Methamphetamine page 7

Okay, okay, we'll admit it. Like a lot of other people we know, most of us here at All Positive Options tended to doze off in chemistry class when we were in school. So when it comes to "scientific analysis" of drug effects on the brain, it can get pretty confusing for us and we would assume, for some of our visitors as well. Moreover, when things get overly technical, sometimes the more important message can get lost in equations and formulae. But the science of how meth works on the brain must be addressed to provide you with a comprehensive and balanced understanding of this drug, so we're going to try and keep it real simple. And we're also going to make use of a terrific flash presentation, developed at the Genetic Engineering Department at The University Of Utah. It's going to make understanding how meth actually affects the brain a lot easier for you.

But before we get "inside" the brain of the person using methamphetamine, let's discuss some of the visible outward effects. First of all, remember that meth puts the user on "high alert," which is basically a degree of paranoia. At the same time, rather than take a "blend into the background so no one notices me" type of posture like most people who are paranoid, meth users can be extremely outgoing and aggressive. In some cases, if they are somewhat predisposed to being violent naturally, meth can produce a person who is often just waiting for someone to do something or say something threatening, at which point they can become really aggressive, or outright violent. Not in all cases mind, you, but some. In a sense, meth often takes the user's natural personality and "magnifes" it, and in some cases, distorts it.

Police officers tell us that when a suspected meth user is stopped in their car, walking along the street, or even in their own home, in many cases the second the meth user detects they might be getting busted, there is an immediate kick-in of the "fight or flight" response. Now combine that with the fact that one of the "side-effects" of meth is that because the user is completely "amped up," they're often physically stronger, they're less inhibited, they have more adrenaline and blood pumping, and some report they feel less physical pain. So the result is in some cases, you end up with Superman with a chip on his shoulder and ready to fight at the drop of a hat.

On the subject of driving, some recent research from Australia (October 2006) tells us something about the driving habits of meth and ecstasy users. While they are less likely to weave between lanes like a drunk driver typically does, they were more likely to drive through stop signs and signal turns incorrectly. Researchers feel this may have something to do with the "tunnel vision" effect of both meth and ecstasy.

Because meth users are more often than not, "polydrug" users, they will often soften the effects of being really high and racy by using other substances like alcohol. So what you often end up with is a paranoid person who might well be hearing voices that aren't really there, they're talking and thinking at rapid-fire speed. Then add a depressant to that mix, and things get really screwed up. One drug inside them is telling them to go fast, possibly another is telling them to slow down and so on. In short, it's not a pretty picture and unlike many drugs, the meth user always has the potential to be a danger to themselves and others because their thinking and logic processes are so far removed from reality.

And talking about reality, consider this - for all intents and purposes, meth users are actually in another time dimension as well. One of the components of the twelve part "Drug Recognition Evaluator" program developed by the LAPD in the 1970s, is a time perception test that's particularly helpful when evaluating a meth user. The subject is asked to close their eyes, tilt their head back and tell the officer when 30 seconds has passed. Typically, someone high on meth will say that thirty seconds has passed between three and twelve seconds later. In effect, they are literally operating under a warped perception of time. This not only has profound effects on them when they're actually high, but think of the ramifications of that when they come down, when they're de-toxing, or when they're in treatment.

Click the "Mouse Party" image below and it will take you to the flash presentation explaining how methamphetamine (and other drugs) "do what they do." (if only they would have had stuff like this when we were in school.) This presentation was created by the Department Of Genetics at The University Of Utah. It's simplified, but still very informative and fun to use. When you start the presentation, and you enter the Mouse Party, just hover your computer's "mouse" over any of the mice in the room to see what drug they've taken. Then put them in the chair and the learning begins!

Dopamine is essential to the brain for feelings of pleasure and different things produce different dopamine "jumps" in the human system. When you pig out on a dessert you really love, you might get a "jump" on the dopamine scale of about 100 - 150. If you use a stimulant such as cocaine, the jump might go to 340. Using meth, you're typically going to get a jump exceeding 1000 on the scale. Suffice to say, meth has the potential to make your brain feel really, really good.

At any rate, the dopamine binds to receptors in the brain, and after the initial bind, the dopamine is reabsorbed. Stimulants like cocaine and amphetamine mimic dopamine and bind to receptors. The difference is that after they bind, they block the re-absorption of dopamine, therefore increasing pleasure. We've mentioned earlier in our examination of meth that some people can dabble with it and not become addicted. However, most of the research indicates that just after one use, at the very least, meth makes an imprint or impression on the brain.

The human brain is not only incredibly complex, it's wonderfully adaptive. Within the context of meth, once your brain gets used to having methamphetamine causing that cascading release of norepinephrine and dopamine (and to a lesser extent, serotonin,) it adapts to it. But here's the problem, and this applies to most drugs that are abused, including alcohol. Once your brain adapts enough to the substance to feel that it's "normal" to feel that way, then that means being under the influence of that substance becomes your new "normal" state of being. And that means that when you stop using that substance, "real" normal feels anything but normal - in fact, it usually feels like hell.

So once it has adapted to the substance, the message the brain gets is: "This feels good." "This feels normal." "This feels right." "Therefore, this is right and is working toward my survival." And of course when you stop using, the brain is saying, "This feels bad." "This does not feel normal." "This feels wrong." "Therefore, this is wrong and is working against my ability to survive."