meth.

METH

http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/infofacts/methamphetamine

How does meth effect the brain?

Methamphetamine increases the release and blocks the reuptake of the brain chemical (or neurotransmitter) dopamine, leading to high levels of the chemical in the brain—a common mechanism of action for most drugs of abuse. Dopamine is involved in reward, motivation, the experience of pleasure, and motor function. Methamphetamine’s ability to release dopamine rapidly in reward regions of the brain produces the intense euphoria, or “rush,” that many users feel after snorting, smoking, or injecting the drug.

Chronic methamphetamine abuse significantly changes how the brain functions. Noninvasive human brain imaging studies have shown alterations in the activity of the dopamine system that are associated with reduced motor skills and impaired verbal learning.1 Recent studies in chronic methamphetamine abusers have also revealed severe structural and functional changes in areas of the brain associated with emotion and memory,2,3 which may account for many of the emotional and cognitive problems observed in chronic methamphetamine abusers.

http://www.anti-meth.org/brainbody.html

Methamphetamine has lots of other effects…

Because it is similar to dopamine, methamphetamine can change the

function of any neuron that contains dopamine. And if this weren't

enough, methamphetamine can also affect neurons that contain two other

neurotransmitters called serotonin and norepinephrine. All of this means

that methamphetamine can change how lots of things in the brain and the

body work. Even small amounts of methamphetamine can cause a person

to be more awake and active, lose their appetite, and become irritable and

aggressive. Methamphetamine also causes a person's blood pressure to

increase and their heart to beat faster.

Work cited pages.

"InfoFacts: Methamphetamine." Methamphetamine. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/infofacts/methamphetamine>.

http://www.anti-meth.org/brainbody.html

Long Term Effects of Meth

Scientists are using brain imaging techniques, like positron emission

tomography (called PET for short), to study the brains of human

methamphetamine users. They have discovered that even three years

after long-time methamphetamine users had quit using the drug, their

dopamine neurons were still damaged. Scientists don't know yet whether

this damage is permanent, but this research shows that changes in the

brain from methamphetamine use can last a long time. Research with

animals has shown that the drug methamphetamine can also damage

neurons that contain serotonin. This damage also continues long after the

drug use is stopped.

These changes in dopamine and serotonin neurons may explain some of

the effects of methamphetamine. If a person uses methamphetamine for a

long time, they may become paranoid. They may also hear and see things

that aren't there. These are called hallucinations. Because

methamphetamine causes big increases in blood pressure, someone

using it for a long time may also have permanent damage to blood vessels

in the brain. This can lead to strokes caused by bleeding in the brain.