{"id":562,"date":"2024-12-17T07:46:15","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T07:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dragonflymedicalandbehavioralhealth.com\/blog\/?p=562"},"modified":"2025-06-26T19:37:42","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T19:37:42","slug":"substance-abuse-affect-the-brain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dragonflymedicalandbehavioralhealth.com\/blog\/substance-abuse-affect-the-brain\/","title":{"rendered":"How Does Substance Abuse Affect the Brain?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The brain is the organ that helps to regulate our body from thinking and feeling to moving and recalling. But how does substance abuse affect the brain? Substance abuse has a devastating effect on the brain, causing an imbalance in the chemical reaction in the brain and changing some of the connections in the brain circuitry.<\/span><\/p>

This can result in several outcomes ranging from immediate to prolonged impact on our thoughts, actions, and health. Now, let us discuss the harmful impact substance abuse has on the brain and the possibility of recovery in more detail.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Reward System: How Substances Hook the Brain<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe brain is engineered to approach rewards. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is released by the brain due to natural stimulation from objects like tasty foods or family members. It makes people feel good and allows them to repeat the rewarding behavior. This system is at the core of our existence and makes us who we are. Reward systems lead to an increased release of dopamine several times larger than what normal rewards can generate in the brain\u2014and the high is generated.<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThis chemical stimulation is often more pleasant than the natural reward, repeatedly pushing the person to look for the substance. With constant exposure to the dopamine hit, the neurochemical pathways become impaired, and the person will no longer be able to feel pleasure from other experiences and activities. The lingering effects of substance use cause a strong desire that clouds our judgment and alters our thinking patterns, leading to addiction.<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Use to Addiction: Brain Changes Fueled by Abuse<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Having established that the brain is vital to human life, it is also important to note that it is very flexible. Repetition of the addictive substance sends signals to the learners’ brains that this is the substance they need to prioritize. The frontal lobe is responsible for making decisions, and the ability to control the individual’s desires reduces. At the same time, the frontal lobe responsible for craving for the substance and seeking also increases.<\/span><\/p>

Whereby this becomes a powerful cycle. Like an addict, as their increased urge to consume alcohol, the decreased ability to control him or herself continues to abstain, and it is used again. This, in turn, increases the drug addiction cycle, thereby making it impossible for the addict to get on their feet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The experiences and activities related to taking the substance and using it fetishize the object and the behavior so that it occurs even in their absence, and the tendency to consume the substance and take the behavioral rituals continues.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Beyond the High: Disrupted Brain Circuits<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Substance use disorder has many unintended consequences for an individual’s well-being. Routinely disrupting this delicate brain chemistry can cause memory loss, affect the learning process, and result in mood swings, among other effects. The brain is unable to manufacture enough dopamine, which makes the body normally feel generally apathetic and demonstrates anhedonia, which means that one can no longer experience pleasure from anything.<\/span><\/p>

This can lead to depression, anxiety, and mood changes. Creativity decreases, diminishing its capabilities to concentrate, make the right decisions, and so on. The nerve damage can be so extensive that permanent disability may result following a stroke or other traumatic brain injuries.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Schedule Appointment Now<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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