Title : Nicotine’s effect on neurons and on the brain
Abstract:
Approximately 50 million people are addicted to nicotine just in America, worldwide these numbers reach 1.1 billion with 6 million people dying each year from forms of smoking. Even though nicotine is generally known as the “bad guy”, it is important to recognize the bad and good types of it. Nicotine is a naturally occurring alkaloid that can be found in a wide variety of plants such as tomato, potato, eggplant (aubergine), cauliflower, tea, green pepper, and coca plant's leaves; however, it is best known as the highly addictive substance found in tobacco. To put it in simple words, nicotine is a stimulant drug that speeds up the neurons traveling between the body and the brain. Nicotine mostly affects the prefrontal cortex in the brain which is responsible for emotions and impulse control. Subsequently, if nicotine is used in teen years, it can obstruct aspects of that development, resulting in long- term brain damage. It can also lead to an increase in blood pressure, heart rate, blood flow to the heart, artery constriction (vessels that carry blood) as well as artery wall hardening, which can lead to a heart attack. Nicotine affects behavior: enhances mood and attention at first, reduces anger and tension, relaxes muscles, and decreases appetite. As mentioned above, nicotine is mostly known for causing addiction: Research shows that smokers can get addicted to nicotine in just a few days. It imitates a number of neurotransmitters that transmit messages in the brain, nicotine’s structure is most similar to that of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, therefore signaling in the brain increases when nicotine enters. The brain begins to reduce the number of acetylcholine receptors overtime to compensate for the increasing signaling activity. Nicotine tolerance develops, as a result, necessitating the usage of more nicotine in the future. Nicotine also activates the brain's pleasure regions, simulating dopamine, causing your brain to equate nicotine usage with feeling good, nevertheless, nicotine's enjoyable sensations don't endure very long. To receive the next thrill, a person needs to keep inhaling nicotine. Chronic nicotine stimulation desensitizes GABAergic neurons, causing them to lose their inhibitory impact on dopamine; this, in turn, feeds the addiction by causing cravings. The chemistry of addiction, nicotine structure and nicotine’s effects on people will be further discussed in the research.
Keywords: Nicotine, Addiction, Acetylcholine, Stimulant, Dopamine, Neurons, Neurotransmitters, Tobacco, Brain, Behavior, GABAergic
What will the audience learn from your presentation?
- What is nicotine? What is the chemical structure of nicotine
- Chemistry of addiction to nicotine
- Nicotine’s effects on the brain, neurons, and behavior
- Recognizing good and bad types of nicotine
- Learning where nicotine is found
