StimulantsEmily, Ian, and Jenny

Stimulants Drugs that affect the central nervous system

Increase brain activity and mental awareness

Relax airways and stimulate breathing

Reduce appetite

Cause heart tremors and palpitations

Cause restlessness and sleeplessness

Cause hallucinations

Caffeine Found in coffee, tea, sodas

World’s most widely used stimulant

Has addictive properties

Caffeine How it works:

Adenosine is the substance which causes sleepiness as it attaches to adenosine receptors slowing neuron transmission.

Caffeine is similar in structure to adenosine so it attaches to the adenosine receptors.

This takes up the receptors from the regular adenosine not allowing the body to become tired.

This confuses the brain and causes adrenaline to flow often causing increased alertness.

Caffeine Consumption in small amounts:

Enhancement of mental energy, alertness and ability to concentrate

Acts as diuretic, increases volume of urine, can cause dehydration

Consumption in large amounts: Anxiety, irritability, insomnia Can cause dependence; side effects on withdrawal

include headaches and nausea

Caffeine: History The coffee plant has been around for hundreds

of years, originating in North Africa

An Ethiopian farmer noticed his goat behaving erratically after eating small berries that were soon dried and found to be coffee beans

Traders brought coffee to Europe where it grew steadily into the world wide industry it is now

NicotineCommonly found in cigarettes and other

tobacco products (also found in tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, and green peppers in small amounts)

Taken by inhalation of smoke or chewing tobacco

Extremely addictive

NicotineHow it works:

Nicotine imitates the neurotransmitter acetylcholine which releases cholinergic neurons throughout the brain at a different pace than normal.

Leads to increased activity and the production of dopamine which in turn causes the creation of a reward pathway.

Nicotine Short-term effects:

Increases concentration Relives tension Counters fatigue Increases heart rate and blood pressure Decreases urine output

Long-term effect High blood pressure Increased risk of heart disease Coronary thrombosis Increased level of fatty acids in blood, leads to stroke Overstimulation of stomach acids, leads to increased

risk of peptic ulcers

Nicotine: HistoryNative to America

Records show it to be used at least as far back as Christopher Columbus’s landing

Trade with the Americas sped up and resulted in the spread of tobacco throughout Europe

Produced rapidly because it is a key industry for the United States

Nicotine vs. Caffeine Structure

Nicotine Caffeine

Amphetamines

Drugs that mimic and enhance effects of adrenaline and noradrenalin

Mimic the “fight or flight reflex”

Extremely addictive

Stimulate sympathetic nervous system, known as sympathomimetic drugs

Amphetamines Stimulate pathways that:

Increase heart rate and blood pressure Increase blood flow to brain and muscles Increase air flow to lungs Increase mental awareness

Amphetamine structure modified to create designer drugs Methamphetamine: aka “speed” and “crystal

meth” Ecstasy

Amphetamines vs. EpinephrineBoth increase heart rate and blood pressure

Both increase blood flow to muscles and brain

Both increase airflow to the lungs

Both increase mental awareness

Amphetamines: History Created artificially or synthesized in a lab, first in

the late 1800s by a scientist working on a medicine for asthma.

Decades later it was revived as a cold medicine because it gave the user a “burst of energy”

It was used in tablet form during WWII to reduce soldiers fatigue

Scientist in Japan synthesized a more powerful form known as methamphetamine

In the 1960s physicians began to notice the addictive qualities and it was removed from the market

CocainePowerfully addictive

Increases levels of dopamine in the brain

Increase of energy

Increase of talkativeness

Increase of heart rate

Increase of blood pressure

Cocaine: HistoryUsed in South America by the ancient Incans

through the naturally occurring plant Coca

Gained a reputation in the medical community when Sigmund Freud experimented with it

Widely used as a medicine in the 1800s until its extremely addictive symptoms were discovered

JennyStrengthening the accumbal indirect

pathway promotes resilience to compulsive cocaine use

Genetic influence of dopamine receptor, dopamine transporter, and nicotine metabolism on smoking cessation and nicotine dependence in a Japanese population

IanDoes a physiological concentration of taurine

increase acute muscle power output, time to fatigue, and recovery ion isolated mouse soleus (slow) muscle with or without the presence of caffeine?

The effects of caffeine, nicotine, ethanol, and tetrahydrocannabinol on exercise performance

EmilyPsychostimulants and Cognition: A continuum

of Behavioral and Cognitive Activation

Sources “DrugFacts: Cocaine.” DrugFacts: Cocaine. N.p, n.d. Web,

11 Feb 2015

"The History of Cocaine - Where Does Cocaine Come From? - Drug-Free World." The History of Cocaine - Where Does Cocaine Come From? - Drug-Free World. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2015.

"The History of Crystal Methamphetamine - Drug-Free World." The History of Crystal Methamphetamine - Drug-Free World. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2015.

"History and Background." Caffeine. N.p., 12 Sept. 2012. Web. 08 Feb. 2015.

Lah, Katarina. "Nicotine - Introduction and History." - Toxipedia. Toxipedia, 8 May 2011. Web. 08 Feb. 2015.