The Brain: Neurological Disorders, Injuries, and Drugs

The brain is a wildly complicated organ. Trying to understand its connections and patterns seems impossible. I remember watching a video of a neurologist and researcher explaining the connectome, and the efforts to map the brain and its neural connections. The image shown (see below) that captured this idea was incredible – what seemed to be trillions of colored lines representing these neural networks and communications.

That made it hard to believe that we will ever be able to understand the brain and its functions entirely. It makes sense that every traumatic brain injury can be so similar yet so different and unique in consequence. I’m a lover of football, so I’m guilty of yelling at the refs over seemingly dumb roughing-the-passer calls, but I wonder if we will look back and question why we ever continued to let huge 300+ pound men tackle others and slam their heads to the ground. I think we will see more clearly the effects of traumatic brain injuries. My dad is a Miami Dolphin fan, so I watched live with him the game in which the quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, was tackled and immediately assumed the fencing position (we ended up talking about this shortly in class).

I was surprised to read at how quickly athletes were to report they were symptom free in order to return to play. Reading this after the Tua incident and the NFL reporting pending changes to its concussion protocol makes me think about how serious concussions are especially when it comes to youth athletes and their developing brains. Some of these injuries are life altering. At least we have taken measures in sports to prolong the time that athletes are withheld from play. The last article bridged the differences between the brain and mind and how both play roles in mental disorders. The biological factors as well as social and environmental are often associated with the pathogenesis of such disorders.

In the first paper of brain disorders, I enjoyed learning first about the pathophysiology of Huntington’s Disease. The accumulation of a mutated Huntigtin protein is observed to be the cause due to a hyper-expressed region of glutamine repeats. It baffles me that an errant expression of proteins can have such astounding effects on our cognition. On top of that, it’s interesting that the normally expressed Huntingtin protein has an unknown function. We don’t know what it does when it works, but we know that when it doesn’t, its detriments are drastic. Crazy to think that there is so much for us to research and yet discover in the field of biology and medicine. While reading about Alzheimer’s, I recalled the news released during this past summer that studies implicating beta amyloid protein as the most critical contributor of the disease are potentially fraudulent and exaggerated. The whole scandal seemed complex, and I don’t pretend to understand it entirely; but, it makes me sad that money led to the prescription of medications with questionable efficacy to so many sufferers of the disease. Not only that, but it’s sad that those studies have distracted researchers from potentially furthering the research in other areas. All is not lost, and we still know more about the disease other than beta amyloid, but reading about the incident is still frustrating.

I didn’t know much, if anything, about Tay-Sachs disease. Maybe an irrelevant thought, but after reading about these neurological diseases, as well as others, it’s a miracle that more often than not, our bodies function and develop properly. With so many things to go wrong on a microlevel, it’s amazing that our cellular machinery functions as it does. When it doesn’t, it’s sad to see how devastating that can be. Without the function of one enzyme, all nerve cells can die because of ganglioside accumulation. I wonder what the future holds when it comes to human genome sequencing and treating genetic diseases such as this.

When it comes to drugs, maybe I’m too easily impressed or awed by what we already know, but it’s still fascinating that molecules can have such drastic effects on our bodies. Even the other night, I regretted ingesting caffeine too late in the evening because the effects of the drug continued deep into the night, and I was unable to fall asleep until hours later. The fact that so many compounds found in nature work to alter our body’s chemistry and mechanisms is incredible. I think the YouTube video about drugs and their effects and mechanisms of action presented these ideas well. Drugs can really imitate components in the pathways of the brain – that’s incredible and terrifying.

The idea that pathways in the body are regulated by molecules that bind to receptors much like puzzle pieces fit together is intriguing in that any other molecule with similar properties and shape can induce the same effects.

I have a little brother who suffered from a hemorrhagic stroke when he was a baby which resulted in hemiparesis. However, because it occurred so early in his development, those who meet him would never be able to guess that this was the case. While he is left-handed due to the atrophy of his right side, he is athletic and strong and has adapted to use his entire right side – his fingers being the only sign of a stroke. The left side of his brain is occupied by cerebral spinal fluid, virtually missing. Still, he has good grades and functions completely normal. This evidences the plasticity of the brain; it really is amazing. Still, once matured, these synapses and connections are vital. The effects of drugs on the communications between them via neurotransmitters can be detrimental.

