ALCOHOL

Neurotransmitters are either excitatory, meaning that they stimulate brain electrical activity, or inhibitory, meaning
that they decrease brain electrical activity. Alcohol increases the effects of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA in
the brain. GABA causes the sluggish movements and slurred speech that often occur in alcoholics. At the same time,
alcohol inhibits the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate. In addition to increasing the GABA and decreasing the
glutamate in the brain, alcohol increases the amount of the chemical dopamine in the brain's reward center, which
creates the feeling of pleasure that occurs when someone takes a drink.
Alcohol affects the different regions of the brain in different ways:

Cerebral cortex: Alcohol depresses the behavioral inhibitory centers, making the person less inhibited; it
slows down the processing of information from the eyes, ears, mouth and other senses; and it inhibits the thought
processes, making it difficult to think clearly.

Cerebellum: Alcohol affects this center of movement and balance, resulting in the staggering, off-balance
swagger we associate with the so-called "falling-down drunk."

Hypothalamus and pituitary: Alcohol depresses nerve centers in the hypothalamus that control sexual
arousal and performance. Although sexual urge may increase, sexual performance decreases.

Medulla: By acting on the medulla, alcohol induces sleepiness. It can also slow breathing and lower body
temperature, which can be life threatening.
Long-term drinking can leave permanent damage, causing the brain to shrink and leading to deficiencies in the fibers
that carry information between brain cells. Many alcoholics develop a condition called Wernicke-Korsakoff
syndrome, which is caused by a deficiency of thiamine (a B vitamin). This deficiency occurs because alcohol
interferes with the way the body absorbs B vitamins. People with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome experience mental
confusion and lack of coordination, and they may also have memory and learning problems.
The body responds to the continual introduction of alcohol by coming to rely on it. This dependence causes longterm, debilitating changes in brain chemistry. The brain accommodates for the regular presence of alcohol by altering
neurotransmitter production. But when the person stops or dramatically reduces his or her drinking, within 24 to 72
hours the brain goes into what is known as withdrawal as it tries to readjust its chemistry. Symptoms of withdrawal
include disorientation, hallucinations, delirium tremens (DTs), nausea, sweating and seizures.
FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME
Alcohol is especially dangerous to unborn babies. Exposure to alcohol in the womb can lead to fetal alcohol
syndrome, the number one preventable cause of mental impairment.
Inside the developing fetus, the embryonic cells that will eventually form the brain are multiplying and forming
connections. Alcohol exposure in the womb can damage these cells, impairing the development of several structures
in the brain, including the basal ganglia (responsible for spatial memory and other cognitive functions), the
cerebellum (involved in balance and coordination) and the corpus callosum (aids communication between the right
and left halves of the brain). When babies are exposed to alcohol in the womb at any stage of pregnancy, they have
more difficulty later in life with learning, memory and attention. Many are also born with a smaller-than-normal head
and facial abnormalities. Because researchers don't know exactly how much alcohol a mother has to drink to cause
harm, the U.S. Surgeon General recommends that pregnant women abstain from drinking alcohol during pregnancy.
EMPHYSEMA
Emphysema is an irreversible condition in which air becomes trapped in the lungs, making it difficult to exhale.
Emphysema is a type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Emphysema occurs when the alveoli are
damaged and eventually destroyed. As the alveoli are damaged, they take on irregular shapes and develop big holes
in their inner walls. The walls of the alveoli are where oxygen transfer takes place, and when they are damaged,
oxygen is no longer able to enter into your blood stream.
In addition, the damaged alveoli, called blebs, lose the elastic fibers that are required to hold open the alveoli so air
can come out of the lungs when you exhale. Instead, the blebs collapse and trap air inside them, preventing you from
breathing out. This also reduces the volume of air that your lungs can hold since the blebs are taking up lung space
with trapped air; this means you wont be able to breathe in enough oxygenated air to function properly. So if you
have emphysema, you'll feel breathless and have a chronic cough as a result of the airway inflammation. You may
also experience chest tightness, loss of appetite and fatigue.
Treatment commonly involves inhalers to open the airways, supplemental oxygen and other medications, including
steroids, antibiotics or reflux medications. A pulmonary rehabilitation program can help you to stay active and will
provide you with education on how to live with emphysema.
NICOTINE

