HOW DO STIMULANTS AFFECT THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND BEHAVIOR?
Nicotine
Nicotine is extremely addictive, where withdrawal symptoms such as cravings, insomnia, anxiety, and irritability. It is not only compulsive and mood-altering, but it is also reinforcing. After someone smokes for around seven seconds, his or her body immediately releases epinephrine and norepinephrine, which diminishes appetite and boosts alertness and reduces sensitivity to pain. It also stimulates the release of dopamine and opioids, which is rewarding to the user's bodies temporarily, but it is ultimately harmful.
Caffeine
Caffeine is by far the world's most widely consumed psychoactive substance, and it can be found in coffee, tea, soda, fruit juices, mints, chocolate, energy drinks, bars, gels, and even soap. Like other drugs, caffeine used regularly and in heavy doses produces tolerance, meaning its stimulating effects lessen. And discontinuing heavy caffeine intake often produces withdrawal symptoms, including fatigue and headache. Caffeine increases the use of the nervous system, giving you a feeling of being wide awake and energized, but overconsumption of caffeine leads to a crash, as your nervous system needs a break.
aMphetamines
Stimulants temporarily excite neural activity and arouse body functions. They help people stay awake, lose weight, or boost mood or athletic performance. They increase heart and breathing rates, cause pupils to dilate, appetite to diminish, and energy and self-confidence to rise. Although some stimulants do have benefits, they can be addictive and may induce an aftermath crash into fatigue, headaches, irritability, and depression.
Cocaine
Cocaine is a fast track from euphoria to a crash. When sniffed and especially when injected or smoked, cocaine enters the bloodstream quickly. The result is a rush of euphoria that depletes the brain's supply of the neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin, and norepinesphrine. As the effects of the cocaine wear off, there is a crash of agitated depression. Cocaine leads to emotional disturbances, suspiciousness, convulsions, cardiac arrest, or respiratory failure. It relies on what the user is expecting as well, meaning that if the kids are expecting an intense experience, then they often will.
Ecstasy
Ecstasy, or MDMA, is both a stimulant and mild hallucinogen. As the amphetamine derivative, it trigger dopamine release. Bu its major effect is releasing stored serotonin and blocking its reabsorption. It produces euphoria and social intimacy, but with short-term health risks and longer-term harm to serotonin-producing neurons and to mood and cognition. It also causes dehydration, overheating, increased blood pressure, and death. It is damage serotonin-producing neurons that can lead to a permanently depressed mood. It also depressed the disease-fighing immune system, impairs memory and other cognitive functions, disrupts sleep by interfering with serotonin's control of the circadian clock.