1. SMARTER UK – RESOURCES FOR SCHOOLS
Please feel free to use this PowerPoint presentation in the classroom. It is intended to support the KS3 & KS4 curriculum and the Scottish S3-S4 curriculum.
KEY LEARNING:
The different effects of drugs, from stimulants through to depressants, and how they act upon the central nervous system.
Specific curriculum areas include:
KS3 Science
3.3 Organisms, behaviour and health
c) conception, growth, behaviour and health can be affected by diet, drugs and disease
Links to KS4 GCSE Biology Syllabuses
OCR
3.3 Fundamental Scientific Processes
Item B1e: Drugs and You
Foundation tier only: low demand
Recognise that drugs can be beneficial or harmful.
Explain the terms: addiction, withdrawal symptoms, tolerance and rehabilitation.
Describe the general effects of each drug category:
depressants: slow down brain’s activity
pain killers: block nerve impulses
stimulants: increase brain’s activity
performance enhancers: muscle development
hallucinogens: distort what is seen and heard
Both tiers: standard demand
Recall examples of drugs:
depressants, limited to alcohol, solvents and temazepam
pain killers, limited to aspirin and paracetamol
stimulants, limited to nicotine, ecstasy and caffeine
performance enhancers, limited to anabolic steroids
hallucinogens, limited to LSD
Higher Tier only: high demand
Explain the action of depressants and stimulants on the synapses of the nervous system:
depressants bind with receptor molecules in the membrane of the next neurone blocking the transmission of the impulses
stimulants cause more neurotransmitter to cross the synapse
OCR 21st Century Science
MODULE B6: BRAIN AND MIND – OVERVIEW
B6.6 How do drugs affect our nervous systems? Effects of Ecstasy on synapse action.
AQA
11.3 How do we use/abuse medical and recreational drugs?
Drugs can be beneficial but may harm the body.
Drugs change the chemical processes in people’s bodies so that they may become dependent or addicted to them and suffer withdrawal symptoms without them. Heroin and cocaine are very addictive.
Edexcel
Topic 3: Problems of, and solutions to a changing environment
3.2) Describe the general effects of:
painkillers that block nerve impulses, including morphine
hallucinogens that distort sense perception, including LSD
stimulants that increase the speed of reactions and neurotransmission at the synapse, including caffeine
depressants that slow down the activity of the brain, including alcohol
Scottish S3-S4 science
Health and Wellbeing - Substance misuse
HWB 3-38a/HWB 4-38a . I understand the positive effects that some substances can have on the mind and body but I am also aware of the negative and serious physical, mental, emotional, social and legal consequences of the misuse of substances

2. Drugs and the human body
How do drugs affect the brain?

3. in the brain most drugs work by altering activity at the synapse
nerve endings
dendrites
neurotransmitter
vesicle
synaptic cleft
receptor
myelin sheath
cell body
the signal
is transmitted to another neurone across a junction called a synapse by chemicals called neurotransmitters.
nucleus
axon
Smarter UK

4. different drugs do different things to the brain
Some drugs affect the whole brain
(e.g. alcohol)
Others mainly affect specific areas (e.g. cocaine)
Some drugs mimic the effects of neurotransmitters (e.g. heroin)
Many drugs change the rate that neurotransmitters are released into and removed from the synaptic cleft (e.g. ecstasy)
Credit: Wellcome Library, London
Smarter UK

5. pain killers hallucinogens
different drugs give a different experience to the drug-user
Some drugs, such as morphine, block nerve impulses that cause pain. These are known as…
pain killers
Some drugs, such as alcohol and solvents, slow down the brain’s activity by making the synapse less active. These are known as… depressants
Some drugs, such as LSD distort what the user sees and hears, by effecting the receptors for a particular type of neurotransmitter: serotonin. These are known as…
hallucinogens
And some, such as nicotine, ecstasy and caffeine, make the synapse more active. These are known as… stimulants
Credit: Wellcome Library, London

6. drugs cause addiction because they over-activate
the parts of the brain responsible for feeling pleasure
addictive drugs cause an increase in levels of a neurotransmitter called dopamine
this makes you feel good
feeling good makes you want to keep on feeling good
your brain tries to get things back to normal by becoming less sensitive to dopamine. (You become tolerant to the drug)
you need more and more of the drug to make you feel good
you need some of the drug just to feel normal
without the drug, there isn’t enough dopamine in your brain and you feel terrible. This is called withdrawal
messing with the delicate balance of your brain can have very serious consequences!
Smarter UK