What are the effects of addiction on the human brain?

Introduction to drug abuse and addiction

Addiction is a serious catastrophe of the current era which not only sabotages individuals but also threats all aspects of human lives in every possible way. Addiction comes in nymerous forms and with various harms and damages. As an illustration, using drugs from opium to crystal and alcohol, as well as porn and all sorts of dependencies are all categorized as addiction with their specific consequences. This dark tragedy that has struck human civilization needs to be dealt with and experts in all areas of academia are trying to identify the effects of addiction on the human brain. This article is aimed to investigate addiction as thoroughly as possible in an abstractive structure. 

What is addiction?

Addiction is introduced as a disease or disorder which continues despite causing considerable harms. In another word, the life of an addict is a failed cycle that starts with consuming, being high, coming back, and seeking drugs, alcohol, and whatever they use. This has always been a deep, complicated and controversial aspect to investigate. From an individual perspective, drug addiction only destroys humans by tying and restricting their existence to drugs. Although from a scientific, psychological, and, sociological point of view, the drug kills the human soul by hurting the body and turning a precious unit of society into a potential threat.                

What are the effects of addiction?

Addiction is a multidimensional subject resulting in the decline of cognition and productivity. It is also noteworthy that crimes rocket up due to the rise of addiction and as a result, healthcare costs will put considerable pressure on governments. These are the most identified factors which lead experts to work on various parts of the treatment of addiction. To sum up, addiction has both individual and social as well as mental and physical effects. 

Causes of addiction

Detecting causes of addiction sits on the hotspot of research worldwide. The most common theory proposed that addiction is rooted in the reward mechanism of the human brain. Generally, the human body has an adjustment system that constantly tries to normalize new situations. It means that if you start to drink more coffee, your body get used to it and that would be a common habit for you as a person. Although, if you enjoy this new situation, your brain would be full of a hormone named dopamine. The mentioned hormone creates pleased emotional moments and that is a reward for doing something. The serious problem initiates here; you want more pleasing times and you have no choice but to do higher and more intensive acts which are the reason for joy-making. Your body has naturally normalized the new situation and each time you require a higher dosage to experience desirable moments.

Brain and addiction 

We are nothing without our brains and our ability to think, analyze and act like healthy humans. As described, dependence starts with brain addiction and it is fair to say that the majority of the adverse effects of addiction are observable or at least traceable in the brain. The sad fact about this statement is that with poisoning the brain, all the activities including thinking, talking, eating, and performing daily tasks are influenced and would become defective. Therefore, the most harmful consequence of addiction is losing emotion and human cognition. Although the general interaction between addiction and brain mechanism is discussed above, the more specific and academic concepts are presented in the following. 

How is an addict’s brain?                                

In the beginning, every healthy and normal brain could be a potential candidate for taking all kinds of drugs somehow. Factors like genetics and social influence determine the chance of taking drugs and being an addict. But after being an addict, the brain changes in so many ways and has not the power to control the new situation. To be more specific, regions in the brain that are affected by addiction are the same that are responsible for decision making, sensing, and learning. As a result, after using drugs, addiction targets that region of the brain until the cognitive quality of the brain is damaged and could not save itself. This is a deep concept that presents addiction as a mental disorder and enters the neuroscience area of research. 

Neuroscience and effects of addiction on the brain 

The brain is a complex part of the human body that is the subject of increasing scientific studies worldwide. The complex nature of the brain triggered scientists to delve into meticulous research on the brain leading to the advent of fields like cognitive science and psychology as well as neurology and neuroscience. Typically, cells of the brain are called neurons and their interaction facilitates thinking and cognition. These neurons are communicating through some special paths named neurotransmitters and when drugs in any shape or form enter the brain, this special environment of the brain gets defective. Scientifically, addiction impairs the brain in couple of ways; firstly by imperfect neurotransmitters and disturbed neural connections, and secondly, by demolishing the analytic ability of neurons responsible for mental processes like decision making. Finally, it could be said that addiction destroys the brain of humans. But what could be done if someone got addiction?

Is addiction treatable?

The short answer to this question is yes, addiction could be healed. But after reviewing all the effects of addiction on the human brain it is obvious that the process would be tough and has extensive influences on mental and physical aspects of humans. Therefore, the treatment of addiction contains both psychological and somatic features. Experts suggest that when the drug use comes to a halt, mental treatments are recommended to rebuild neurons and neurotransmitters as much as possible. On the other hand, the momentary pleasure of drug consumption needs to be replaced by the permanent joy of being a healthy, aware human. It is also noteworthy that there are massive instructions about controlling friends and people who addicts are associated with. 

Today is the day!

If you or your loved ones are addicts, today is your special day to quit drugs, alcohol, or whatever. Remember as the addiction gets longer, the process of getting healed gets tougher and the harm would be more permanent.