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PSYCHOMOTOR STIMULANTS.
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Focus on amphetamine use & abuse. Effects on body.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Focus on amphetamine use & abuse. Effects on body.
Paper Introduction:
Psychomotor stimulants include amphetamine and methylphenidate and both are used recreationally as well as clinically. Among their street names are uppers, speed, meth, and crystal. These drugs enhance self-confidence and provide a sense of well-being.
Amphetamine and structurally related drugs, unlike most stimulants, produce tolerance. Withdrawal after occasional use produces only mild sleep disorders. But withdrawal after bingeing produces a pattern of depression, anxiety, and agitation that leads to a craving for sleep followed by a period of very low mental and physical energy that can endure for weeks. Moderate use of orally administered stimulants produces insomnia and irritability. Intravenous, high-dosage use of these drugs, however, "leads to a psychotic state almost indistinguishable
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314). As with many other recreational drugs high numbers of women ofchildbearing age are found to ingest stimulants during pregnancy. 235). Animal tests in which subjects were trained in tasks and then givenvarious stimulants (including amphetamine) demonstrated that the drugscould facilitate performance of the tasks. Withdrawal after occasional use produces only mildsleep disorders. Both the learning model and the self-medication model can be effectiveapproaches to treatment of abusers of psychomotor stimulants. Recreational users of amphetamine report that the drug "increasesboth sexual drive and sexual aggressiveness" (Leavitt, 1995, p. Amphetamine is sometimes used by people who areanxious to learn a particular set of material in a hurry. 32 ). (1995). Indeed the prevention of sleep is commonreason for the occasional abuse of amphetamine. Although it hasbeen found to aid learning in immediate circumstances, the knowledgeacquired cannot be readily accessed at a later time. Amphetamine abuse may also damageneurons that contain dopamine. Intravenous, high-dosage use of these drugs,however, "leads to a psychotic state almost indistinguishable from paranoidschizophrenia" (Leavitt, 1995, p. Stereotyped or compulsive behaviors havebeen found to result from high doses of amphetamine in animal tests and inhuman beings "amphetamine psychosis inevitably appears during chronic high-dose use" and it features "elements of compulsivity such as repetition ofsingle words and phrases" (p. Amphetamine and the stimulants relatedto it are also unlikely to enhance creativity because while their useimproves attention to dull, routine tasks "it reduces effectiveness whensolutions require new perspectives" (p. Drugs that were administeredimmediately after training produced the greatest effect, yet stimulantsadministered immediately prior to retesting also aided recall. Psychomotor stimulants include amphetamine and methylphenidate andboth are used recreationally as well as clinically. And sleep patternscan be seriously disturbed, including the development of insomnia, duringand after withdrawal by intravenous users who employ heavier doses. 236).Psychotherapy may work well with certain disorders that accompany stimulantabuse but, as Leavitt notes, "antisocial personality disorder, commonlyfound among drug abusers, does not respond well to psychotherapy" andenvironmental change may be the most promising alternative in suchinstances (p. Sleep disturbances are aneffect of amphetamine withdrawal for low-dose users. Use of psychomotor stimulants can reduce the desire for sleep andprevent sleep in many cases. But regular use of stimulants as aids tocreativity is counterproductive. The implications of thisresearch for human subjects is uncertain but, overall, the relationship ofthe drugs to violence and aggression is little studied. This may involve psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy,depending on the nature of the underlying problems. In research with nonhuman animals the subjects havebeen found to develop timidity when given amphetamine. The social model may also be pertinent for stimulant abusers since itunderstands drug abuse as resulting "from environmental, cultural, social,peer, or family influences" and seeks to alter social environments orcoping responses to environmental stressors (Leavitt, 1995, p. These drugs enhance self-confidence and provide a sense of well-being. ReferenceLeavitt, F. Psychomotor stimulants produce little or no physical dependence andtreatment for abuse, therefore, involves psychotherapy and behaviormodification but no pharmacological antagonists or deterrents are employed. Althoughthe direct links between most drugs and spontaneous abortions,miscarriages, stillbirths, and infant anomalies are not well understood"the use of drugs during pregnancy is the major preventable cause" of theseproblems (Leavitt, 1995, p. 139). 3rd ed. The use of stimulants to sustain a person during a period ofcreativity may be helpful if they allow him/her to remain alert and notlose momentum or ideas. 333). It should benoted as well that heavy amphetamine abuse is self-limiting and tends tolast no longer than ten years, perhaps because it produces central nervoussystem toxicity. Among their streetnames are uppers, speed, meth, and crystal. 248). Drugs and behavior. But numerousresearchers have also found that low doses promote friendliness andcooperative behavior. 363). High-dose, intravenous, chronic amphetamine use has been shown toproduce many cases of aggressive and violent behavior. When threatenedsuch subjects tend to try to escape or assume defensive postures. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 156). Repeatedconfrontation, however, produces a higher likelihood that these subjectswill attack than is found in control animals. But withdrawal after bingeing produces a pattern ofdepression, anxiety, and agitation that leads to a craving for sleepfollowed by a period of very low mental and physical energy that can endurefor weeks. Amphetamine and structurally related drugs, unlike most stimulants,produce tolerance. 333). Theircontinued use of the drugs depends almost entirely on the desire torecreate their pleasurable effects--although heavy amphetamine abusers mayalso feel an aversion toward the unpleasant withdrawal symptoms if theyhave experienced them previously. Thedrug increases self-confidence while reducing inhibitions and thiscombination sometimes leads its users to sexual experimentation.Researchers have reported that intravenous use of amphetamine and otherstimulants produces highly enhanced sexual pleasure. Moderate use of orally administered stimulants producesinsomnia and irritability. Because the treatment of stimulant abusers willinvolve numerous non-pharmacological factors therapists will undoubtedlydevelop combinations of aspects of these various models in order to balancetheir approach to the individual abuser's array of problems. In addition, the intravenous use ofpsychomotor stimulants presents the usual dangers of infection. This meansthat stimulants "must affect memory retrieval as well as consolidation"(Leavitt, 1995, p. This is called state-dependent learning, which means that "responses learned under certaincircumstances," such as drug states, "do not transfer well when theconditions are changed" (p. The self-medication model stresses theexistence of "another primary mental disorder or psychological deficit" inthe user and the therapist attempts to treat the underlying psychopathologyas a means of reducing the desire to repeat the use of the drug (Leavitt,1995, p.
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