In my last article, I spoke about cats being attracted to Catnip, but I did not delve into the concept thoroughly. In today's article, that is exactly what I am going to attempt to do. I also want to speak about drugs that affect humans, how they do so and I want to briefly touch upon the concept of withdrawal which occurs when a long-time user of a drug stops taking it.
But circling back to Catnip- how does it work? As I mentioned in the previous article, Catnip contains Nepetalactone- the organic compound that repels insects. This same substance is what causes cats to enter a brief period of Euphoria, either by inhaling the Catnip or by ingesting it. When the Nepetalactone enters the Nasal Cavity it stimulates sensory neurons which in turn activate several regions of the brain. Two affected regions are the amygdala and the hypothalamus. The former mediates emotional response to the stimuli and the latter essentially plays in a great variety of aspects such as regulating body temperature and releasing hormones. So when these areas are activated by the Nepetalactone, the hypothalamus stimulates the pituitary gland to release hormones that regulate Neuroendocrine responses and essentially create a sexual response. This results in a similar feeling to what humans describe as 'high.'
Coming to humans, I am sure you are aware of drugs such as cocaine, cannabis and heroin. While addiction can range from gambling to sex to food, today I want to specifically talk about drugs. Let's take an example: cocaine. Cocaine has a similar shape to Dopamine- a neurotransmitter that causes feelings of pleasure and happiness. Cocaine blocks Dopamine transporters- proteins that break down the neurotransmitter. This results in excessive Dopamine in the synapse (the junction between 2 neurons.) This in turn results in a feeling of euphoria. Where does addiction come into play here? The dopamine transporters require more and more of the drug to block the transmission of the neurotransmitter. Similarly, Heroin works with Endorphins. Addiction can destroy lives. It can tear families apart, it can cause you to lose your job, turn you towards crime and other awful things.
As I mentioned previously, stopping (or even reducing intake) of the drug can in fact cause the person to go into a state of frenzied delirium. It can cause depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and a whole lot of other symptoms that you can find in the articles below. I hope this gives you an insight into the functioning of various drugs and their effects on us as humans.
Articles:
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/cocaine/how-does-cocaine-produce-its-effects
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