PSYC 311 Chapter Notes - Chapter 18.1: Recreational Drug Use, Addiction, Reinforcement
9 Jun 2016
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Drug addiction poses a serious problem to our species. All of these substances stimulate brain mechanisms responsible for positive reinforcement. In addition, most of them also reduce or eliminate unpleasant feelings, some of which are produced by the drugs themselves. Long ago, people discovered that many substances found in nature, esp. leaves, seeds, and roots, had medicinal qualities, and some had pleasurable effects. The most universal recreational drug and perhaps the first one to be discovered is ethyl alcohol. Other recreational drugs were then discovered, e. g. coca leaves, tobacco, coffee, opium, cannabis, etc: many of these drugs were actually poisons that served to protect the plants from animals that ate them. However, people learned to take these drugs in quantities that were not immediately toxic, and the effects of these drugs on their brain kept them coming back for more.
