Neurotransmitters and Recreational Drugs

Question 1

Dopamine

Answer 1

Responsible for reward driven learning.
Many addictive drugs act directly on the dopamine reward pathways- this is why drugs create positive feelings.
Linked to emotion, cognitive functions and control of movement.
Linked to making decisions as it focuses attention on the rewards possible in the future so we make decisions based on the level of expected pleasure.
Linked to higher creativity, increased sociability, even dampening painful memories.
High levels linked to schizophrenia.
Deficiency linked to behaviour disorders.
Also dopamine is a neurohormone so it acts on larger sections of the brain as well as individual synapses: used in hormonal regulation like the menstual cycle.

Question 2

Noradrenalin

Answer 2

Associated with emotion, especially mood control, similar to dopamine in some ways; also involved in functions such as sleeping, dreaming, learning and is linked to the fight or flight response.

Question 3

Serotonin