Lesson 6 - Drugs and Alcohol: Biology Notes PDF

Drugs Biology: Health, Lifestyle, and Infection Lesson 1: Pathogens Lesson 2: How the Body Defends Itself Lesson 3: Antimicrobials and Vaccines Lesson 4: Diseases You Can’t Catch Lesson 5: Lifestyle and Risk Factors Lesson 6: Drugs Lesson 7: Review Lesson 8: Test Learning Goals Define and clas...

Drugs Biology: Health, Lifestyle, and Infection Lesson 1: Pathogens Lesson 2: How the Body Defends Itself Lesson 3: Antimicrobials and Vaccines Lesson 4: Diseases You Can’t Catch Lesson 5: Lifestyle and Risk Factors Lesson 6: Drugs Lesson 7: Review Lesson 8: Test Learning Goals Define and classify different types of drugs including: Alcohol Nicotine containing products Opiates Stimulants Marijuana Hallucinogens Describe the effects of alcohol on health. Describe the effects of nicotine containing products on health. Recap- Stress List 2 non-communicable diseases where long term stress is a risk factor. Drugs A drug is any chemical substance that changes the way the body works. This can include changes to the nervous system. Drugs What are some examples of drugs? Drugs Drugs can be addictive. This is because drugs trigger the “award system” in our brain. Drugs are more addictive to teenagers than adults because MRI scan of how the brains of teenagers are still dopamine influences neurons in the brain developing. Recap- Year 7 Biology What is the name of the part of the brain that continues to develop into your 20s? Drugs If a person takes drugs, their body and brain gets used to the changes caused by the drug. This is called dependency. Drugs This happens because the brain and body try to counteract the effects of the drug. Drugs When you stop taking the drug, the negative feelings you experience are called withdrawal symptoms. Drugs We can classify drugs based on how they are used: Medicinal drugs (ex. painkillers, antibiotics) are used to help with symptoms of a disease or condition. Recreational drugs (ex. Alcohol, nicotine, ecstasy, caffeine) are used for leisure or enjoyment purposes. Drugs Drugs We can classify drugs based on how they affect the nervous system. Type Effect Example Stimulants Increase activity in parts of the Cocaine, amphetamine brain and body Depressants Decrease activity in parts of the Alcohol, heroin brain and body Painkillers Decrease sensations of pain Opioids, heroin Hallucinogens Change how we see, hear, and LSD, DMT feel our surroundings Stimulants Stimulants increase the effects of chemicals in our brain that deal with: Energy levels Happiness Pleasure/motivation Attention Memory Confidence Stimulants Different stimulants affect the brain in different ways. Amphetami Ecstasy Cocaine nes Energy levels X X X Happiness X Motivation X Attention X X Alertness & X Awareness Confidence X Stimulants Stimulants Depressants- Alcohol Depressants slow down activity of the nervous system. Alcohol is an example of a depressant- it shuts down parts of your brain. Depressants- Alcohol The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that stops us from doing stupid things. It is the first part of the brain to shut down when people start to drink alcohol. Depressants- Alcohol The short-term effects of alcohol include: Poor judgement/decision making Loss of memory Slow reaction times Movement becomes affected (often fine movements like your speech or using your hands) Passing out Depressants- Alcohol Short term effects of alcohol- poor judgement, slower reaction times, movement becomes affected. Depressants- Alcohol The long-term effects of alcohol include: Liver damage Brain damage Increased risk of stroke Depressants- Alcohol Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can lead to miscarriages, developmental problems, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (a condition which affects the way a baby’s brain develops). Depressants- Alcohol Pain Killers- Opioids Opioids come in many different forms, but they all act on the parts of the brain which deal with pain (opiate receptors). The effects of opioids are: Lack of pain Feelings of pleasure Shallow breathing Constipation Relaxation and sleep Pain Killers- Opioids If you are lacking the opioids your body has become dependent on, you will not have the same feelings of pleasure. People with serious opioid addictions gradually take more and more of the drug to experience the original effects. This can lead to people taking too much, overdosing, and stopping breathing. Hallucinogens Hallucinogens can be human made (LSD, DMT), or natural (cactus plants and certain types of mushrooms). They cause people to hallucinate (see and hear things differently. See things that are not really there.) Hallucinogens Hallucinogen users call the hallucination a trip. Some trips can be enjoyable, and others can be extremely frightening. Hallucinogens There is research into using some hallucinogens to help people with PTSD. The hallucinogens seem to shut off parts of the brain that are very active in PTSD. Marijuana Sometimes it is not always clear what category a drug falls into. For example, marijuana contains a mixture of different chemicals- some are stimulants, some are depressants, and some are hallucinogens. Marijuana Marijuana Marijuana activates areas of the brain that we do not fully understand yet. The effects of marijuana include: Feeling happy and relaxed Talkative Things seem more interesting Increased appetite Marijuana If used at a high dose, marijuana can cause sickness and paranoia. Marijuana can also make small existing mental health problems worse. Nicotine Nicotine is the chemical inside tobacco, vapes, and snus. The effects of nicotine are: Lower appetite Increased mood Improved alertness Improved memory Nicotine Nicotine is also damaging to our health. It can: Increase blood pressure (and therefore the risk of heart disease or stroke) Speeds up plaque building up in our arteries (and therefore increasing the risk of stroke and heart attack) Nicotine Tobacco smoke contains chemicals that can cause cancer and lung disease. Nicotine Vaping and smoking can also cause lung damage which increases the risk of lung disease. Nicotine Habit Increased cancer Lung damage Negative effects risk of nicotine Smoking X X X Vaping X X Snusing X