The effects of drugs beyond physiology are important to consider – the costs they have on social relationships and money due to addiction. Although, I feel like the social awareness of their negative effects has increased, increasing the stigma behind their use. Still, the statistics regarding drug usage surprised me. Almost half of Americans above the age of 12 have tried an illicit drug. Millions and millions of people resort to drugs for various reasons, while most likely recognizing the threat they pose to health and addictions.

In reading the paper of drugs in relation to Ayurveda, I agree that the basis of medicine is ancient. It’s insane to read about the expenditures relative to drug discoveries ($5 billion for each effective new drug). The individuality of drug metabolism was a new concept to me. I maybe considered this idea – obviously every individual and their genetics are different – but prescribing medications based on heredity and genetics is what seems to be their claim of medical practice being an art. I do see the future of medicine being more holistic, and it will be interesting to see what changes are made in both practice and drug synthesis and prescription.

The final thought I had in regard to drugs and the pathways in the brain are the other habits that can be associated with addiction. I think of social media in today’s society as a potentially addictive pastime – the way many of us seek instant gratification and entertainment in our various social media applications could surely have addictive effects on the reward system of our brain. It’s interesting how behaviors can also have such an effect on the brain, not only physical drugs.

Drugs and human brain

 

Brain is the most complex organ in our body, it is consisted of 100 billion nerve cells, when I first saw the intro, I felt very surprised that there are so many nerve cells in our brains. Brain injury and lots of drugs can make influence to our brains. In the brain video, it is very interesting that by using different colors to describe different colors in words. The right brain controls the color, and the left brain controls the word. So, for example, if we use purple color font on the word “Green”, what should we read it? Purple or Green.

            There are 5 main types of brain diseases. They are neurological disorders, storage disorders, personality and mood disorders, developmental and prion diseases. In the “Brain and Mental disorders” PowerPoint, multiple sclerosis is a slowly progressive neurological disease characterized by patches of demyelination in brain and spinal line, it can influence as it were oligodendrocytes not Schwann cells. It has critical neural recuperation regularly happens amid periods of unconstrained abatement. But the cause is unknown and the course is exceedingly variable.

            The incidence of multiple sclerosis is usually between age 20-40, women have higher probability to get this disorder than men, environment can also influence this disorder. In north part of the country, the rate of the incidence is between 0.03% to 0.13%. After age 15, the location almost has no influence on this disorder. In the PowerPoint, United States, Canada, Iceland, United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, New Zealand and Sweden are under high risk of getting the incidence of multiple sclerosis. For the treatments of multiple sclerosis, it could be up to 10 years, after 10 years or long period of time, significant recovery could occur. β-interferon seems could help preventing relapse and delaying progression of the disease.

            I also want to talk about the Alzheimer’s disease. Even right now, we also don’t know what caused Alzheimer’s disease. But, the risk of Alzheimer’s disease is heritable, some Alzheimer’s infection patients with a particular hereditary issue that can cause early-onset and serious frame of Alzheimer’s disease at approximately age of 45. But other Alzheimer’s disease patients don’t follow that. Most Alzheimer’s disease patients have plaques in part of the brain that could appear cell misfortune in early Alzheimer’s disease: average transient projection regions and cortex in late Alzheimer’s infection, which all zones that create or get acetylcholine. There are several kinds of drugs that could use to treat Alzheimer’s disease like Cognex, Aricept, Reminyl and etc. These kinds of drugs could improve some daily living skills, delay in progression of disease, but just have some small effects and only occur in a small number of patients. And, it is very toxic to livers.

Drugs effect on our bodies and mind because drugs can produce chemicals that produced in our bodies. Drugs then bind to specific receptor site in our bodies, drugs can change our mood and behaviors because drugs work in our brain. Abuse use of drugs especially psychoactive drugs can result in addiction, when get in addiction, people have to use drugs, this is a very high risk of those people own, but also for their families. Addiction is a disease that can change the structure and chemistry of brain. Abuse use of drugs is a very bad result. Drugs can also cause other effects like neuroadaptation, hypo frontality and memory loss. There are also many types of drugs, a type of drugs is called illicit drugs. Illegal drugs are those drugs that are illegal to have, produce and sell. The most three reasons why college students use illicit drugs are reduce stress, get high and social pressure, but there are many ways to achieve the goals of these, not only drugs can do that. Schedule I drugs are the most potential for abuse and there is no medicinal purpose. Schedule II, III, IV, and V drugs have some medicinal purposes, but when abuse of these kinds of drugs, they will also have serious threat to human bodies.

