl_dorlands.jspzQzpgzEzzSzppdocszSzuszSzcommonzSzdorlandszSzdorlandzSzdmd_n_10zPzhtm
[16] Lanni C, Lenzken SC, Pascale A, et al. (March 2008). "Cognition enhancers between treating and doping the mind". Pharmacol. Res. 57 (3): 196–213.doi:10.1016/j.phrs.2008.02.004. PMID 18353672.
[17] Giurgea C (1972). "[Pharmacology of integrative activity of the brain. Attempt at nootropic concept in psychopharmacology]
[18] BBC online survey on Modafinil. Available from - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2451586/More-students-turning-cognitive-enhancing-drug-Modafinil-hope-boosting-grades-job-prospects.html
Sullum, J. (2014, March 04). First Study Of LSD's Psychotherapeutic Benefits In Four Decades Breaks Research Taboo. Retrieved from Forbes: www.forbes.com
Sessa, B. "Is It Time to Revisit the Role of Psychedelic Drugs in Enhancing Human
Neurotransmitters can also produce their effects by modulating the production of other signal-transducing molecules ("second messengers"messengers") in the post-synaptic cells (Cooper, Bloom and Roth 1996). Nine compounds -- belonging to three chemical families -- are generally believed to function as neurotransmitters somewhere in the central nervous system (CNS) or periphery. In addition, certain other body chemicals, for example adenosine, histamine, enkephalins, endorphins, and epinephrine, have neurotransmitter-like properties, and many additional true neurotransmitters may await discovery.
Depression. Alzheimer’s. Autism. Stroke. Each of these words correlates with negative connotations. They afflict the mind, snatching away members of society like a ghost in the wind, leaving empty, damaged shells in their wake. Days drag into a dull grey blur, mental capacities weakening with each moment. For decades, medical researchers, working tireless hours with stark determination, have committed themselves to finding the cures to these and many more diseases that affect the brain. These scientists leapt over obstacles, ducking under impossibilities to see the clear picture, the clear goal. They refused to stop before discovering treatments that took the form of chemical drugs. Despite this, these treatments come riddled with side effects, strong chemicals alleviating some symptoms while bringing more into play. So research continued. Now, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has risen as a potential treatment for various mental disorders. Although many chemical drugs have spelled relief for countless victims of depression and bipolar disorder, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation stands strong as the most effective treatment for mental disorders because of its influential effect on multiple disorders, minimal display of side effects, low potential for weaponization, and high capacity to surpass chemical drugs.
If people seeking neurological enhancement are given access to these types of drugs many more ethical issues will be raised. Firstly, are these drugs even safe? Many pharmaceutical therapies for cognitive enhancement are relatively new, and therefore there is a severe lack of information about their long term usage. Of course, side effects are a concern with any medicine currently available to patients. However, not all drugs available deal with systems so complex as the brain and nervous system. The dangers presented are amplified greatly because of the importance and intricacies of this system.
In controlled studies, experimenters use placebos as medium to compare the efficacy of a drug. Double-blind controlled studies provide information on whether a drug is effective or if it is not better than placebo. The results of double-blind studies usually depict the latter. Rarely are drugs found to be significantly more effective than placebo because of the placebo effect. The phenomenal effectiveness of the placebo in controlled experiments is mind boggling. Experimenters can not fully understand the etiology of the placebo effect in relation to the nervous system but they have proposed plausible suggestions to the underlying mechanisms involved. An intriguing question raised is the placebo's ability to cure numerous symptoms. I hypothesize that the level of consciousness or alertness of the I-function, within the individual, may be the deciding factor in whether the placebo effect occurs.
The mind is a powerful tool. It can be used to heal or harm the body. The body does not have to be physically treated with medicines and treatment, or be physically harmed because the mental power of the mind can make physical changes within the body on its own. The placebo effect is a beneficial effect that can make physical changes inside of the body solely based on the power of the mind and the belief that you are going to get better. The adverse effect that also uses the strength of the mind is the nocebo effect. The nocebo effect is just the same as the placebo effect except that it generates the opposite results of the placebo effect and harms the body.
Drugs affect your brain and in turn can alter your moods and behavior. Drugs are chemicals that tap into our brain’s communication system and disrupt the way nerve cells receive, send and process information. Drugs interfere with the exchange of information in the brain producing changes that promote repeated drug use. Drugs can imitate the brain’s natural chemical messengers, or they over stimulate the reward circuit of our brain.
Schmied, L. A., Steinberg, H., & Sykes, E. A. B. (2006). Psychopharmacology's debt to experimental psychology. History of Psychology, 9, 144-157.
The Biological Theory of mental and psychiatric disorders revolves around the brain, and that these disorders are illnesses, or diseases that cause disruptions in the brain to produce the effects of the disorder. This theory says that the brain has specific physical, chemical, or structural problems that cause abnormal behavior. The increase of technological and pharmaceutical advancements, intervention has taken the course of chemical treatment of disorders. Biological theory focuses on the brains function and dysfunction, known as neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, and genetics. Psychiatrists focus on the role of neurotransmitters and how they affect human behavior, which leads to a very loose definition of a cure, psychiatric medications. These medications correct the dysfunctions in the brain by changing the amount of neurotransmitters. However, these medications lack in efficacy in diseases like schizophrenia, where the medication only suppresses the symptoms and not the disorder itself. (Schwartz and Corcoran, 64-88).
Marijuana, cocaine, heroin, PCP, speed, shrooms, crystal meth, and angel dust are all types of illegal drugs. What is an illegal drug? An illegal drug is something and often a substance that causes addiction, habituation, or a marked change in consciousness.
From the very beginning of human history, drugs have been used for medicine and recreation, some of these recreational uses have been good while others have been lethal. The first known uses drugs comes from the time of the Sumerians around the year 5000 BC. Thousands of years went by before the next recording of drug use with people in Switzerland eating poppy
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.