Altered Consciousness
By Lucia and Jaleena
Unit 5/Chapter 5
Psychoactive Drugs- a substance that alters perception and mood.
Stimulants
a drug that increases the activity in your brain
Deppressants
a drug that decreases the activity in your brain
Opiates
drugs that relieve pain and produce euphoria
Psychedelic Drugs
Consciousness-altering drugs that produce hallucinations, change thought process, time and speed
Tolerance
Increased resistance to a drugs effects accompanying continued use
Withdrawal
Stopping use of a drug, users experience withdrawal effects
Addiction
Craving for a chemical substance despite consequences
Dependence
Absence of a drug may lead to a feeling of physical pain, intense cravings and negative emotions
Using psychoactive drugs, be it to find pleasure or to avoid pain, can harm health and cause social problems both in the short and longer term.
Psychoactive drugs affect communication between brain cells in certain regions of the brain. For instance, some drugs mimic and others block the effects of naturally occurring molecules that carry specific messages from one brain cell to another.
Drug addiction is more common among people with mental disorders than among the general population. For example, people with mental disorders are more likely to be alcohol dependent at some stage in their lives than people without a mental illness.