Drugs in College

Abstract

Experimentation is a large part of the college experi- ence. It could be argued that no campus is completely clean of drug abuse and the three most common drugs used by col- lege students are alcohol, marijuana, and prescription stimu- lants. This article will focus on the two legal, but recklessly abused drugs: the godfather of campus drugs - alcohol, and the new kid on the block - prescription stimulants. Drugs in College THE MIND FALL THE MIND Alcohol Fermentation is said to be the oldest chemistry utilized by man. Alcohol sat proudly in the holy grail during the last supper, intoxicated the Trojans during their celebration of a big wooden horse, and was both the gift and the weapon of choice of the Grecian/Roman god Bacchus. Alcohol, a depressant, has accompanied man throughout the ages, mak- ing him hyper-social, dizzy, numb, indecent, unconscious, and ultimately hung-over. So how does alcohol inflict its power? An alcohol is an organic compound with one or more hydroxyl or alcohol (- OH) groups attached. Ethanol, in particular, is the alcohol that we consume. Although the fine details of the biochem- istry of alcohol are still uncertain, it has long been suspected that the transmission of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a mostly inhibitory neurotransmitter, is somehow effected by alcohol (Paul 2006). In 2006, researchers demonstrated that the actions of GABA are amplified by the presence of alco- hol at the GABAA receptors, a ligand-gated ion channel in charge of GABA transmission (Hanchar 2006 and Wallner 2006). When GABA binds to the GABAA receptors, the pore opens, allowing chloride ions (Cl-) to rush down the electro- chemical gradient. The result is an axon with a charge more negative than one at normal resting membrane potential. Thus, depolarizing the neuron becomes extremely difficult http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/pharmaceuticals/images/rit alin.jpg Microscope view of Ritalin (Siegel 1999). Ultimately, this process impairs fluidity in movement and delays reaction time. While most alcohol consumers drink only until they are tipsy, sometimes they lose control and drink to the point of being blacked out. Later, they may possess no memory of events that had occurred during that time. This black-out period has recently been proven to be connected to the effects of alcohol on the hippocampus, an area of the brain in which short-term memories are stored (White 2000). Non-alcohol related damage to the hippocampi causes similar behavioral effects in comparison to the consequences of drinking alcohol. To illustrate, in one famous procedure, the hippocampi of a patient, HM, were removed in order to relieve his epileptic seizures. The subject continued to score above average on IQ tests despite lacking his hippocampi. Researchers also found that the patient was perfectly capable of carrying on a coherent conversation with another individ- ual. However, upon returning to the room after just a few minutes of absence, dialogue with the subject would reveal that he could neither recall who the speaker was, nor what the conversation had been about. This phenomenon closely resembles that of an alcohol induced black-out, further sug- gesting that alcohol may affect the hippocampus. So far, the alcohol side-effects of drowsy, uncoordinated movements and memory loss have been explained, but what about the symptom with which alcohol is most associated - poor judgment? Researchers have hypothesized that the frontal lobe, which controls information processing, impulse suppression, and social awareness, might be the target region that causes the lack of judgment after alcohol consumption. Sure enough, it has been shown that the short-term effects of intoxication include a decrease in metabolism and activity in the frontal lobe (Wang et al. 2000). Similarly, chronic alco- hol abuse can damage and even shrink the frontal lobe, but there is much less information on alcohol's acute effects on this region of the brain (Kril and Halliday 1999). The frontal lobe has also been chosen as an area of alco- hol research because of the similarity in behavior between intoxicated individuals and those with frontal lobe damage. Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is a disease that can illustrate the effects of an impaired frontal lobe, which may illuminate the impact of alcohol on this region of the brain. In patients with FTLD, the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain experience tissue atrophy and shrinkage. Patients tend to lose such characteristics as: good judgment, manners, or common sense During an interview with an FTLD sufferer (to be referred to as the interviewee), the interviewee seemed normal at first, though perhaps a little too relaxed and happy to be at an by Joy Yang