Drugs are psychoactive substances with a high potential to harm us both inside and out.
Their habitual use drags us into a lifestyle in which we lose control of our own lives, and at the same time, the molecules they contain, capable of entering our brain, bypassing the protective cellular barriers that surround it, make our way way of thinking, feeling and behaving undergoes a radical change, physically altering the body’s own nervous system.
In this article We will focus on this last aspect of drugs: how they interact with our body and cause damage to the brain Damage that in many cases takes a long time to be reversed or that never completely disappears, especially without therapeutic support.
The main damages that drug consumption produces in the brain
Each type of drug has its own mechanics of operation once it has come into contact with our neurons However, in general there are a series of neuropsychological phenomena that almost all substance addictions have in common, and that are reflected in changes in the brain of the user.
These are the different ways in which drug use affects the brains of those who have developed or are developing an addiction.
1. Higher rate of cell death in the brain
When consumed frequently or after large doses and abuse, Many drugs cause nerve cells to die in greater numbers than would be normal
This has to do with the changes in the functioning of the nervous system induced by the entry into it of the psychoactive substance (the brain has not evolved to have the habitual presence of that amount of molecules introduced from the outside) as by the style of unhealthy life that goes parallel to drug use.
2. Hyperexcitability in withdrawal syndrome
In people who have already developed an addiction to drugs, spending many hours in a row without using causes a withdrawal syndrome: physical and psychological discomfort, on the one hand, and the feeling that they need to consume as soon as possible, on the other. At a neuropsychological level, this implies that the cerebral cortex enters a state of hyperexcitability, since “alarm bells go off” in the body and the immediate search for consumption is prioritized.
This implies that anxiety and stress appear, and sensitivity to stimuli that in other situations would have gone unnoticed: the person reacts more intensely to any potentially relevant change or signal that they detect in their environment.
On the other hand, in some cases the changes that the brain has undergone due to drug consumption are so profound that the simple fact of stopping consuming that substance suddenly puts one at risk of suffering additional medical problems, or even losing life. That is why in some treatments for people with drug addiction, substitute drugs are used (frequently, methadone) to facilitate gradual cessation of consumption.
In any case, these processes must always be supervised by medical personnel who have studied the patient’s problem individually and prescribed the use of the replacement substance, since the latter is also potentially dangerous.
3. Swings in the levels of neurotransmitters available in the brain
In drug addiction, The brain becomes accustomed to functioning “by default” assuming that this psychoactive substance is present in its neuronal networks However, that does not mean that it adapts well to this way of functioning.
Since when consuming there are sudden changes (in a matter of seconds or a very few minutes) in the quantity and type of molecules in the nervous system, the brain suffers constant ups and downs and has a hard time adapting to that rhythm.
For example, when consuming cocaine, the neurons in our brain are surrounded by dopamine in less than five minutes; However, ten minutes later, the amount of this substance that is available to our nerve cells plummets, and the brain goes from a state of high activation to a state of nervous inhibition and practically depression. These rapid changes give rise to chain reactions that affect us on many levels: damaging our ability to concentrate, negatively affecting us emotionally, etc.
4. Structural changes in brain wiring that predispose to habituation
In the medium and long term, drug addiction gives rise to the phenomenon of habituation: the person who began using it, often under the mistaken idea that they were in control of their consumption pattern at all times, You increasingly need to consume more and more frequently to experience the same effects and to keep withdrawal symptoms at bay
This is partly due to the fact that over time, neurons weave interconnections among themselves, adapting to a context in which the drug is usually available in the body, while doing so under the principle that consuming more is the main purpose of everything that happens in the brain.
As you have seen, and with few exceptions in products such as those containing caffeine, drug consumption is always accompanied by very harmful effects for the body and that occur from the first intake.
However, we should not focus only on the changes for the worse that these substances generate in the brain; They also give rise to other very serious problems that are beyond the nervous system For example, the deterioration of personal relationships, the inability to cope with responsibilities, and even endangering others: for example, alcohol abuse becomes even more risky for those around the person with alcoholism than for the latter, according to various investigations.
Thus, At the first signs of drug addiction, it is necessary to seek professional help as soon as possible Through psychological and medical treatment it is possible to intervene both in the dysfunctional dynamics of the brain and in the behavior of the addicted person, allowing them to get out of the vicious circle of consumption and giving them resources to prevent relapses.
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