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Opiates and love
Cocaine and fight
Amphetamines and flight
Nicotine and food
Benzodiazepines and sleep
Where in the brain
Emotions
Decisioncenter
Pain
Learning
Reward
Behaviour
Training
Internal clocks
Genes
Stress
Short term effects
Long term effects
Effects between systems
Age and sex

• Addictive drugs as neurotransmitters
• Addictive drugs and the brain
• Addictive drugs and drives
• What is addiction?
• The development of emotional systems

Are drugs neurotransmitters? In which brainstructures?

Between 1975 and 1980 the first messages came in telling that the brain makes its own drugs. This raised questions like whether drugs are neurotransmitters (connective substances in the nervesystem) and what the function is of the brain structures in which the drugs play this role. On this website I contain myself to the most important substances that are known to be addictive. These belong to 5 groups: opiates (heroin, opium, morfine, methadone), cocaine, amphetamines, nicotine en benzodiazepines. Alcohol is a complex substance, which probably combines the action of other drugs. Are these drugs neurotransmitters? There is a short way to a yes answer to this question. It is well-known that these drugs have actions in the decisioncenter of the brain. This center regulates sex, food and other basic drives (systems for the survival of the species and the individual). So there are two possibilities. They have action besíde these normal processes which are regulated in this center or they have action withín the structures of these basic drives. When the last is the case, they will influence behaviour that is connected with these drives. By observing longerterm actions of these drugs (besides the withdrawal symptoms), especially what happens when one stops the use, it is shown that they influence important existing systems. So they work as neurotransmitter ín these structures.

Drug	long term effect	drivesystems
Opiates	impotency which recovers after stop using	procreation
Nicotine	propensity to gain weight after stop using	food
Cocaine	getting aggressive after stop using	fight
Amphetamines	loosing muscles	flight
Benzodiazepines	influence on sleeping behaviour	sleep

In my analysis I followed a longer pathway by putting together many different 'hard' data about the effects of drugs and fitting those in a model. These data for the opiates with references to the relevant research are to be found in M. Brandes: An explanatory model for opiate addiction. This longer way brought a lot of information about the process of addiction and by this about the way the brain works.

What do drugs teach about the brain?

Drugs have actions in the oldest parts of the brain (the olfactory brain), the reptile brain and the limbic system, brainregions we share with animals. The center for the ‘drive-systems’. One does also speak about the motivational system, because from here behaviour is directed. Much is still unknown about the processes in these brain regions. It is called the 'black box' by psychologists. Because addictive drugs so to say 'hijack' these systems, is it possible to study these processes in a more simple form then in the normal complexity of life. Addictive drugs activate coupled processes like learning, endocrinal and behavioral systems, that start from these deep innerbrainregions. The processes fit in continuous patterns with longterm (for years or lifelong) influence, possibly even verylong influence (on progeny).

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Different addictive drugs in different drives

The processes show resemblances and differences between the addictive drugs. For example in the kind of withdrawal symptoms and the measure of learning which takes place. What is the neurobiological meaning of these differences? And beside this, why do the drugs differ? It makes sense that different neurotransmitters activate different systems, otherwise the body got confused. The different drugs must therefore play a central role in their own important system. It is likely that they are drive systems, because these are stirred from the same regions. The following scheme shows coupling of specific drugs and drives and tells why this coupling is probable. All different drugrelated processes can be understood by the way the specific drivesystem works.

drug	drug and drive	drive
	Opiates and procreation, love Data where the connection is based upon like the effect of impotence, the ongoing of the addiction process, the orgasmlike euphoria and from many other different data that show a relationship between opiates and sexuality, has led to the conclusion that opiates do have a central role in the drivesystem for procreation. Importance of the system The system is highly evaluated by the body. This can be concluded from the analgetic properties, used for ages to suppress pain (as morfine). The pain signal is obviously not that important. And from the strong euphoric feelings provoked by it and the strong negative feelings by sudden withdrawal. In humans which belong to groups and with an inclination for monogamous bonds the opioid systems probably are involved in bonding processes. Besides sexual bonding also bonding processes between mother and child (by the way of activation of substances like oxyticin en vasopressin) and group and religious bonding. There is proof that in a specific rat species the (genetically fixed) length of sexual bonding is regulated by b-endorfines
	Nicotine and food Data where the connection is based upon It is well known that by stopping smoking most people gain weight. Recently a report with the significant name 'Kilogrammes transforming in smoke' was published. By smoking one has less need for food, by stopping during a period more. Recently there is a medicine (rimonabant) made against smoking and obesitas as well. Lorna Role (Un. Colombia, USA) investigates the neurobiological special connection between nicotine and foodsystems
	Cocaine and curiosity, fighting Data where the connection is based upon. Addiction-manuels say that cocaine often leads to personality changes in a more aggressive direction then before. In addition: the curious rat (of a special species) does react different on cocaine than the non-curious (of the same species). Importance of the system The cocaine sensitive systems are of great importance for the body. Cocaine can suppress pain as opiates do. It leads to euphoric feelings by the illusion one can do everything. In humans cocaine sensitive structures seem to have to do with recklessness, risk taking, selfoverestimation.
	Amphetamines and flight Data where the connection is based upon The connection is more indirectly laid than with the other drugs. The action of amphetamines looks like that of cocaine, with some differences; its seems logic that this might be the flight-receptorsystem. Amphetamines are prescribed as ritalin in the case of unrest, maybe caused by anxiety. In humans it seems to be used in more individualisic type of sport than cocaine.
	Benzodiazepines and sleep It seems obvious that sleeping pills have to do with sleep. Although the function of sleep is not yet cleared up and it is uncommon to call this a drive, it has all the traits of it; that's why sleep researchers consider it as a drive too.

