The brain is one of the most complex organs you have, responsible for regulating all of your basic functions, how you experience the world around you, how you think, and how you act. How does addiction affect brain chemistry? Addiction has a profound impact on your brain chemistry and can interfere with the way your brain is supposed to work. Thankfully, with the right type of treatment, you can get help to reverse that detriment.
How the Brain Works
The brain works by way of electrical circuits called neurons responsible for controlling how information moves from one place to the other. Neurons receive signals from one another and then send messages back through interconnected neural networks.
You have neurons that link from every part of your body to your brain, sending messages from your nerves through your spinal cord. Neurotransmitters exist in between these neurons and they act like doors that open and close to allow messages in and out.
So, how does addiction affect brain chemistry?
How Does Addiction Affect Brain Chemistry?
The biggest impact of addiction on brain chemistry is the way it interferes with these neurotransmitters.
Each drug is a bit different.
Marijuana and Heroin
Marijuana and heroin have chemical structures that mimic neurotransmitters, so they can hijack the brain and activate neurons that would otherwise not be activated. So, the drugs are able to attach to your neurons, and because they have similar chemicals to what your brain produces, they can allow messages to be sent. However, these are abnormal messages, and they don’t transmit the information the right way.
Cocaine and Amphetamines
Cocaine and amphetamines change the neurotransmitters that are released by your neurons. Under normal circumstances, messages get sent to your neurons, and certain neurotransmitters or chemicals are released and recycled by the brain.
For example, when you eat a healthy meal or exercise, you might get a release of neurotransmitters that increase your mood and your pleasure senses, but after about twenty minutes, those levels get recycled, and you go back to feeling normal.
With these types of drugs like cocaine and amphetamines, your brain is inhibited, so it can’t recycle these chemicals. This means that your neurons get disrupted, and communication is hindered.
What Brain Chemistry is Altered by Addiction
So, what parts of the brain and brain chemistry are altered by addiction?
Prefrontal Cortex
One of the most important changes happens with a prefrontal cortex. This is the part of your brain that’s responsible for making decisions and for impulse control. With a high functioning prefrontal cortex you’ll be able to control your impulsive behaviors and make smart decisions that are good for your overall health.
However, addiction causes the prefrontal cortex to shrink physically, and that means the size of the brain that powers your control and your good habits get smaller. When this happens, you have a reduced ability to control negative behaviors.
Amygdala
Tangentially, the amygdala gets bigger. The amygdala is the opposite of your prefrontal cortex in that it releases feelings of unease, irritability, or anxiety. It is also where you are more likely to make base, impulsive behaviors due to your most basic needs.
Under normal circumstances, the prefrontal cortex helps to balance out the amygdala, but over time, drug use changes the brain chemistry here, and the amygdala gets larger. When this gets bigger, you become more sensitive to the discomfort that comes from not having drugs compared to the high of having drugs.
It is this discomfort that increases the perception of severe withdrawal symptoms, unquenchable cravings, irritability, anxiety, and paranoia. It’s this brain change that results in what feels like an unstoppable need to keep using drugs.
Getting Help for Addiction at Peninsula Health Center
At Peninsula Health Center, we understand the impact that addiction has on brain chemistry. That is why we specialize in holistic drug rehab that really works. With several levels of care, you can utilize our step-down approach, going from an intensive outpatient program to outpatient care and sober living.
With a focus on holistic addiction treatment, you will find access to dual diagnosis programs for co-occurring mental health conditions, yoga, mindfulness, and trauma-informed care. Each level of care and each form of treatment is designed to help reverse or repair the damage done to your brain and body by addiction.
How does addiction affect brain chemistry? It can impede your reward system, making it harder to experience pleasure from daily activities, change your susceptibility to mood disorders and depression, interfere with memory or focus, and more. However, with the right program, you can get help for addiction today.
Contact Peninsula Health Center for more information about our outpatient programs.
