Drugs and the Brain

        The brain is a very complex organ being made up of about 100 billion nerve cells. There are different parts of the brain and each part controls many different parts of the body and has various functions. The cerebrum is the largest portion of the brain and is divided into two different divisions, the left and right brain. These divisions are connected by a thick nerve tract called the corpus callosum that allows the two hemispheres to communicate with each other with the left side being more logical and the right side being involved in the more creative functions we experience. Our brains control how we function everyday and anything that sets it off balance can affect our whole lives. Damage to any area of the brain will cause different diseases and disorders to various part of the brain and body.

People can have many different mental disorders and there are many different kinds of them. There are neurological disorders like Parkinson’s disease, personality and mood disorders like anxiety and depression, developmental disorders like autism, and many more. These different types have different symptoms and affect people in various ways and therefore have many options to be treated with. 

Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disorder as I mentioned previously. A family member was recently diagnosed with it so I wanted to look into it more. This disease is caused by the basal ganglia cells being damaged or dysfunctional. The basal ganglia process signals flowing from the cortex which allow the correct voluntary movements to occur. Damage to this area can change this whole process. This decreases the production of dopamine causing tremors, muscle stiffness, and impaired coordination. It is believed that this disease is related to genetics and environmental factors and usually affects people in their 60’s and above. Treatment for this disease includes drugs that lessen the symptoms but nothing has been found to prevent the damage to the cells. 

There are also brain injuries known as traumatic brain injuries (TBI’s) caused by external forces to the brain and usually result in cognitive abilities or physical functions being impaired. When the brain experiences external damage it affects the entire portion of the body that it controls. These injuries are also never experienced in the same way by two people that receive these same injuries which means that the healing process is also unique to each of those individuals. The impacts of a traumatic brain injury can affect a person’s personality impacting their everyday life at work, with their family and friends, and in many more instances. These behavioral changes after TBI are severe about 65% of the time and are mild only about 15% of the time. Most are caused by car accidents, falls, hypoxia, concussions, tumors, and chemicals. Therapy is the main use to stop the progression of a second injury from occurring.

Phineas Gage’s case caused a big breakthrough for traumatic brain injuries but there is a TBI that has become more prevalent in recent years. CTE is a disease that has been talked about more recently as many athletes have been talking about it more and passing away due to the symptoms. CTE involves the presence of certain protein deposits that spread to the adjacent cortex of the brain. This protein, p-tau, is also found in the brain of Alzheimer's patients. This condition continues getting worse over time and is mainly seen in athletes that play contact sports like football and boxing. Early signs of this include short term memory loss and changes in mood but can lead to aggression, depression, and suicidality years after the trauma to the brain has occurred. CTE has only been diagnosed after death occurs and it needs to be researched more to hopefully find a way to diagnose people while alive and find ways to help the individuals affected. 

        While Parkinson’s disease impacts the body physically, there are other disorders that lead to an effect on the mental state of the person. These are known as mood disorders and an example of this is depression. Depression is caused by abnormal brain chemistry and involves three neurotransmitters, dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. Dopamine creates feelings of positivity and motivation and the reduction of this neurotransmitter can contribute to depression. Norepinephrine is involved in the Sympathetic Nervous System and some scientists have proposed that too little of this hormone can lead to depression. Serotonin helps regulate your mood and is the main neurotransmitter that is getting affected while using antidepressant medications. This is one way drugs are able to be used to maintain balance in our brain chemistry.

Drugs are small molecules affecting cell pathways that can cause changes to happen in the body. They do this by interfering with signals through neurotransmitters which are chemical signals that are naturally occurring and happen in the brain. Drugs can mimic these neurotransmitters and activate neurons in a different way than they would be activated by naturally produced neurotransmitters. These drugs get into the body either by ingestion,  inhalation, or injection, each taking different amounts of time to cause effects to occur in the body and can either help or hurt the person taking them.

Dependence can occur when drugs affect the brain, mainly the reward circuitry of the brain. The reward system is responsible for seeking natural rewards like getting water when we’re thirsty or getting food when we feel hungry by using a neurotransmitter called dopamine.  Some drugs mimic the chemical structure of dopamine or just activate neurons to increase the production of it. Once drugs get through the blood brain barrier and are used often enough, your body deems the drug necessary for survival and is reliant only on that form of dopamine production which can lead to a decrease in production of natural dopamine and addiction to that drug. Using drugs like these enough can permanently change the pathways occurring in your brain which alters the balance of your brain and imbalance changes more than we know, especially when we’re dealing with the brain.

When we think of addiction, oftentimes we think of illegal drugs such as cocaine, heroine, methamphetamines, and many more. However, drugs that are obtained legally play a huge role in addiction as well. Utah has a very big opioid problem and I believe it’s due to a lack of education around addiction and drug abuse in our school systems because it’s so stigmatized. Our state is ranked the 28th state in the country for the amount of unintentional drug poisoning deaths with an average of 323 people dying from prescription opioid overdose every year. This being a predominantly religious population, the use of illegal drugs is especially frowned upon. Because prescription drugs are legal and people are allowed to take them, their use isn’t seen as something that shouldn’t be done at all and are used quite frequently. 

A friend of mine is a detective here in Utah and specifically worked in the field of drugs and narcotics and was able to give me some of his insights on drugs. He was the one that brought the aspect of religion to my attention on how it may play a role in drug abuse and addiction. One thing he mentioned was that a lot of times abuse of prescription drugs could lead to the use of illegal drugs because of price and built up tolerances. Due to these things it’s important to have an understanding of how drugs work and know the possible consequences of using them in excess or incorrectly.

Diseases in the brain are great examples of why Ayurveda is so important. One imbalance in some neurotransmitters could lead to the death of a young teen and hits to the head in the wrong place one too many times could lead to the same result in an adult. Balance is arguably the most important thing needed in our brain and mind because little changes can lead to major outcomes. We need to make sure to keep our brains extremely protected not only physically but also mentally. Wearing helmets to ride skateboards, taking mental health days, and taking drugs that can help maintain that balance are all very helpful in keeping balance in our lives to stay healthy and happy.