            Drugs also can have effects on physiological changes and mental dependence. I think mental dependence is more serious than physiological dependence. There are some ways to take care of physiological dependence, but for mantal dependence, there are no specific ways to fix, it depends on self-control. Drugs were created to reduce the pain like during surgery, but people even don’t have pain tried them. If we use drugs to reduce pain during surgery, there is a very high probability that we will not get addicted to them, but if we don’t have pain and we tried them, once the reward loop forms, we will get addicted to them. That is bad not only to ourselves, but also to our families.

            Tabacco and alcohol are called legal drugs, but it seems like legal drugs can cause more deaths than illegal drugs according to the data from PowerPoint. People get addicted to Tobacco and Alcohol but they don’t know, once they don’t smoke Tobacco or drink Alcohol, they will feel very uncomfortable. More and more people get addicted to illegal drugs quit them successful in the United States, but fewer people get addicted to Tobacco and Alcohol quit them successfully. I think Tobacco and Alcohol are even more dangerous than illegal drugs. Drugs can affect our brain and then affect our behaviors whatever they are legal or illegal. After get addiction, the brain would change.

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.

 

 

 

             

Drugs and The Human Brain

    When I think of the brain, mystery and wonder comes to mind. Even in 2022, we do not know everything about the human brain. For myself, every time I learn about the brain, the more I realize how little I know about one of the most important organs inside of our bodies. Inherit to the anatomy of the brain itself, demonstrates the challenges of studying this important organ. The brain’s natural sensitivity makes observing and studying it while inside a living human difficult. 

    While in biomedical ethics class last semester, I was able to learn about the horrible experiments Nazi doctors performed on living people to better understand the brain. These doctors would literally torture and kill Jewish men and women to gather data about the brain. While these were awful experiments that should never be repeated, Nazi doctors felt they were doing the world a favor by learning more about the brain. They learned more about the brain’s anatomy, adaptive abilities, and physiology from their poor patients. While these doctors were eventually charged with war crimes for their experiments, I feel that it is important to not hide their experimental findings in honor of the thousands of patients who died in pursuit of this knowledge. 

    While our brains help monitor the rest of our bodies, our brain also is responsible for giving us our personality and consciousness. It is common now-a-days to hear about brain/mental disorders that plague many people worldwide. I have several people in my family that have been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis or MS is a terrible neurological disease where the myelin sheath covering neurons begins to break down. I get the opportunity to see these family members once a year and it is amazing how fast this disease progresses throughout the years. For example, my aunt started having problems with her grip strength a few years ago and now the disease has made it difficult for her to walk or talk. It is sad how such a small problem dealing with the myelin sheath can cause huge physiological problems. 

    Another neurological disease that I saw in my family was seen in my grandfather with Parkinson disease. Parkinson's disease is caused by low dopamine levels produced in the brain. Dopamine is responsible for creating smooth skeletal muscle movements, memory, and the pleasure and reward system in the brain. When my grandfather was diagnosed with this disease, he constantly shook and had tremors throughout his body. In addition, he slurred his speech and had memory loss. These terrible symptoms were all caused by a lack of a simple molecule produced in his brain.

    Thankfully, with human advancements in medicine and drugs, physicians have several tools that he or she can use to treat these serious brain diseases seen in my family. Drugs have an amazing ability to heal our bodies and treat our ailments, but they also have a remarkable ability to wreck our lives and the lives of the people around us if they are misused. It is of no surprise that in our country in 2022, medications and drugs are everywhere. From pharmaceutical companies advertisements on TV to the slew of problems that can be fixed with a pill, Americans rely on drugs for many of their health and wellness problems. While taking medication according to the package directions is relatively safe, misusing or using illicit drugs can cause major health issues and death to the individual. When an individual takes an illicit drug, the chemicals inside that drug are meant to resemble natural chemicals produced in the body. Commonly, this can alter the brain’s neurotransmitters and alter mood or behavior. For example, cocaine blocks the dopamine reuptake transporter in the brain which prevents dopamine from being reabsorbed back to the axon terminal. This sustains levels of dopamine in the body, leading to feelings of pleasure and reward.    