The scheme sketches a subconscious, compelling system from the own body, with an important role for the propagation acivities, like Freud did. The presumption caused by cocaine might come close to Freuds 'Todestrieb'. But the scheme shows that there are more compelling systems in the body than only sexuality and fighting, such as flighting, sleeping and eating. And the opioid system in the brain does have to do with more than only sexuality, with many other bondings, such as the bonding between mother and child, and bonding to a group or to other people one loves; probably also with religious bonding or bonding to an ideology. Freud was one of the first persons that drawed a parallel between psychologic illnessprocesses and the effects of drugs. ‘Die Neurosen, welche sich nur auf Störungen des Sexualllebens zurückführen lassen, zeigen die grösste klinische Ähnlichkeit mit den Phänomen der Intoxikation und Abstinenz, welche sich durch habituelle Einführung Lust erzeugende Giftstoffe (Alkaloide) ergeben’ (S. Freud: Abhandlungen zur Sexualtheorie und verwandte Schriften, 1905, 1961). He was not totally wrong here. Withdrawal symptoms of opiates for example come from the amygdala, regions in the brain that have to do with anxiety and depression.

The drugs act in the decisioncenter of the brain. From here the decision must be made which behaviour on a certain moment and in a certain situation is the most adequate.The different drugs seem to act as switches between the systems they represent. They make contact with internal clocks and calendars and do have their own value and hierarchy. The fact that opiates and cocaine are able to suppress pain, leads to the conclusion that the body prefers actions for propagation and 'giving answer to danger' above the staying intact of the body.

Strikingly almost all addictive substances can be related to all drivesystems. Animals do have the same drive-systems. Can all animals just as humans get hooked to the same substances? Probably all species do have a set of receptors which are sensitive for these substances although more or less developed. Specific genetic species-traits can be seen in the pattern of addiction.

What is addiction?

The bases for addiction are common necessary mechanisms for our life formed by strongly compelling systems. These mechanisms are compelling to make us and our kind survive. Addictive drugs are addictive because they interfere in these mechanisms, while the body sees them as their natural neurotransmitter-equivalent. Although the basis for addiction may be natural, addiction to drugs is not common. Regular use of addictive drugs intervenes with the normal body processes, whereby these or identical working substances were made. The most innocent is when the natural making is temporarily stopped and the substances come in adequate quantities in the brain. One can compare this with the situation that somebody swallows medicinal homones and the body stops the making temporarily. This task is resumed by the body when no medicinal homones are taken any more. But, less common is that the substances can be taken on the wrong moment and/or in the wrong doses.

Situations that promote addiction

Stress promotes druguse; drugs distract. They temporarily lead the attention away from what caused the stress. Stress on an age on which the brain system develops the most, can lead to long term changes of receptors in the brain and of sensitivity for addiction.

Under some conditions addiction develops less quickly. For example when the natural systems make the substances on a natural way. When somebody has enough meaningfull images in his head and/or in his environment, addiction will not develop that soon. This must be the explanation for the observation that of the many Vietnamsoldiers that used heroin in Vietnam, only a few got addicted. Probaby these soldiers had a good bond with home, their loved ones or mothers. The switch of surroundings (in the direction of a nice one) can help in the case of opiates to kick the habit, as addicts who kicked the habit said in interviews.

- shift to other systems; addiction to a certain drug overactivates a specific system; activation of especially the lovesystem or sometimes the fight-flightsystem in a socially accepted way, can lessen the activation of the addicted system or make it get a more adequate form. The addiction comes less in the center of ones life. The opioid system is a strong system, that can be activated in different ways, for example on a religious way.

The development of emotional systems

For the survival of the individual and of the species are the drivesystems and the way they develop in relation to the outside world of central importance. Although sleep and food are important drivesystems, the drugdrivesystems opiates-procreation and cocaine/amphetamines-fight/flight seem to influence our emotional lives the most strongly. Both the euphoria and the withdrawal seem to be in those systems the most prominent. That the lovesystems are very important, most people are aware of. Of the fact that fight and flight also play strong roles in our emotional lives and our behaviour, we are less conscious. Research shows that there is a genetic predisposition for fight or flight which differs for each individual. Women express this rather different from men; women's reaction on danger is mostly 'tend and befriend'.

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