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Meth Addiction – What it Does to the Brain

Utah — “Methamphetamine addiction has the worst long-range organic effect on the brain of any drug,” said Glen Hanson, University of Utah Addiction Center director.

Hanson’s blunt comment defines extent of the the public health problem in meth-damage control in Utah.

He was speaking at an all-day meth workshop before 30 participants; family members, caregivers and health care professionals in Roosevelt on June 21.

Addiction of any kind is a learned repetitive behavior, but meth is the worst, ” explained Hanson, “It alters the brain biology in ways similar to Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease.”

Why would anyone choose to damage their brain to such a degree? The answer, because “it feels good,” may be the best an addict can offer after treatment.

Simplistic as it sounds, it is not wrong. Meth over-stimulates the “feel-good” portion of the brain and can severely damage a person’s cognitive abilities.

“The brain is a network of 100 billion cells that transmit information by making 2,000 connections individually,” Hanson said, telling the group why an addict’s ability to communicate has been compromised.

“Stimulated brain cells respond by releasing dopamine to anything that feels good” he continued. “Over-stimulated brains release too much dopamine. Then the free radicals that are chemically abundant in dopamine will eventually destroy portions of the brain.”

Meth stimulates the release of dopamine in excess. The more an addict uses the more they crave. It affects the cognition system in the brain by “turning-off” the prefrontal cortex.

As a consequence, meth addicts loose inhibitory control, tending to act on impulse rather than reason. They overreact to situations, tending toward rage.

This is partly due part to the “damage to the orbitofrontal cortex which ultimately inhibits saliency,” said Hanson. “The addict becomes motivated most by getting and using meth over anything else.”

It fouls up the meth addict’s ability to appreciate consequences like taking care of their children, themselves or being cognizant of others.

“Meth addicts may steal from or abuse their family members with little conscience,” the researcher explains. “All they think of is the drug, because the reward portion of their brain is on all the time.”

Hanson referred to the amygdala reward-region of the brain, which processes memory and emotional control. Damage to the region and the adjacent hippocampus region leaves the addict agitated and often aggressive.

Once these areas are damaged the memory portion of the addict’s brain often fails to recover even with treatment.

“Rehabilitating cognitive systems requires exercise,” explained the researcher. “Sometimes that means establishing new pathways in the brain around damaged portions that will never return.”

“Treatment is lengthy,” he continued, “requiring five to seven months for brain function to stabilize and restore saliency. It’s hardest for meth addicts because their familial support systems are often irreparably damaged. They’ve hurt the very people they need most.”

In the end, there are successful treatments to re-develop cognitive skills through mental exercise. One way, Hanson explained is through literacy education, which seems to help re-establish cognitive functions.

So, why with all this wreckage would anyone choose to use meth? Hanson’s research suggests that there is a strong sociocultural component contributing to the meth scourge in Utah.

“Meth abuse demographics indicate that it is the primary drug of choice among women,” he explained. “Thirty-seven percent of all women in treatment are addicted to meth. Men use it too, but represent fewer addicts in treatment than women.”

Some women are attracted to meth as it is readily available, cheap and long-lasting in effect. Others discover more energy, weight loss or help with social inhibitions through meth abuse.

“In Utah, there’s a sociocultural tendency of women toward perfection,” said Paul Smith, eastern Regional Director of the Division of Child and Family Services. “Perfect wife. Perfect mother. Perfect beauty. Too much pressure toward perfection drives the social component of meth abuse.”

“Whatever the cause, abuse is only part of addiction,” Hanson said. “Only 15 percent of users become severely addicted, which means 85 percent of users are out there managing their drug use.”

Why people become addicted may, in part, be genetic. For example, researchers found that many women in treatment suffer from other repetitive disorders like smoking or alcoholism.

The most interesting connection was re-occurrence of attention deficient-hyperactivity disorder. The familial connection of ADHD or alcoholism may include a predisposition toward drug addiction among family members.

There’s also the social aspect of addiction. Meth tends to stay in the family. A documentary shown at Saturday’s seminar showed women frankly admitting that, “My daughter introduced me to meth and then I gave it to my sister, and so on.”

Hanson notes that addictions like alcoholism re-occurs in families, but there is hope. Children removed from addictive families show no greater addiction rates than children from non-drug abuse families.

However, children left in addictive families are almost certainly going to experiment with drugs. Addictions, particularly those with long-term treatment requirements like meth are a burden on Utah society.

“Forty-seven percent of women in treatment for meth addiction have children,” Hanson continued. “Worse still, 45 percent of female meth addicts end up in prison. Incarcerated women cost the state $30,000 each and an additional $33,000 for each child placed in foster care. All totaled, jailed addicts cost the state about $100,000 a year.”

Treatment, on the other hand, costs the state about $15,000 per person. More recently, the treatment alternative has become policy in the criminal justice system of Utah. The effort is to stop the revolving door of prison addicts.

“New strategies for treatment are highly successful, but the addict must remain in rehabilitation,” said Hanson. “Judges are learning that success requires mandated, long-term compulsory treatment. I guess they figured that success means more taxpaying Utahns.”

One Response to “Meth Addiction – What it Does to the Brain”

1. dani1saint Says:
   August 12th, 2008 at 2:49 pm

   I know that there are millions of people who use drugs worldwide. Most of them are not educated at a young age about the true dangers of drug/alcohol abuse. There are also many programs running that are uneffective that are still receiving money, when it should go to eduating the young to see the true dangers of drug use.

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