    Unfortunately, while drugs may seem to have a positive effect in the short term, sustained use can cause long-term damage. Prolonged use of illicit drugs can lead to dulling of the pleasure center of the brain, interfere with one’s decision making capacity, and lead to memory loss. Since the immediate effect of drug use usually involves an increase in dopamine, continued use of a drug reduces the brain’s dopamine production resulting in an individual having a craving for more dopamine and thus take more drugs. 

    A few months ago I was able to watch this interesting series on Hulu called Dopesick. I highly recommend it. This docuseries was about the explosive use of OxyContin and its role in the opioid epidemic in the United States. From this series I learned just how bad of an impact a drug/pharmaceutical company can have on a country. Essentially, Purdue Pharma was giving large kickbacks to different physicians who over-prescribed their medication. To get these physicians to prescribe large amounts of these pills, Perdue Pharma was lying about the risks of these patients taking this drug and their role in patients getting addicted to painkillers. People in the United States suffered while Perdue made billions of dollars. 

    One interesting role of OxyContin in a community was the massive uptick in crime correlated with the amount of people taking the pain killer. When people were addicted to OxyContin but didn’t have enough money to support their addiction, they often turned to crime to get the money for their prescriptions. In fact, this uptick in crime associated with OxyContin was one of the first identifiers for the drug's harm. Communities that were test markets for this new pill were found to have some of the highest growing rates of crime in the country.

    Unfortunately, with the opioid epidemic in today’s society, it is not that difficult for one to know a person who has struggled with an addiction to drugs. In fact, according to a survey done in 2019 according to www.cdc.gov, over 13% of people over the age of 12 in the United states had used illicit drugs in the past 30 days. That is a remarkably high percentage of the population that undoubtedly is causing harm to our society. Just like the OxyContin innocent, the more people who abuse drugs, the higher the likelihood there is for illegal crime in our communities. Commonly, especially for opioids, people only become addicted after the prolonged use of legally prescribed medication.

    While many people thankfully do not have neurological disorders and as such do not need to take a variety of medications, another neurological disorder: concussions, are quite popular among today's athletes. Concussions are caused by jolts or blows to one’s head. These blows cause the brain to bounce back and forth in the skull, damaging the brain. Even though concussions are relatively common, they can cause permanent damage to an athlete's brain. I like to watch NFL games and it is amazing to witness how far the NFL concussion protocols have gone. Sadly, players are still getting concussions in the league and the inherent unknowns about concussions sometimes leads to players receiving permanent brain damage. 

    Thankfully, while the rate of concussions among amateur and professional athletes are not decreasing, their treatments are rapidly improving. From the article Frequency and Outcomes of a Symptom-Free Waiting Period After Sport-Related Concussion, researchers have learned how a period of symptom free waiting time before returning back to activity is helping today’s athletes. This symptom's free waiting time helps ensure the player is truly healed from his or her concussions and ensures it is safe for them to return back to play. I support these and other concussion protocols that help minimize potential brain injuries to today's athletes.  

    As mentioned previously, the devastating consequences of a traumatic brain injury is the result of the brain’s complex anatomy. I did not know that the number of folds in one’s brain corresponds to their intelligence. According to the video Human Brain, Parts and Functions, the more folds in a brain allows for more surface area to be created. As a result, more neurons are able to grow in these folds which corresponds to a person’s intelligence. Damage to these folds or other to other parts of the brain can result in serious, lifelong consequences to the person affected. 

    In the future, I plan on becoming a physician. While I do not fully know what type of medical specialty I would like to pursue, the brain and related medications will still be an integral part of my patients' lives. The brain’s job as an executive control center for the body makes it a crucial organ that should be researched and studied. In addition, it is my hope that the medications I prescribe as a physician will be used and managed in an appropriate way. I am excited to learn more about the human brain in the future and its job in maintaining and controlling our lives.

 

Sources 

“FastStats - Illegal Drug Use.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20 Oct. 2022, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/drug-use-illicit.htm. 

 

Pfaller AY, Nelson LD, Apps JN, Walter KD, McCrea MA. Frequency and Outcomes of a Symptom-Free Waiting Period After Sport-Related Concussion. Am J Sports Med. 2016 Nov;44(11):2941-2946. doi: 10.1177/0363546516651821. Epub 2016 Jul 1. PMID: 27371548; PMCID: PMC6589833.

