Drugs in the Context of Brain Chemicals

¶ … Dugs Affect the Brain Chemistry

Antipsychotic medication plays an important role in controlling the way mood disorders and schizophrenia affect individuals. These drugs are generally believed to be effective because of the way they manipulate the way that certain chemicals in the brain affect the person. Antipsychotics are typically used with the purpose of either treating mental disorders or removing their symptoms altogether. A specialist psychiatrist is normally in charge of prescribing such medication, as the fact that it can alter chemicals in the brain makes it particularly dangerous if used incorrectly.

Chemicals in the brain have the power to change the way a person feels and behaves. Controlling the way that chemicals affect an individual can make it possible for the respective person to experience little to no episodes involving things like hallucinations, delusions, or mood swings. It is important for chemicals in the brain to be balanced, as the way they act as neurotransmitters affect people and the way they behave. Drugs are effective because they can have a calming effect on a person and can thus enable the respective individual to have a more realistic understanding of the world and of environments that he or she interacts with.

Noradreline, serotonin, and dopamine play a significant role both in the way that the brain reacts to stimuli and to the way that the body behaves. The first two have been linked to a series of disorders, with people suffering from depression or bipolar disorder being likely to experience imbalance in these two chemicals. Dopamine is connected to the brain's pleasure system and in situations when it is imbalanced the individual can suffer psychosis or schizophrenia. Both are severe mental disorders and persons suffering from them can have a limited understanding of the world, as their perception of reality can be distorted.

Dopamine can determine a person's level of motivation by making particular activities very pleasurable. The individual can feel rewarded as a consequence of performing such activities and can thus express interest in wanting to experience the feeling again. Parkinson's disease is an intriguing example when discussing with regard to the level of dopamine in a person's brain. "Drugs used to treat Parkinsonian symptoms work to indirectly increase the amount of dopamine in the brain." (Pastorino & Doyle-Portillo 48)

Schizophrenia is strongly connected to dopamine levels in the brain. Administering drugs to a person with low levels of dopamine can make the respective person feel better. In cases when drugs administered raise dopamine levels too much individuals can display symptoms similar to the ones felt by schizophrenia sufferers. Too little dopamine can make a person experience Parkinson-like symptoms while too much dopamine can have the individual go through schizophrenic episodes.

Fluoxetine is used to treat patients with depression. The substance is also known as Prozac and is effective as a consequence of altering the amount of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin and dopamine are probable to cause mood disorders if their levels are imbalanced. "A decrease in serotonin, for instance, may permit the levels of other neurotransmitters in the brain to vary more widely; these more complex interactions probably work together in some way to alter mood abnormally." (Nairne 495) Taking this into account, it would be safe to say that serotonin is linked to other chemicals in the brain and in order for the person to be able to lead a healthy life, he or she must find a way to balance chemicals to the point where everything is normal.

It would be wrong to say that chemicals in the brain are primarily responsible for mental disorders like depression or schizophrenia. However, it is generally accepted that they play an important role in controlling these respective disorders.

Antipsychotics are prescribed in accordance with the patient's needs, as stronger drugs can be prescribed in cases involving individuals experiencing severe episodes. Even with this, specialists can experience problems in determining the perfect solutions themselves. Doctors often try several options until they reach the best solution for their patients.