The Brain & Addiction

The Brain & Addiction

2022-2023

Ms. Lanie Roy

The Brain

The brain is made up of
many parts that all work
together as a team. Each
of these different parts
has a precise and
important job to do.
When drugs and alcohol
enter the brain, they
interfere with its normal
tasks and can eventually
lead to changes in how
well it works. Over time,
drug use can lead to
addiction, a devastating
brain disease.

What are different parts
of the brain and what do
they do?

Open Ended

What is at least one part of the brain? Do you know what it does?

Parts of the Brain and What They Do:

Frontal lobe

●Personality, behavior,
emotions

●Judgment, planning,
problem solving

●Speech: speaking and
writing (Broca’s area)

●Body movement (motor
strip)

●Intelligence, concentration,
self awareness

Parts of the Brain and What They Do:

Parietal lobe

●Interprets language, words

●Sense of touch, pain,
temperature (sensory
strip)

●Interprets signals from
vision, hearing, motor,
sensory and memory

●Spatial and visual
perception

Parts of the Brain and What They Do:

Occipital lobe

●Interprets vision (color, light,
movement)

Temporal lobe

●Understanding language
(Wernicke’s area)

●Memory

●Hearing

●Sequencing and organization

Why do you

think the use of

alcohol (and
other certain

substances) are

illegal for

people under

the age of 21?

Open Ended

Why do you think the use of alcohol and other substances are illegal for people under the age of 21?

Your brain is still

developing.

How would you
describe what
Addiction is?

Open Ended

In your words, describe addiction:

What is addiction?

Substance Addiction is a chronic brain disease that causes a person to take drugs or
alcohol repeatedly, despite the harm they cause. The first time a person uses drugs,
it’s usually a free choice. However, repeated drug use can change the brain, driving a
person to seek out and use drugs over and over, despite negative effects such as
stealing, losing friends, family problems, or other physical or mental problems
brought on by drug use.

Drugs and Alcohol affect mostly three areas of the brain:

The brain stem is in charge of all the functions our body needs to stay alive—breathing, moving blood, and

digesting food. It also links the brain with the spinal cord, which runs down the back and moves muscles and

limbs. It also lets the brain know what’s happening to the body.

The limbic system links together a bunch of brain structures that control our emotional responses, such as

feeling pleasure when we eat chocolate or kiss someone we love. The good feelings motivate us to repeat

the behavior, which can be good because things like eating and love are critical to our lives.

The cerebral cortex is the mushroom-shaped outer part of the brain (the gray matter). In humans, it is so

big that it makes up about three-fourths of the entire brain. It’s divided into four areas, called lobes, which

control specific functions. Some areas process information from our senses, allowing us to see, feel, hear,

and taste. The front part of the cortex, known as the frontal cortex or forebrain, is the thinking center. It

powers our ability to think, plan, solve problems, and make decisions

How do
drugs affect
your brain?

When someone puts different substances into
their body they tap into the brain’s
communication system and tamper with the
way nerve cells normally send, receive, and
process information. Different
drugs—because of their chemical
structures—work differently. We know there
are at least two ways drugs work in the brain:

●Imitating the brain’s natural chemical
messengers

●Over stimulating the “reward circuit” of
the brain

What
factors/influences can
have an impact on
addiction?

Open Ended

What is at least one factor or influences that can have an impact on addiction?

What factors increase the

risk of addiction?

Although we know what happens to the
brain when someone becomes addicted,
we can’t predict how many times a person
must use a substance before becoming
addicted. A combination of factors related
to your genes, environment, and your
personal development increases the
chance that taking drugs will lead to
addiction.

What factors

increase the risk

of addiction?

Home and family: Parents or older
family members who use alcohol or
drugs, or who are involved in criminal
behavior, can increase a young
person’s risk for developing a drug
problem.

Peers and school: Friends and
acquaintances who use drugs can
sway young people to try drugs for
the first time. Academic failure or
poor social skills can also put a
person at risk for drug use.

Addiction Factors:

Early use: Although taking drugs at any age can lead to addiction, research shows that the earlier a person

begins to use drugs, the more likely they are to progress to more serious use. This may reflect the harmful

effect that drugs can have on the developing brain. It also may be the result of early biological and social

factors, such as genetics, mental illness, unstable family/friend relationships, and exposure to physical or

sexual abuse. Still, the fact remains that early drug use is a strong indicator of problems ahead—among

them, substance use and addiction.

Method of use:Smoking a drug or injecting it into a vein increases its addictive potential. Both smoked and

injected drugs enter the brain within seconds, producing a powerful rush of pleasure. However, this

intense "high" can fade within a few minutes, and the person no longer feels good. Scientists believe that

this low feeling drives people to repeat drug use in an attempt to recapture the high pleasurable state.

References:

https://mayfieldclinic.com/pe-anatbrain.htm

https://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/brain-and-addiction#topic-2

National Institute on Drug Abuse; National Institutes of Health; U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services.