Behavior disorder occurs when a person lacks the

Behavior Disorder occurs when a person lacks the muscle paralysis that’s characteristic of
R.E.M. sleep, and thus they act out their dreams. It’s more common in men over 50, and around
33% of that population will go on to develop Parkinson’s disease within three years. This
disorder is also seen in people withdrawing from alcohol dependency, or those on specific types
of medication.
Psychoactive Drugs are substances that affect the brain, and thus alter psychological
processes. Psychopharmacology is the study of these drugs. The drugs normally exert their
effects by affecting neurotransmitters. They will either enhance or inhibit the neurotransmitters;
those that enhance are called Agonists , while inhibitors are called Antagonists . Certain

agonists can essentially mimic neurotransmitters and bind to its receptors and mimic its effects.
Antagonists block or inhibit neurotransmitters. One way they do this is by binding to a receptor
and doing nothing, thereby just keeping the neurotransmitter from binding.
- Substance Abuse : A pattern of drug use that disrupts one’s life, be it through financial,
legal, or relationship problems, etc.
- Addiction : Repetitive or compulsive use of a drug. This usually has both psychological
and physical dependences.
- Psychological dependence is where a person feels that they must take the drug in
order to feel good. Physical dependence happens when a body becomes used to the
presence of a drug, and thus needs that drug in order to function normally. People who become
physically dependent on a drug will often experience a Withdrawal Syndrome . These are
undesired side-effects of stopping drug use, and tend to be opposites of the effects the drug
normally has. For example, those who come down off opiates, which give pleasure and
happiness, tend to experience depression, anxiety, pain, and other symptoms of that nature.
Tolerance refers to what happens when one takes drugs continuously; the person will build up
a tolerance and thus need more of the drug to experience the same effects. One can also build
up a tolerance to only specific effects of a drug. The body tries to keep things normally; with
drugs, the body does its best to counteract the drug’s effects, and deal with the lack of the drug
when one comes off of it. Drug Interaction is the notion that drugs can influence each other;
certain drugs can actually magnify the effects of other drugs.
-One major category of drugs is the Depressants . They are called such because they
decrease activity in the central nervous system. Thus, they tend to produce relaxation and
tiredness. They normally affect GABA, often enhancing its inhibitory effects. Alcohol has many
widespread effects despite being only a depressant. It inhibits almost every aspect of thinking,
decreases activity in the frontal lobes (lessens impulse control, disrupts planning and inhibition),

decreases activity in the hippocampus (meaning it damages the memory, though “black-outs”
seem to be a result of impairment of R.E.M. sleep), decreases activity in the cerebellum
(balance and motor skills), and depresses the hindbrain (breathing and heart rate). Thus, with