THE CHEMISTRY OF BEHAVIOR
We hear much these days of the use and misuse of drugs in relation to behavior. Scientific researchers and organized crime 'are both concerned with the chemical modification of behavior. As lelated to the problems of adjustment, let us take a brief look at some of the 3,000 chemicals that are known to change behavior in one way or another.
Each nerve cell is a tiny chemical powerhouse, gerlerating smail electrical currents which go from cell to cell, providing a vast nerve energy network. This has been called man's "inner universe." It is .now well established that communication within the nervous system is by means of chemical agents which relate to such functions as sex, appetite, sleep, mood, and generally all that we do and experience.
All living cells and bodily organs function as organized systems of chemical reactions. This fact is being brought dramatically to our attention through the "drug scene" we hear so much about. It has given new emphasis to the description that "life is chemical." There are chemical hormones that can stimulate sexual behavio,: and others that can block normal reproduction such as, birth-comrol pills that have their effect on a brain center. Drugs haye.been used effectively to help cure mental illness, and there is some reason to hope for a chemical victory over such killers as cancer. But the Ignorant or unwise use of drugs constitutes one of society's deadljest enemies. Alcohol can induce euphoria or bring on a loss of behavoral control; the opiates can relieve pain or "hook" addicts. Hallucinogens may bring on unusual conscious experiences or warp the mind to the point of insanity.
Serotonin and LSD
Most drugs act on the nervous system at the synapse, the functional connection between two nerve cells. Here some drugs excite nerve activity alJd others inhibit it. The normal brain chemical that transfers the nerve impulses across a synapse is called "serotonin." In its chemical makeup LSD closely resembles the serotonin molecule and this similarity is thought to be related to LSD's power. One theory holds that the LSD molecule can "fool" a nerve cell into accepting it as an impulse-carrying serotonin molecule, but that the signals get altered, since LSD capnot forward impulses in the same manner. For one thing, the drug t1ppears to increase the number of impulses, hence amplifying sensations, which are 'exaggerated in the extreme, for exaraple. an uncontrollable kaleidoscope of brilliant colors. For some people the effects of the drug rarely stop here; they become terrorized by the agony of a "bad trip." There are instances where the effects of LSD make subjects imagine themselves so indestructible that they may walk into a moving car; others believing they can fly have jumped from windows.
Psychoactive Chemicals
LSD overactivates the brain, the tranquilizers calm nervepulse activity. For example, phenobarbital is used medically in the treatment of anxiety and tension states, but excessive doses of the drug may even induce tension and anxiety. The amphetamines, such Benzedrine, can induce mild euphoria, increased alertness, and eviation of fatigue; but they can also cause insomnia, even convultions. People who become heavily involved in the amphetamine "speed scene" may become violence prone. They may go on a run lasting for several days and then collapse in total exhaustion. The addicted amphetamine user seems to live only in the "now," as the past and the future recede from his mind.
Heroin
Few who begin the use of this drug escape addiction, for heroin is its own best salesman. Somewhat like barbiturates, although more extreme, beroin produces a floating euphoria accompanied by a trancelike stupor. After a time it causes a fundamental change in the biochemistry of the brain to the point where one loses any voluntary chance of staying off the drug. Thus the heroin addict takes the drug not merely because he wants to, but because he has to. Adjustment to the drug's presence is gradual, but so is adjustment to its absence. Thus if an addict is without a "fix," withdrawal symptoms soon appear-sleeplessness, vomiting, sweating, and cramps.
Marijuana
Said to be one of the least understood of all the natural drugs, marijuana has been known to man for nearly 5,000 years. Studies demonstrate that the drug can impair performance on simple intellectual and psychomotor tests. The physiological and psychological effects of a single inhaled dose of marijuana appear to reach maximum intensity within half an hour of inhalation, to diminish after one hour and dissipate after three. Studies have shown that marijuana users, when introducing friends to the drug, "teach" them to notice subtle effects on consciousness. Two investigators describe the case of one subject who said he had some memory problems while driving an automobile under the influence of marijuana: "My reflexes and perception seem to be O.K., but I have problems like this: I'll come to a stop light and have a moment of panic because I can't remember whether or not I've just put my foot on the brake. Of course, when 1 look down, it's there, but in the second or two afterwards I can't remember having done it. In a similar way, I can't recall whether I've passed a turn I want to take or even whether I've made the turn. So all this difficulty must have something to do with some aspect of memory." Two effects of the drug indicate some change taking place in the brain during a marijuana "high." First, there is simple forgetting momentarily of what one has done or is going to do or say. Second, there is a tendency to go off on tangents because the line of thought is lost.
AIcoholism
The inhibiting control of the higher brain centers are affected by alcohol, which is overall a depressant. Alcohol tends to allay anxiety and gives the drinker a temporary sel1se of well-being and elation. In the later stages, however, experiences are 'negative. Although many people can drink in moderation without alcohol interfering seriously with normal living, it is estimated that some 6 percent of the adult population are alcoholics, so classified because their excessive consumption impairs their normal adjustment. In general, the alcoholic is immature and has a difficult time facing up to his illness, He or she is apt to combine a drinking problem with other problems at home or at work. This person gets caught up in a kind of vicious circle of spiraling problems.
Let us consider ten self-directed questions. A majority of "yes" answers should make one seriously consider his drinking habits:
- Do you lose time from study or work because of drinking?
- Do you drink because it relieves shyness?
- Do your friends comment on your drinking?
- Have you ever felt sorry about something you did while drinking?
- Do you "lower your environment" while drinking?
- Do you crave a drink at a definite time of day?
- Do you want a drink the next morning?
- Do you drink alone?
- Has a doctor questioned your drinking?
- Do you turn to drink when frustrated?
In one study comparing twenty-six normal drinkers and twentysix hospital-admitted alccholics in a bar-and-Iounge environment it was found that alcoholics ordered more drinks, preferred straight drinks, took larger sips, drank faster, but took a longer time between sips than normal drinkers.