 

Imbalances in the Brain: Disease, Injury, and Drugs

The brain, like all other body systems, is susceptible to disease as a result of imbalances. The brain is a vastly complex organ that regulates all body functions from the most simple, like breathing, to the most complex, like higher order thinking processes. After recognizing the vast importance and variety of the brain’s functions it should come as no surprise that countless issues can arise when the organ is not in a state of balance. 

Diseases of the brain can be categorized as neurological disorders, storage disorders, mood and personality disorders, developmental, or prion diseases. Neurological disorders include some of the most commonly discussed diseases of the brain including Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, Huntington’s disease, and epilepsy. These disorders can vary greatly in severity, even in individuals diagnosed with the same condition, but even in less severe cases motor/cognitive impairment can occur and in turn harm patient’s emotional wellbeing. There are still many questions surrounding neurological disorders. Some of the largest unanswered questions are the exact causes, or initial unbalances, and the possibility of cures. 

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one chronic neurological disorder that has no known cause or cure at this point in time but is suspected to be an autoimmune disorder. Nearly 1 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with this disease. MS is classified as an inflammatory neurodegenerative disease of the Central Nervous System. The mechanism behind this disease is demyelination, or the breakdown of insulating myelin sheaths that surround the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. This breakdown results in lesions of scar tissue forming throughout the nervous system. The symptoms, presentation, and course of this disease varies greatly between individuals depending on where in the nervous system is being attacked. Common early symptoms include vision issues, trouble walking, and abnormal sensations such as numbness and tingling. Over time periods of remission and recovery are followed by streaks of worsening symptoms. In the advanced stage this disease can cause severe mobility issues, blindness, debilitating neuropathic pain, and cognitive/emotional issues. Treatment through corticosteroids and β-interferon drugs can help reduce symptoms and increase periods of remission which gives patients a greater possibility of maintaining normal quality of life.

Not all diseases of the brain begin internally. Traumatic brain injuries can result in physical and cognitive impairments that can drastically reduce quality of life. One particular aspect of traumatic brain injuries that has become more apparent to the general public in recent years is personality changes associated with brain injury. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated head traumas like concussions. For players involved in contact sports and military personnel who are regularly exposed to brain trauma this has become a large concern.The physiology behind this disease involves an abnormal buildup of tau proteins in the brain. These proteins are also implicated in Alzheimer’s disease though the protein pattern, typical age of onset, and symptoms differ significantly. CTE generally presents when an individual is in their 40’s and early symptoms commonly include issues with judgment, impulsivity, aggression, and reasoning. Football specifically has evolved significantly since the discovery of CTE in an effort to make the sport more safe for players in the long term, including longer resting periods after concussions and more protective helmets. One of the most significant studies that spurred this change involved a CTE researcher examining 202 brains post mortem. 111 of these brains came from former professional football players, and of these 111 brains 110 showed signs of CTE. This research revealed the pervasive nature of CTE in football, but two case studies exhibit exactly how drastic this disorder can be. Phillip Adams and Aaron Hernandez are two former NFL players who killed others and then themselves in highly-publicized cases. Post mortem studies of the two players' brains revealed abnormally severe CTE which may have contributed to these acts. This research into brains and the associated case studies emphasize the importance of protecting the brain from trauma, especially in professions where trauma is likely to occur on a consistent basis.

Personality disorders are not necessarily caused by internal or external imbalances, but some combination of both. We often separate the mind and brain as psychological and biological concepts respectively, but in the case of these disorders they are interwoven beyond the point of separation. This is due to genetic predispositions towards personality disorders being triggered by traumatic life experiences, such as abuse, at a young age which in turn causes physical changes to the brain. Development of these disorders can have drastic negative effects later in life. Exact statistics regarding how many people in the general population suffer from suicidal thoughts and tendencies varies significantly, but in 2018 the National Survey of Drug Use and Mental Health estimated that 0.5% of the population above 18 had attempted suicide at least one. This contrasts sharply with statistic involving suicide attempts in those with Borderline Personality Disorder. Researchers have determined that approximately 70% of those diagnosed with this disorder will attempt suicide at some point in their life, and 10% will succeed. These statistics make it clear that disorders of the brain are no less dangerous because they do not manifest with physical symptoms.

