By: Chris Paiva    Main transmitter for pleasure and attention. First, tyrosine, then becomes L-dopa, then finally Dopamine Part of Catecholamine family, which includes: norepinephrine and epinephrine.  Natural reward circuits . Whelp….. Also, an integral part of addiction.   This is adderall…….. Literally. It’s similar to catecholamines As for comparison, this is crystal meth:  Much wow. Such similarity. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPZwmCPBAs     What happens to the synapse? Dopamine stays in synapse Continues firing for long time Causes attentiveness, a sense of calm, and focus.  According to a study conducted by the Brookhaven National Laboratory in 2001, dopamine (as explained earlier) floods the brain about an hour after the ingestion of cognitive enhancer. According to researcher Nora Volkow "[...]by increasing the levels of extracellular dopamine, you can activate these motivational circuits and make the tasks that children are performing seem much more exciting." The results of the PET scans used in the research also seem to indicate that this flood of dopamine suppresses the firing of neurons not associated with dopamine and task and reward pathways. Because the "random activation of other cells" can be distracting, the shut-down of other activity restricts cognition to the task at hand, whatever that may be.  http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/pubaf/pr/2001/bnlpr011501a.html     Yes, it allows the user to fully concentrate on the task at hand. Be careful though! Even though Adderall gives the user focus, it does not mean that the user will focus on what matters. i.e. Researching for hours on a paper due tomorrow, but never actually writing it. Also, it kinda drains your creativity. Not in a literal sense, but in the sense that the creative part of the task is not necessary and is forgotten or dropped.      First, it depletes your Dopamine neurotransmitters. Graph Second, after the high comes the crash. Third, there is a whole variety of side effects. Fourth, its addictive.  And etc               Nervousness Restlessness Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep Uncontrollable shaking of a part of the body Headache Changes in sex drive or ability Dry mouth Stomach pain Nausea Vomiting Diarrhea Constipation Loss of appetite Weight loss              These side effects are usually combined with genetic disorders and/or allergic reactions: Fast or pounding heartbeat Shortness of breath Chest pain Excessive tiredness Slow or difficult speech Dizziness or faintness Weakness or numbness of an arm or leg Seizures Motor tics or verbal tics Believing things that are not true Feeling unusually suspicious of others Hallucinating (seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist)             Mania (frenzied or abnormally excited mood) Aggressive or hostile behavior Changes in vision or blurred vision Fever Blistering or peeling skin Rash Hives Itching Swelling of the eyes, face, tongue, or throat Difficulty breathing or swallowing Hoarseness Death    Adderall is a Schedule II controlled substance, which means there is a high risk for addiction or abuse. There is a rising trend of college students abusing Adderall and similar drugs, like Ritalin, to perform better on tests and papers. A study by theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found that full-time college students were twice as likely as non-students to have used Adderall nonmedically. Affordable at roughly $6-$8 street value, it is easy for college students to get their hands on Adderall illegally. http://www.samhsa.gov/data/2k9/adderall/adderall. htm  Given the effectiveness of Adderall as a “study drug,” the stimulant is becoming increasingly common in collegiate lifestyles. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) reports that 15% of college students have admitted to using some form of psychotherapeutic drugs for non-medical use. The survey found that college students most likely to abuse Adderall were male, Caucasian, fraternity and sorority members, and students with lower grade point averages.    Over time, your body adjusts to the fact that Adderall becomes a part of your routine. When losing that routine; the body panics and does not know how to support itself with enough dopamine to focus. That’s why people complain of a brain “fogginess” when coming down from a high, or cutting off after consistent use of Adderall. Not only physical dependence, but psychological dependence as well.    One person said “I don’t think I’m addicted…..I just can’t imagine not taking it ” “I attend a major university….I take two pills when I have a ton of work to do….Without Adderall I failed one class….I began to take Adderall again and saw a huge improvement” “Its just a small price to pay for the ‘A’”.    Since Adderall is an amphetamine; abuse of this drug leads increased tolerance. To feel the same high, one must take an increased dose. Overtime, this cycle repeats itself endlessly till the user either quits using Adderall, or dies.   Studies have shown that misuse of Adderall and long-term use can permanently alter and damage the brain . Since the amphetamines are able to prevent the reuptake of catecholamines such as dopamine back into the presynaptic neuron, dopamine is able to remain in the synapse for some time and lead to increased activation of the receptors on the postsynaptic neuron. However, reuptake is necessary to metabolize dopamine back into its components so that they can be recycled into making dopamine again. Without this reuptake, the dopamine gets washed away, thereby eliminating its components from the neurons and lowering the concentration of this catecholamine in the neural system [15]. Thus, Adderall "tricks the brain that it doesn't need to make dopamine, and dopamine is the only chemical in the brain that once it is damaged, you never get it back," said Fallon Schultz, a licensed clinical social worker from New Jersey. Since dopamine is needed to control emotions and prevent aggression, "that results in severe depressions and mood dysregulation," which has caused high rates of aggression, psychosis, and suicide for many long-term users of Adderall, as shown by studies at UCLA. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/adderall-psychosissuicide-college-students-abuse-studydrug/story?id=12066619&singlePage=true#.TwKv-WDWZ97   Studies show that brains afflicted with ADHD malfunction in the frontal cortex. The frontal cortex is involved with primarily executive functions like reasoning, planning, focusing, and problem solving. It is in this part of the brain that dopamine, an important neurotransmitter, has been found to be deficient. Without proper concentrations of dopamine in the frontal cortex, these executive functions suffer. To treat this disorder, prescription drugs like Adderall may be prescribed to patients. These amphetamines are thought to treat ADHD by blocking the reuptake of dopamine from the neural synapses and increasing the uptake into subsequent neurons. The increased dopamine flow in the frontal cortex then allows the brain to carry on its executive functions as a normal brain would, thus counteracting the effects of ADHD.   Does the use of Adderall by those not diagnosed with ADHD pose the threat of an addiction? Is an addiction to a drug that seems to make you more efficient a bad thing? Some say yes, some say no.      It makes a better you. Its moving forward in evolution. Everyone else is doing it. You need to do it as well to stay competitive in this society. The end result justifies the means. In moderation, there are no severe, harmful side effects.     Its an unfair advantage to those who are perfectly healthy and still use the drug to get ahead. Steroids in sports are illegal, why aren’t these brain steroids illegal? The human brain should not be dependent on outside resources like adderall. It gives an advantage to those who have money and are willing to break the law. Unequal opportunity.    There was one part of the reading that was really interesting. British Medical Association wrote a paper in 2007 stating that these “neuroenhancers” leveled the playing field since studies show that “neurohancers are less helpful for those who score above average.” Could Adderall level the playing field for those who don’t need it?     Do the ends really justify the means? Is cognitive enhancers and cosmetic neurology a step forward? Or is it a crutch that makes people dependent on enhancers for life? Neuroenhancers don’t offer freedom. Rather, they facilitate a pinched, unromantic, grindingly efficient form of productivity.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBOsUEFG C7E  Yay!  By Chris Paiva Office Hours: 1-2pm at Middle of Muir (MOM) 