How Does Cocaine Affect our Brains? Bibliography Assignment (Annotated Bibliography Sample)

How Does Cocaine Affect our Brains?
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How Does Cocaine Affect our Brains?
Abstract
Recently, the use of cocaine has been on the rise across the world. As much as many drug users seem not to care about the impact of the cocaine, its abuse remains an issue of health of concern. Its effects are manifested in various organs of the body but the brain remains the most vulnerable organ. The brain is the most affected part since it is the center of normal human communication. For instance, individuals who abuse cocaine experiences various complications such as cerebrovascular disorders, seizures, headaches, hallucinations, strokes as well amnesia.
Introduction
The paper intends to provide a literature review of the research topic to highlight what other scholars have covered on the effects of cocaine on human’s brains. Particularly, the paper addresses the sources that have relevant and deep discussion on the side effects of cocaine on human brains.
Jones, R. T. 1984. “The pharmacology of cocaine.” Pharmacology, Effects and Treatment of Abuse. National Institute on Drug Abuse Research Monograph, (34-53) 34-53.
This article describes the brain's reward pathway that is likely to act as the receptive site for the cocaine. It develops a link between emotions and motivation with a system called mesolimbic dopamine system that is linked with synapses and neurons and how the system recycles itself. The author includes a photograph of the brain that shows the graphical representation of this cycle and how cocaine interferes with this flow leading to euphoria among other pleasurable impacts on the brain.
The author explains how cocaine binds to dopamine leading to interference with the normal communication process. The article shows how the impacts of cocaine are manipulated in the neuro-system of the brain. This article will be significant in the study of dopamine and cocaine relationship.
Mechoulam, R, and L. A Parker. 2013. “The endocannabinoid system and the brain.” Annual review of psychology 21-47.
The author offers insights on how cocaine works by interfering with the brain. It is found that when injected into the bloodstream, it travels to the brain where it floods the pressure center with dopamine that creates euphoria. Further, the author carefully examines how cocaine affects the brain and the nervous system in particular where it is discovered that cocaine interferes with the normal processes that provoke dopamine to strike the brain and nervous system. The impacts are manifested in effects such as anxiety, panic attacks, paranoia, changes in behavior and restlessness.
Also, the author also discusses the severity of the drug to the brain about different methods of administration. This journal will be useful in examining the effect of cocaine on the nervous system as a component of neurotransmission with the brain.
Aki, T, T Funakoshi, K Unuma, and K Uemura. 2013. “Impairment of autophagy: from hereditary disorder to drug intoxication.” Toxicology 205-215.
The researchers used mice in their experiments to establish out the effect of cocaine on the brain cells. The study found that cocaine kills brain cells by triggering "overactive autophagy", a process that stimulates the cells to digest themselves and their environment. Inferring from the experiment, the researchers provide a conclusion that the process of autophagy in normal cells and found that it stimulated normal clean-up process where the dead cells are removed from the brain but in the cells that were exposed to cocaine, autophagy was accelerated by cocaine hyper stimulation which turns the process into a self-cannibalization process.
The researchers drew up their conclusions by determining changes in some cells and protein levels after exposure to cocaine and found that the drug insinuated cell death through runaway autophagy.
This concept of autophagy raised by the author will be important in explaining how cocaine kills the cells of the brain, therefore, necessary for the study.
Tamrazi, B, and J Almast. 2012. “Your brain on drugs: imaging of drug-related changes in the central nervous system.” Radiographics 701-719.
The author describes effects of high doses of cocaine to the brain such as seizures, headaches and coma. The author notes that the brain is sensitive to high levels of toxin and explains that such levels would lead to systemic cardiovascular consequences that result in rupturing of blood vessels within the brain. Additionally, the journal indicates that this will lead to stroke. The high tension in mind also results in the impaired nerve signal transmission that leads to uncontrollable muscle movements manifested in jaw grinding and shaking. This also leads to mental health in the long run in case it does not result in death during the short term.
The article will be helpful during the study on the effects of high doses of cocaine in the brain cells.
Riezzo, I, C Fiore, D De Carlo, N Pascale, M Neri, E Turillazzi, and V Fineschi. 2012. “Side effects of cocaine abuse: multiorgan toxicity and pathological consequences.” Current medicinal chemistry, 5624-5646.
The author explains various complications related to the minds that are caused by the intake of cocaine. Particularly, the article addresses neuropsychiatric complications, convulsions, cerebrovascular disorders, movement disorders, muscular disorders, leukoencephalopathy among other complications. Also, the author covers in depth about the processes in which cocaine leads to these complications by incorporating researched data. It also unravels the interaction of cocaine with various brain cells to bring about these complications.
Shield, K. D, and J Rehm. 2015. “The effects of addictive substances and addictive behaviours on physical and mental health.” The Impact of Addictive Substances and Behaviours on Individual and Societal Well-being 77
The author carried out internet based research using Medellin using keywords such as cerebrovascular accidents and cerebrovascular disorders. The survey shows the various pharmacodynamics associated with the drug such as local unaesthetic effects and neurotransmitter effects. The author pays attention to cerebrovascular effects of the drug such as seizures and headaches. The author explains how cocaine leads to these conditions after its ingestion.
Narayana, P. A, J. J Herrera, K. H Bockhorst, E Esparza-Coss, Y Xia, J. L Steinberg, and F. G. Moeller. 2014. “Chronic cocaine administration causes extensive white matter damage in brain: diffusion tensor imaging and immunohistochemistry studies.” Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging 220-230.
The researcher aimed at establishing the effect of chronic cocaine exposure on brain's white matter using rodents as experimental species. In details, the authors explains how the species were injected with cocaine and DTI scans, end point histology and locomotors assessment done on after that. The findings show how the cocaine damages the white and grey matter in the brain which impairs the cogniti...