The human brain only makes up roughly 2% of an individual's weight, but in this case size is not indicative of significance. The brain is a marvel of biology and human evolution when working effectively. But, when the brain suffers from imbalance and disease the results can be horrific. These diseases can result from numerous genetic, physiological, and environmental influences and impact the brain, mind, and body in turn.

Imbalances in the brain can be both treated and introduced through the addition of chemicals that resemble those produced naturally in the body, more simply known as drugs. There are several different types of drugs including prescription drugs, over the counter drugs, recreational drugs, illicit drugs, and herbal drugs. All of these work through binding to receptor sites in the body, but the impacts can vary dramatically - especially in the brain. For the main part, prescription, over the counter, and herbal drugs are perceived positively, while illicit and recreational drugs are stigmatized and a major point of concern for society.

Psychoactive drugs are those that impact mental processes such as cognition and perception through acting on neurotransmitters in the brain. Depressants, opioids, stimulants, hallucinogens, marijuana, and designer drugs all fall under this category. It is important to note that not all psychoactive drugs are explicitly negative. Under close supervision by licensed medical professionals depressants, opioids, and stimulants are prescribed and dispensed every day, and treatment of various mental disorders through marijuana and hallucinogens is currently being researched with many studies showing great promise. But, the line between these drugs being beneficial or life ruining is often quite thin.

Stimulants increase overall activity of the central nervous system primarily through creating an overbalance of dopamine and norepinephrine transmitters. These drugs are often prescribed to help combat ADHD, narcolepsy, and obesity. In these cases the overbalance of neurotransmitters can help bring balance to symptoms of these disorders like an ineffective dopamine processing system or an excessive appetite. Adderall, Ritalin, and even FDA-approved methamphetamine under the name Desoxyn in severe cases are prescribed with great benefit to many. But, due to these substances working on the reward pathway of the brain a great risk for abuse is present. On an annual basis 16 million Americans use prescription stimulants, and of those 16 million individuals 5 million misused these drugs at least once and 0.4 million suffered from prescription stimulant abuse disorders. Misuse of these drugs can cause catastrophic imbalances in the brain and other body systems in turn with symptoms like anxiety, irregular heart beat, psychosis, and insomnia commonly occurring at high doses. These symptoms can be even more dangerous for unregulated street stimulants such as methamphetamine and cocaine. 

Addiction is one of the most major points of concern for all psychoactive drugs whether they be prescription, illicit, or even legally sold in gas stations. Long term administration of drugs creates imbalances that physically alter the brain and its neuronal circuits through changes to receptors/transporters and even the overall structure of the organ. These effects are especially significant when the brain is still in development, which is an ongoing process for the first 25 years of life on average. For children and teens in particular, drug abuse can result in neuroadaptivity (an insensitivity to pleasurable stimuli), hypofrontality (impacted decision-making abilities), and memory loss. Hypofrontality is highly concerning for this age group in regards to the gateway drug theory which essentially states that drugs commonly abused by minors such as alcohol and nicotine may potentially alter the brain in a manner that makes the use of other more addictive drugs such as cocaine and heroin more likely. 

Overall, drug use varies greatly in terms of creating or treating imbalances in the brain and body. Some research suggests that a more holistic/botanical approach to pharmaceuticals may be beneficial for patients and communities. These ideas are largely based on the concept of Ayurveda and treating natural imbalances with natural balancers. But, regardless of drug origins being synthetic or natural there is no question that brain imbalance is now and likely will forever be a major point of concern for human societies as we try to improve our approaches to neurological diseases, mental health issues, brain injuries, and drugs.

Effects of Disease, Injury, and Drugs on the Brain

The brain is the most complex organ in the body and is still not yet fully understood. There are many areas of science dedicated to studying the brain and its capabilities. Our brains control our thoughts, memory, emotions, and other organs in the body. Therefore, it is a very needy organ. Brain cells are very sensitive to oxygen and will begin to die within four minutes without it. The brain also needs a lot of nutrients. The brain uses around twenty percent of the body’s glucose, and if the blood sugar is too low, it can have detrimental effects to the brain. 

