3 Effects of Drug Use on the Structure and Functioning of the Nervous System
Drug use has an effect on the structure and functioning of the nervous system. Some alterations become very long-lasting. They can induce behaviors that put the addict’s life at risk.
Addiction creates a vicious circle: the individual consumes a substance, which directly/indirectly causes negative biological and social effects. Therefore, their escape route is to consume the substance again to evade the problems. The most affected area is usually the nervous system.
Some of the most important effects are the following:
- DNA is altered: in the development of an addiction, transcription factors are altered. Also intracellular messenger pathways and immediate early genes in the brain’s reward system. These affect the brain circuits involved in memory, decision-making, and motivation.
- Loss of control: the addictive substance and stimuli create imbalances in the pleasure threshold, so that the user becomes accustomed to very high levels of satisfaction produced by the drug and no other stimulus is capable of producing it. For this reason, it is very difficult to stop using drugs.
- Functional changes in the brain: when the person is under the effects of drugs or experiencing craving (strong desire to consume it), complex brain mechanisms are activated that involve reward pathways, circuits associated with motivation, memory, and cognitive control.
There is always a way out
Throughout our years of experience helping individuals and families recover, at CCAdicciones we have managed to merge several types of treatment, creating a specific model. The CCAdicciones model maintains a high recovery rate, far superior to the average of other treatments, with 86% of patients recovered. Request information by calling 902 400 426.