Nicotine is absorbed through the skin and the mucosal linings in the nose, mouth and lungs, and travels through the
bloodstream to the brain. It stimulates adrenal glands to produce epinephrine. This increases heart rate and blood
pressure while constricting blood vessels; it also stimulates the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that
controls the brain's pleasure center. Nicotine can also be absorbed through your gastrointestinal tract and your skin.
Enzymes in the liver break down most of the nicotine (80%); here it becomes the metabolite cotinine. Nicotine is also
metabolized into cotinine and nicotine oxide by the lungs. Cotinine and other metabolites are excreted in urine, and
they're also found in saliva and hair.
Nicotine causes your body to release the hormone epinephrine, which is the "fight or flight" hormone. Epinephrine
activates the sympathetic nervous system, making your breathing become rapid and shallow, your heart rate
increase, and your blood pressure rise. You're alert.
Nicotine can also lead to insulin sensitivity and insulin resistance, as well as an increased risk of developing
metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. It affects thyroid hormones, pituitary hormones,
sex hormones and adrenal hormones. Insulin resistance in cigarette smokers, for example, may be in part because
nicotine stimulates the body to produce high levels of adrenal androgens -- in other words, nicotine impacts the
body's glucose metabolism, leading to hyperglycemia and hyperglycemia associated with insulin resistance.
Nicotine imitates acetylcholine and binds to the nicotinic receptors. However, unlike acetylcholine, nicotine is not
regulated by your body. While neurons typically release small amounts of acetylcholine in a regulated manner,
nicotine activates cholinergic neurons (which would normally use acetylcholine to communicate with other neurons)
in many different regions throughout your brain simultaneously. Because of all of that unregulated stimulation and
disruption, your body increases its release of acetylcholine, leading to heightened activity in cholinergic pathways
throughout your brain. Activity in the cholinergic pathways calls your body and brain into action, and you feel reenergized. Stimulating those cholinergic neurons also increases how much dopamine gets released by the limbic
system, which activates reward pathways in your brain.
Nicotine stimulates the release of another neurotransmitter, glutamate; glutamate is involved in learning and
memory and enhances the connections between sets of neurons. Glutamate may create a memory loop of the good
feelings you get and further drive the desire to use nicotine.
Nicotine also increases the level of other neurotransmitters and chemicals that modulate how your brain works. For
example, your brain makes more endorphins in response to nicotine. Endorphins are small proteins that are often
called the body's natural painkiller.
Nicotine is addictive. Trying to quit your nicotine habit may cause physical reactions such as strong cravings for the
substance, an increased appetite, insomnia and sleep disturbances, gastrointestinal problems and mood-related
complaints including anxiety, anger and frustration, depression, irritability and restlessness. Smokeless tobacco
products are also addictive.
Today's research finds there may be some positive uses for nicotine through safer delivery methods than cigarettes,
including evidence that it may reduce the risk of developing Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. It may also
show promise as a treatment for depression, anxiety and schizophrenia, and could possibly even help with wound
healing. An oral dose of 50 to 60 milligrams of nicotine is enough to kill a 160-pound person
Nicotine is a stimulant, it causes the cholinergic neurons at the cholinergic receptors in your body to get excited.
When you're exposed to toxic levels of organophosphate, the neurotransmitter acetylcholine builds up at synapses
and disrupts nerve impulses. Acetylcholine is able to imitate the electrical stimulation you'd normally associate with
your vagus nerve, and all that excess acetylcholine overstimulates the neurons. Because nicotine is so similar to
acetylcholine, it too binds to nicotinic cholinergic receptors and, in excess, produces the same overstimulation -- the

more nicotine available in your body to bind to the nicotinic cholinergic receptors, the greater the severity of the
poisoning.
Nicotine poisoning delivers a biphasic effect -- it first acts as a stimulant in the body but rapidly turns into
a depressant. Vomiting is the most common symptom of nicotine poisoning and can begin as quickly as 15 minutes
after ingestion. Nicotine may also cause seizures and involuntary muscle twitching, as well as abnormal heart
rhythms, a slow heart rate and fluctuating blood pressure. In high concentrations, nicotine may cause death within as
little as an hour, usually due to heart failure, muscle paralysis and a buildup of fluid in the lungs' air passages. If
nicotine poisoning is feared, call a poison control center immediately.