01:830:340 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Nucleus Accumbens, Mydriasis, Meth Mouth
20 Dec 2018
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Given for narcolepsy (need stimulants to stay awake) and obesity. It is so abused because it can be synthesized and cheap to make. Rots people from the inside (methmouth > super rotten teeth) Hard to catch and can be made extremely easy. Psychosis= tweaking (term for users of meth) Skin and organ sores contribute (transmission of hiv) >> dopamine (keeps dopamine in the synapse longer) Rewarding (because it released dopamine from a part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens) Nucleus accumbens (we know its for this, because tested on rats, once you take our the nucleus accumbens they no longer want it) Theory: with time, it becomes less rewarding to the point that people start using it simply so they don"t go through feelings of withdrawal. When people get high, they start associating things with that high (paraphernalia, people, place) Paraphernalia gets them high even before they try the cocaine (conditioned response to the paraphernalia)
