Don’t do drugs, kids. You’ll kill your brain cells.
Is it true? Will doing drugs and drinking too much alcohol cause your brain cells to croak? And if it is, wouldn’t the brain just replenish its deceased cells? It can’t be as bad as people say it is, right?
What Are Brain Cells?
Neurons. Brain cells are called neurons, and they perform a vital task. According to EnchantedLearning.com, they send and receive electro-chemical signals. Without them, the brain wouldn’t be the brain and the nervous system wouldn’t function properly.
Some 100 billion neurons are located in the brain alongside glial cells, which support nervous system functions. Neurons can bite the dust for numerous reasons. A head or traumatic brain injury can crush these cells out of commission. A stroke can cut off blood flow, starving neurons of oxygen and glucose, and killing those cells. Neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, can also damage and destroy the brain’s neurons.
Drugs, Alcohol, and Brain Cells
The acts of doing drugs, from illicit to legal, and drinking alcohol, from moderate to binging, are not solely to blame for the death of brain cells.
Everyone loses neurons. It’s going to happen, and it’s natural. In fact, the brain is resilient enough to regrow cells and repair itself. It’s a process called neurogenesis. But sometimes, the brain loses cells in quantities that cannot be replaced.
Concussions, contusions, and even head banging can lead to the loss of large quantities of neurons. Amphetamine abuse, antipsychotics, benzodiazepine abuse, cigarettes and tobacco products, cocaine, ecstasy, inhalants, and methamphetamines can all negatively impact the brain and cause the death of its cells. It’s not always the substances that cause this, though. It’s what these substance do the body overall.
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Medical Conditions and Brain Cell Loss
Substance abuse impacts the brain and body. It can be the catalyst that leads to life-changing brain cell loss.
For example, the risk of stroke in alcoholics and drug abusers is higher than non-substance abusers. A study found that 13% of stroke patients admitted to having used alcohol or drugs within 24 hours of their stroke. The manner in which addictive substances interact with the body, and the risks they pose from heart attack and stroke to bodily reactions that can starve the brain of oxygen, can end the existence of important brain cells. But why should you care?
When Brain Cells Die
The brain is one of the most resilient and adaptive organs in the body, but it has its limits. When too many brain cells die, the result is brain damage. When the brain is damaged, a range of issues persist, including:
- Short and long-term memory loss
- Impaired cognitive processes
- Reduced motor and fine motor abilities
- Behavioral changes
The death of neurons due to drug and alcohol use can invite mental illnesses including depression, anxiety, and even Schizophrenia. The ultimate result is a decrease in quality of life – the kind that changes your ability and love doing the things you enjoy. Is using really worth the risk?