brain
Articles Related to brain
- Adolescent Amphetamine Abuse May Permanently Change Brain Cells
New animal research shows that amphetamine abuse during adolescences permanently changes brain cells. This is especially worrisome because many children and teens abuse amphetamines that are often prescribed to people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, such as Adderall. When healthy individuals between the ages of 12 to 17 abuse these drugs, they risk permanently altering their brain cells.
- Dopamine Model Helps Explain Drug Addiction, Schizophrenia
Researchers have created a model that shows how dopamine is released in the brain, which could help scientists develop better treatments for drug addiction and schizophrenia. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays an important role in transmitting signals between nerve cells, and helps control the ways in which we behave.
- Studying the Separate and Joint Effects of Alcohol and Tobacco on the Brain
A new study has found that alcohol abuse elevated the expression of a distinct set of genes in the brain’s nucleus accumbens (NAC) and ventral tegmental area (VTA), while nicotine blunted this effect in the VTA. The NAC is a core region of the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic system and is interconnected with the VTA and the prefrontal cortex. The mesocorticolimbic system is thought to be central to the reinforcing effects of many drugs and plays an important role in addiction.
- Marijuana Damages Teen’s Brains More Than Originally Thought
According to new research by Dr. Gabriella Gobbi, a psychiatric researcher from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, the damaging effects of marijuana on young brains are worse than originally thought. Science Daily reports that the new study, published in Neurobiology of Disease, suggests that daily consumption of cannabis in teens can cause depression and anxiety, and have an irreversible long-term effect on the brain. Canadian teenagers are among the largest consumers of cannabis worldwide.
- Study Shows Awareness Deficit in Marijuana Abusers
A new study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has used brain-imaging technology to show that during a decision game, chronic marijuana users show less activity in an error-processing part of their brains than peers who do not use marijuana.
- Ecstasy Use Linked to Sleep Apnea
New research shows that regular users of the club drug Ecstasy are more likely than nonusers to show signs of sleep apnea—stoppage of breath and gasping for air during deep sleep. The findings will be published in the December 8 issue of Neurology.
- Parkinson’s Patients Offer Insights on Drug Addiction
Researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute have gained new insight into the brain chemistry behind addiction by studying the brains of people with Parkinson’s disease, who are typically polar opposites of drug addicts.