Question

Describe the nervous system, regions of the brain, and states of consciousness. Now identify the substance you have chosen. How does the drug interact with the nervous system and brain? Which part(s) of the body and brain are the most impacted by this drug and what happens? Compare consciousness prior to taking the drug, when the drug is obtained and ingested, and after the drug has been metabolized. Describe how you might obtain the same experiences of the drug without taking another substance.

Answer 1

The brain is the most complex part of the human body. It is the center of consciousness and also controls all voluntary and involuntary movement and bodily functions. It communicates with each part of the body through the nervous system, a network of channels that carry electrochemical signals.
The nervous system can be thought of as the body’s communication network that consists of all nerve cells. There are many ways in which we can divide the nervous system to understand it more clearly. One common way to do so is by parsing it into the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system.
The Central Nervous System, or CNS for short, is made up of the brain and spinal cord (see Figure 1). The CNS is the portion of the nervous system that is encased in bone (the brain is protected by the skull and the spinal cord is protected by the spinal column).

ocaine increases levels of the natural chemical messenger dopamine in brain circuits related to the control of movement and reward.

Cocaine
Cocaine increases levels of the natural chemical messenger dopamine in brain circuits related to the control of movement and reward.
Normally, dopamine recycles back into the cell that released it, shutting off the signal between nerve cells. However, cocaine prevents dopamine from being recycled, causing large amounts to build up in the space between two nerve cells, stopping their normal communication. This flood of dopamine in the brain’s reward circuit strongly reinforces drug-taking behaviors, because the reward circuit eventually adapts to the excess of dopamine caused by cocaine, and becomes less sensitive to it. As a result, people take stronger and more frequent doses in an attempt to feel the same high, and to obtain relief from withdrawal.

We are conscious till we ingest drug, Consciousness is a term meant to indicate awareness. It includes awareness of the self, of bodily sensations, of thoughts and of the environment. But when we metabolise the drugs it alter the way nerve cells normally send, receive, and process information. They do this by (1) imitating the brain’s natural chemical messengers, (2) by over-stimulating the “reward circuit” of the brain, (3) flooding the brain with excess chemicals, and (4) binding to receptors in the brain and this results in the “high” you feel when you take these drugs.