I have seen many times in my life just how important brain health truly is. My grandfather has brain cancer. From when he was first diagnosed until now, I have seen dramatic changes in him. While he is still a very loving and happy man, he lacks the energy he once had. When he first had symptoms, my family originally thought he was having a stroke. He had a very hard time talking and getting his words out. He became very confused and was even making up words. This is called Wernicke’s aphasia. The Wernicke’s area of the brain is involved in the understanding of speech. Those with Wernicke’s aphasia may speak without problem, but what they are saying might not make sense. They might add random words, say sentences that have no meaning, or, like my grandpa, make up words. After his diagnosis, my grandpa underwent radiation and chemotherapy to help control his tumor. His cancer seemed to be under control but very recently, they found another growth. He started having seizure activity in his brain and lost some motor control in his right arm. He struggles with walking and talking, but is very determined to get better. 

Another instance where I have seen the importance of brain health is in athletics. I have had many teammates with concussions. Many of their symptoms were very mild such as headaches and dizziness. However, even mild concussions must be taken seriously because of the increased risk of brain damage. Second impact syndrome is when a person suffering from a concussion receives another head injury before they have had time to heal. This can cause rapid brain swelling causing greater brain damage and can even lead to death. In a recent incident, an NFL quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, sustained a brain injury that caused some controversy. In the first game in which he sustained an injury, Tua was seen stumbling back and forth, clearly disoriented. He was taken aside to be evaluated but later returned to the game. In the following game, Tua was hit again. He laid there on the ground with his hands in an unnatural position over his face. This is called decorticate posturing and is indicative of a severe head injury. 

I have seen these instances where disease and injury affect the brain. However, these are not the only things that can affect the brain. Drugs and chemicals can also have significant impacts. Drugs affect the way the brain processes neurotransmitters at its neural synapses. Drugs can either inhibit the receiving neuron or excite it. This has a range of effects on the rest of the body and the mood and behavior of the individual taking the drugs. Drugs can be classified as being stimulants, depressants, and hallucinogens.  After long-term abuse of these drugs, neurons in the central nervous system will change. They will increase or decrease binding sites at the synapses and synapses will even be rearranged. Because of the changes drugs make in the brain, it is so important to avoid illicit drugs and be very mindful of prescription drugs. 

Unfortunately, most people don’t fully comprehend the dangers of drugs. There has been a huge rise in the amount of prescription drug treatment in America. Some of these drugs are very necessary and helpful, such as antihypertensive medicine. However, many drugs are being overprescribed. One example of this is opioids. While opioids do have their place and can help reduce pain after an injury, they can quickly become an addiction and be misused.  One of the adverse effects of opioid use is slowed breathing. Slowed breathing can lead to hypoxia which can lead to permanent brain damage. In most cases, the benefits of opioids do not outweigh the risks. However, opioids are often prescribed even when they don’t need to be. According to the article “The United States opioid epidemic: a review of the surgeon's contribution to it and health policy initiatives,”  in dental procedures 54% of opioids prescribed were not necessary, and in 45% of patients undergoing thoracic surgeries and 54% of patients undergoing cesarean sections, five or less opioid pills were needed. 

This is not to say that drugs do not have their place. I have a lot of family that use prescription drugs. For example, my brother has severe ADHD. While he has a very kind soul, he causes many problems and has been a big worry for my parents. His medications have been beneficial and quite necessary for his functioning. For many people suffering with ADHD and ADD, medications can greatly improve their quality of life and can impact their choices later on. For example, in one study, 75% of unmedicated ADD boys had started abusing alcohol and illicit drugs whereas only 25% of medicated boys with ADD had started abusing alcohol and illicit drugs. There was an 84% risk reduction when ADD was treated with medications. 

The more I learn about the brain, the more I value it. The way I learn, the way I move, and the person I am is largely because of my brain. Seeing the many ways that the brain can be affected by disease, injury, and chemicals makes me feel much more protective and aware of my brain. I don’t want to do anything that would impair the health of my brain.

The Brain and Knowledge

  The Brain and Knowledge

The brain is an essential part of the human body. Without the brain, we simply cannot live. The brain controls our breathing, keeps our heart beating and blood pumping. It is the site of integrating nerve responses, allowing us to feel pain and move our limbs, and it is the processing site of all our senses. It is where our personalities are found, it controls our thought processes, it allows us to learn and grow. Without it, you would not be you. How does our ability to learn, grow, and change, develop throughout a lifetime? What factors can negatively influence the chemical makeup of the brain? What can we do to allow our brains to function at the highest level possible?

