Drug Rehab Center Spanaway
Most drugs have an effect upon the brain's “reward circuit,” which produces pleasure, and the brain is filled with the chemical messenger dopamine. A functioning reward system is essential to motivating people to continue doing the survival activities that they need, such as eating or spending time with loved ones. Dopamine increases in the reward system are responsible for reinforcing pleasurable, but potentially dangerous, behavior like drug usage. Therefore, the behavior is often repeated.
A person who continues to use drugs will adapt to the drug by reducing their reward circuit cell response. This will continue as long the individual continues to take drugs. This process, called tolerance, causes the individual's high to decrease compared with when they first took it. They might then try to recreate the same high with more of the chemical. Due to brain alterations, an individual may not be able to enjoy the same pleasures as they once did, such a eating, sexual activity or social interaction.
Other chemical systems and brain circuits are also altered over time, which can result in cognitive and behavioral changes such as learning and memory, judgement, decision-making and stress. Many drug users continue to use drugs even though they recognize the dangers of addiction.