Effects of Various Environmental Stimuli on the Brain

            The brain, for good reason, is considered by many to be the body’s most important organ. Its purpose is to govern all other organs’ proper functioning, while also allowing for higher thought processing, providing humans the ability to perform more complex thoughts and ideas than can other organisms. The brain is able to perform these functions through the use of various chemicals and receptors. These chemicals, or neurotransmitters, are released by the axons of one neuron, and received by the dendrites of another neuron. This allows all of the cells of the nervous system to coordinate with each other, providing us with our ability to live and perform various actions. Anything that interferes with this process, therefore, can prevent us from performing up to our true potential, both mentally and physically.

            One of the more unfortunate types of environmental stimuli that can affect the brain comes in the form of drugs. Drugs are, simply put, chemicals that enter the blood upon internalization, traveling to the brain and affecting its processes. This effect can be accomplished by a number of means, such as blocking neuronal receptors from being able to recognize and bind to neurotransmitters, to preventing the neurotransmitters from being released in the first place.

            One of the most common drugs seen in a college setting is not thought of by many as a drug at all. Nevertheless, its effect on the brain cannot be understated, or underestimated. This drug is called caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant, like cocaine or meth, which can cause the neurons to release abnormally large amounts of natural neurotransmitters or prevent the normal recycling of these brain chemicals by interfering with transporters. This too amplifies or disrupts the normal communication between neurons. It is therefore entirely possible to become too dependent on caffeine and to be unable to function without it.

            An added yet unseen danger from the use of various drugs is the inherent lack of understanding regarding their long-term impacts on the body. An unfortunate yet excellent example of this comes from the drug thalidomide, which was used to treat morning sickness in pregnant women. After several years of its use, it was found that thalidomide was actually causing the babies that these women were pregnant with to form disabilities. It is entirely possible that many of the drugs that are used today, including the legal ones, could have grave consequences that have not yet been seen only because they have yet to develop, and not because they are not going to develop.

              Another potential issue with the use of drugs, both illicit and not, is the possibility of addiction formation. Addiction is, simply put, the compulsive need to perform an action, whether that action be to take a drug or something else. The mechanism for addiction formation varies depending upon the substance, but generally what is occurring is that the body becomes accustomed to the presence of the chemicals that are released upon performing the action. When the action is not performed, and the chemicals are not present, the body will crave the chemicals it has become accustomed to, and could exhibit symptoms of withdrawal. This is, of course, different for everybody, but to some extent or another every person is susceptible to addiction.

              Drugs are not the only thing that can alter the brain’s functioning, though. Mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, as well as mental disabilities are generally naturally occurring, and can arise in anyone based off of a number of factors, including distressing events or genetic predispositions.

There is no clear answer why the capability to develop these types of issues would have evolved in humans. It seems plain and simple that something like an anxiety disorder, depression, or other disorder would lessen the fitness of an individual, not strengthen it. One popular potential reason is that different genetic arrangements could prove useful in a wild, hunter/ gatherer society (such as anxiety) but became detrimental only with the modernization of society. This seems most likely, that each disorder evolved with some general benefit at one time, that no longer matches humanity's needs. 

In the presence of these types of naturally occurring mental health issues, it can actually prove useful to utilize certain drugs to counteract the negative effects the disorder in question has on the brain. Attention Deficit Disorder, for instance, can be treated using drugs such as Adderall and other similar stimulants in order to allow for closer to “normal” functioning. This shows that drugs which normally would be harmful to an individual, can actually prove very useful when used in the right circumstances.

That is the most important distinction to be made in any discussion about the use of drugs; the cost of using the drug against the benefits received by using the drug. The brain is so fundamental to a person’s humanity that risking damaging by using drugs should not be underestimated. Even sleep, or the lack thereof, is important to maintaining proper cerebral balance and functioning. As such, it is important that any individual who is contemplating using a drug, whether or not it be of an illicit nature, truly takes the time to contemplate the possible repercussions that the use of that drug entails.