1. Your Brain on Drugs RED RIBBON WEEK 2015

2. Effect of Drugs on the Developing Brain  Your brain does not finish developing until a person is around 20 years old.  The brain of people under 21 years of age is very different from people over 21 years of age.

3. Effect of Drugs on the Developing Brain  Your brain is like a computer!  It comes into the world with the basic operating systems, central nervous systems, respiratory system, reflexes, etc.

4. Effect of Drugs on the Developing Brain  It does not have all the software – the programs for vision, speech, emotions, memory, abstract thinking, problem solving, and attention and concentration.  The brain needs input from the 5 senses to build these capacities.

5. Effect of Drugs on the Developing Brain  The brain not only grows bigger – from one pound at birth to three pounds at adulthood – but it continues to “program” itself for 20 years, completing the developmental process that started before birth.

6. Effect of Drugs on the Developing Brain  As you grow, your brain is creating a complete human being, who is ready to function independently.  The brain is on a schedule, with each stage of development allotted a specific period of time for completion.

7. Effect of Drugs on the Developing Brain  In other words, if anything prevents the brain from accomplishing a developmental task on its schedule, it has to skip that task.  Any substance that interferes with how the brain operates during this 20- year period of development such as psychoactive drugs, can change the course of a person’s physical, mental, emotional, and social development.  Psychoactive means mind or mood altering.

9. Effect of Drugs on the Developing Brain  Some psychoactive drugs are prescribed to treat malfunctions in the brain such as seizures and degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.  When prescribed, these drugs can be life saving.  “Self-prescription” of psychoactive drugs can be harmful or deadly.

10. Effect of Drugs on the Developing Brain Type of harmful psychoactive drugs include:  alcohol  cocaine  amphetamine  methamphetamine  marijuana  hallucinogens  inhalants  nicotine  caffeine  opiates  sedatives  steroids

11. Effect of Drugs on the Developing Brain  Psychoactive drugs change how the brain cells communicate with each other by interfering with neurotransmitters – the messengers that go between brain cells translating the messages to ensure accurate and timely communication between cells.  Psychoactive drugs act like computer viruses; they change, delete, or scramble the code that our computer – the brain – uses to operate.

12. Effect of Drugs on the Developing Brain  They deactivate and activate the brain centers that control speech, hearing, vision, fine movements, gross movements, learning, anger, fear, pain, pleasure, hunger, etc.  For any brain, non-prescribed psychoactive drugs can change the way people think, feel, and behave.  They are altered!

13. Effect of Drugs on the Developing Brain  For a brain that is on a developmental schedule, turning off brain centers, even for a short while, can be devastating.  The use of drugs by children and teens can permanently alter their mental and social development, which is not evident until well after their use.  Missed developmental tasks in teenagers can be devastating and hidden until they need what did not get developed

15. Post-Test  When does the brain complete its development?  How much does the average brain weigh at birth? When fully grown?  What does psychoactive mean?  Are there positive uses for psychoactive drugs? What?

16. Post-Test  What do psychoactive drugs do in the brain – how do they operate?  Why is the use of non-prescribed psychoactive drugs more dangerous for children and adolescents than for adults?  What, if any, piece of information about psychoactive drugs surprised you?