Researchers have found that the prefrontal cortex isn’t fully developed until the age of 25. This is the part of the brain that is associated with higher thought and cognition. “The prefrontal cortex offers an individual the capacity to exercise good judgment when presented with difficult life situations. The prefrontal cortex acquires information from all of the senses and orchestrates thoughts and actions in order to achieve specific goals. (Arain et al. 2013). This is the reason that adolescents and teens often are reckless and occasionally thoughtless while growing up, they lack the ability to reason and make sense of difficult decisions. This shows that as one gets older, they are changing, whether they realize it or not. With age comes maturity and a greater ability to think more deeply about situations. This information is consistent with the way we treat kids as they grow. Slowly over time we transition from baby voices and simple answers to a never under array of questions to giving truthful and thoughtful answers to giving more responsibility and allowing them to decide for themselves. We change and grow over time for various reasons, but a large part of that is owed to the development of the human brain. 

Knowing the human brain is essential, it's interesting to consider the ways that we can negatively impact the brain and its development. The is made up of neurons that send signals throughout the body. They allow us to move, feel pain, and interpret different senses. There is a complex system of how the signals are passed from neuron to neuron. There are synapses that send neurotransmitters to the next, relaying the signal. There are different neurotransmitters for different types of synapses and what is being communicated. Drugs, both legal and illegal, change or block the type of neurotransmitter that is used to relay the message in the synapses. Different drugs work in different ways and therefore have different results. Some inhibit pain, some create feelings of euphoria, there are a wide variety of effects that they can have on the body. What isn’t known is the long-term effect that these drugs can have on the brain. By signaling to the brain to release more or less neurotransmitters, these drugs are changing the chemical makeup of the brain. This could lead to some potentially detrimental side effects. These side effects are only enhanced when the brain is not yet fully developed. The use of drugs chemically alter the brain in ways that are just beginning to be understood.

The power that the brain has is something that I have observed that most people take for granted. Have you ever heard the phrase, “Mind over matter”? When a person is told that, it is trying to convey that their brain is stronger than the obstacle they are trying to overcome. That obstacle could be one of physical endurance or mental perseverance. Whatever the case, the body isn’t always able to discern its limits correctly. In my observations, people are generally able to endure more than they thought they could, they can push themselves harder than they originally thought possible. When we begin to understand that we are the only thing standing in our way, amazing achievements are more possible. Throughout my life I have learned that this is true, we are capable of much more than we considered possible.

I grew up playing basketball and played all four years of high school. I have also coached for my old high school for three years and loved every second of it. It has been strange at times, to be back in my old gym having a much different role in it. I see players make mistakes and slowly begin to crumble as they experience thoughts of self doubt and pity. I see others make mistakes but they learn from them instead and become better players. I have found that when it comes to game time, there are only so many corrections that can be made. They know what they did wrong if they miss a shot or pass the ball to the other team. The fundamentals are all already there, they were developed in practice. The muscle memory that can be formed by the brain is there. They possess the skills needed to be successful. Yet that is not all it takes. There is a mental side to the game. The ability to confront and deal with challenges takes time to develop. Confidence is not something that can be easily taught. As I watch them play, I see the same tendencies and self-doubt that I had when I was in high school. Looking back now, I would play differently in high school and try to help my players learn to think and act differently, to play with more confidence and less stress. A big part of that knowledge comes from a new perspective that I didn’t have while in high school. I have learned and matured in countless ways since then, as I would assume that most people would similarly agree about themselves. With the knowledge I have now, I realize that I had mental limitations that seemed insurmountable at that time. However, my experience of playing basketball and now coaching have shown me first hand how one really does mature over time. What I thought was insurmountable then is much more attainable now. I would say that my cognitive abilities have greatly increased, consistent with the knowledge that the prefrontal cortex continues to develop until the age of 25. The brain is an amazing part of the human body. It is always changing and developing, allowing us to grow as humans.

References: 

Arain M., M. Haque, L. Johal, P. Mathur, W. Nel, A. Rais, R. Sandhu, and S. Sharma. Maturation of the adolescent brain. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2013;9:449-61. doi: 10.2147/NDT.S39776. Epub 2013 Apr 3. PMID: 23579318; PMCID: PMC3621648.