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Drug and Alcohol Information- Pleasure Center Pathways -OverviewMany different human experiences such as affection, food, sex, and music give us a pleasurable feeling. Researchers have recently found that these pleasurable experiences stimulate a common pathway in the brain called the pleasure center.In some people, the chemical pathways to the pleasure center may get interrupted, making pleasure harder to experience. Research shows that this group of people appears to be more impulsive and addictive. Many people with chemical dependency may suffer from a decreased capacity for pleasure. Using drugs and alcohol may be a way of trying to "medicate" their chemical imbalance. Pathways to Chemical ImbalanceBoth environmental and genetic factors may contribute to the chemical imbalance that prevents normal stimulation of the pleasure center. Alcoholism is known to have genetic influences. Growing up in a dysfunctional home environment where a child is deprived of healthy nurturing may also directly or indirectly alter the pathways that stimulate the pleasure center of the child's brain.Addictive use of drugs and alcohol permanently alters the chemistry of the brain. When chronic, increased stimulation of the pleasure center is stopped, people experience cravings. Apparently, the chronic imbalance that develops cannot return to normal. For example, even after long periods of sobriety, resuming alcohol use (a relapse) quickly leads to loss of control, and unmanageability returns to the person's life. Biochemical ProcessesThe central nervous system, including the brain, is made up of neurons. Neurons are long, slender cells that transmit biological and chemical messages. Neurons control movement and sensations, but they also govern internal states such as emotions.We can think of neurons as on-off switches. When they are on, they transmit many signals. When they are off, they are relatively quiet. The chemical that turns neurons off and on is called a neurotransmitter. Examples of neurotransmitters are dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that shuttle back and forth through the space between neurons. This space where the neurotransmitters work is called the synapse. One neuron can activate the next neuron by sending a neurotransmitter to it through the synapse. The specific places on the neuron that receive neurotransmitters are called receptors. Neurotransmitters are released by one neuron, stimulate the receptors of the second neuron, and are then re-absorbed by the first neuron. The process of re-absorption of neurotransmitters works like windshield wipers. It keeps neurotransmitters from building up in the synapse similar to the way windshield wipers keep rain from building up on the windshield. If the neurotransmitters never got re-absorbed, our nervous system would be "turned on" all the time, and the receptors would not be available to receive new messages. How Chemical Dependency Affects the Nervous SystemTaking alcohol or drugs into the body affects the nervous system directly. For example, when you drink alcohol, you trigger a release of endorphins, thus activating the opiate receptors on neurons that then release dopamine. Using heroin stimulates opiate receptors directly, triggering the neuron to release dopamine. Using methamphetamines or cocaine prevents the re-absorption of dopamine, so more is available.Alcohol, heroin, and stimulants all trigger the same biochemical pathways, leading to an excess of dopamine in the synapse. This stimulation of the dopamine receptors in the pleasure center gives us a feeling of pleasure or euphoria. Unfortunately, the nervous system adjusts itself to compensate for excess levels of dopamine. Once our body has adjusted, it's harder to get the same pleasurable results. It's like our body has "raised the bar" for pleasure, and it takes more and more stimulation to get the same level of pleasure. This explains the phenomenon called tolerance. When we use alcohol or drugs over a prolonged period, we create chronically high dopamine stimulation. Our body then compensates for the presence of the addictive substance by making pleasure harder to experience. As a result, after we have been using alcohol or drugs for a long time, we go into withdrawal and we crave the substance we have been abusing when we stop using it. The chemical need that drug abuse creates produces permanent chemical changes in the brain. For this reason, people are never cured of addiction. They can stop the progressive destruction caused by chemical dependency only by staying sober and by not using the drug. Back to The Disease Model of Addiction |
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