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Explore This Topic

Check Your Understanding

The following questions accompany this lesson. The answers are given below each question. To reveal an answer, place the cursor over "REVEAL THE ANSWER".

1. What is a neurotransmitter?
   

2. How does a neurotransmitter work?
   

3. Compare and contrast dopamine and serotonin.
   

4. What regions of the brain play key roles in drug addiction?
   

5. How does a nerve cell differentiate between serotonin and dopamine when the neurotransmitter comes into contact with its dendrites or cell body?
   

Exercise Your Brain

1. In the lesson video, Professor Sejnowski discussed an experiment done on monkeys in which the alpha male is removed from the group and a junior monkey is selected to receive a drug that increases his serotonin levels (Prozac). As a result, the junior monkey experiences a change in social status. What do you think is the reason for the monkey's change in status, and do you think it would experience the same change if it were not administered Prozac? How applicable do you think these results are to humans? What aspects of the experiment might be relevant to humans, and what other factors might you need to take into consideration if you wanted to test the role of serotonin in human behavior?

2. Crack cocaine initially makes one feel highly alert and energized. The rate of physiological processes increases (i.e. heart rate). However, the user may then experience anxiety, irritability, aggression and delusions. What do you think causes the initial desirable effects of crack cocaine? Furthermore, why do you think one experiences negative effects afterward? Reference the following links for more information:

   http://health.howstuffworks.com/crack3.htm

   http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~lwh/drugs/chap09.htm

3. We use the same word, "craving" to describe the desire for a particular food as we do to describe an addict's need for a particular drug. Have you ever experienced a craving for a food, or felt that a food affected your mood? Working on your own or with a partner, research what is known about how food can affect the brain. Can certain foods influence the release of neurotransmitters? What is known at present, and what questions are scientists still trying to answer? In your search, take note of conflicting claims you come across and the source of those claims. The following links can help get you started:

   http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aa110402a.htm

   http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/T042400.asp

   http://home.howstuffworks.com/question519.htm

   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12117571&dopt=Abstract

   4) Design a public advertisement (magazine, commercial, school campaign, etc.) in which your team portrays the negative effects of addictive drugs on the brain.