Substances:Depressants and Stimulants
Substances:Depressants and Stimulants
Stimulants(also known as psychostimulants) are psychoactive medications thatset off temporary upgrades in either mental or physical roles orboth. A depressant, or central depressant, is a drug that lowersneurotransmission stages, which is to depress or cut down arousal orstimulation, in quite a lot of areas of the brain. An example of adepressant is barbiturates while amphetamines are examples ofstimulants (Kales etal.,1969).
Similarities
Bothamphetamines and barbiturates have addictive potentials. Whenamphetamines are taken at doses higher than those prescribed, thereis a possibility for addiction. Psychological and physical dependenceare some of the effects that emanate from the abuse of amphetamines.Extreme fatigue, severe depression, and craving for more drugs areoutcomes experienced by the abuser once the binge episodes are over.Both physical and psychological addiction potential are likely tooccur due to the use of barbiturates leading to life-threateningwithdrawal symptoms.
Bothamphetamines and barbiturates have effects on individuals withunderlying mental health conditions (Abadinsky, 1997). Suchindividuals have a chemical imbalance in the brain which is furtherworsened by the use of these drugs.
Differences
Itis important to understand their effect on the body so as to have anunderstanding of the variations. The primary function of stimulantsis to arouse the body while sedation is a function of depressants.Stimulants such as amphetamines lead to the enhancement of certainchemicals in the brain (Kales etal.,1969). These chemicals cause blood pressure to increase, theindividual becomes alert and attentive. The heart and respirationrate are also elevated. Depressants such as barbiturates target thecentral nervous system where they lead to decreased alertness bloodpressure is lowered, inattentiveness, heart rate, and respiration areslowed down, and finally the energy levels are reduced. This cause aslowdown in some of the systems in the body (Kales etal.,1969). Stimulants most of the time excite the neurons whiledepressants depress them inflicting an opposite response regardlessof the place and neurotransmitters involved.
Thedistinctive feature of depressants and stimulants correlates to theeffects that they might cause to a person. However, death is theultimate result if these substances are abused.
References
Abadinsky,H. (1997). Drugabuse: An introduction.Nelson-Hall Publishers.
Kales,A., Heuser, G., Kales, J. D., Rickles, W. H., Rubin, R. T., Scharf,M. B., … & Winters, W. D. (1969). Drug dependency:investigations of stimulants and depressants. Annalsof internal medicine,70(3),591-614.