Smoking cigarettes, hookahs, cigars and pipes sends thousands of chemicals including nicotine into the body. The chemical nicotine in cigarettes produces both physical and emotional effects on the brain and can cause dependence, meaning that...
According to "Psychology Today," although there are over 4,000 chemicals in cigarettes, it is mainly the nicotine that is affecting the brain. It does this just like drugs do. Quite rapidly, a person becomes addicted to nicotine, then builds...
The impact of music on the brain is documented via MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging. The MRI shows areas of the brain that are active during times when music is played, notes Stanford University. Music has a strong impact on the brain, the...
Smoking cigarettes is one of the hardest addictions to end, because many regions of the brain are wired for reinforcement of smoking. Nicotine, the main active component of cigarettes, acts on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the brain....
Homeostasis is a process of maintaining certain body states at equilibrium, to ensure normal body function to sustain life. The brain, in conjunction with the autonomic nervous system, or ANS, regulates emotions, appetite, heart rate, breathing...
Dopamine is a chemical that signals nerves and regulates a number of important functions in the brain. Imbalances in dopamine or miscommunication in dopamine signaling can result in a number of problems, including dyskinesias, which are trouble...
Crystal meth, known pharmacologically as methamphetamine, is a stimulant drug that affects the nervous system by increasing the activity of certain neurotransmitters known as monoamines. According to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, the...
Drugs, despite their molecular mechanism or intended use, tend to effect the brain via the same chemical channels. Addictive substances work by initiating a section of the brain, the ventral tegmental area, that immediately floods it with the...
Like a computer, the human brain requires proper input for it to function appropriately. Since the brain is a biological organ, this input consists of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that contribute to cellular growth and biochemical...
Stem cell researchers are working to determine whether the use of stem cells could lead to better treatment or a cure for Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's symptoms occur when the brain cells that produce dopamine, an essential neurotransmitter...
Mapping the mental activity of the brain shows that music stimulates parts of this organ just as food, drugs and sex do, reveals a report in the "Canadian Geographic" magazine. It is apparent that music can affect emotions and mood in...
Serotonin is one of the most important brain chemicals, or neurotransmitters, for regulating the sleep/wake cycle. Diets high in the amino acid tryptophan can maintain healthy serotonin levels, but lifestyle choices like constant travel and an...
According to MedlinePlus, a medical information resource established by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, drug abuse is defined as the use of illegal drugs or the misuse of prescribed or over-the-counter medication for at least a year, with...
Derived from the amino acid tyrosine, dopamine is a phenethylamine neurotransmitter prominent in midbrain neurons. It is the metabolic precursor to the "fight-or-flight" neurohormones norepinephrine and epinephrine--better known as adrenaline....
Dopamine, a neurotransmitter, transmits signals from neurons to neurons, though few neurons make dopamine. It is when these dopamine neurons are activated that they release the dopamine. There are two parts of the brain that are involved, the...
Dopamine functions as a chemical messenger in three major brain circuits, namely the nigrostriatal, mesolimbic and mesocortical systems. The nigrostriatal system extends from the substantia nigra and terminates in the brain's motor control...
The idea that morbid obesity may be a disease characterized by excessive and compulsive overeating may be somewhat controversial, but not too far-fetched. That is the conclusion of two major studies examining the response of dopamine, a...
