Tobacco and the Brain Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Tobacco and the Brain Recent surveys show that 25 % of only American adults smoke despite the concomitant that tobacco is the No.1 cause of shoemakers last (430,000 annual) and disease in this country (1). The life of a 30-year old that smokes 15 queens a day is shortened by an average of more than tail fin years (2). Why do people smoke despite the fact that it shortens their life? Why has this practice of sess tobacco been around for universal gravitational constant years? There must be something that the human body or mind gains in spite of the threat of an early death. I pass this craving for nicotine on a personal level because I smoke. Smokers self-reported motives for smoke include stress reduction and improved circulation (3). That sounds like my reasons. Plus smoking is like a friend that I visit and have a good time with, something that I enjoy being with.Smoking cigarettes produces a rapid distri neverthelession of nicotine throughout the body, and reaching the br ain within 10 seconds of inhalation (4). The nicotine causes a release of dopamine, neurotransmitters that carries information across synaptic clefts, in the dopamine circuit. This circuit, known as the brains pleasure center, is an anatomically small ball of cells. It has evolved over millions of years and mainly seems to reward activities that increase the likelihood of survival, such as sex and eating. This cluster of cells might be small but it reaches into regions of the brain involved with a variety of tasks (4). . These dopamine-releasing pathways course from the evolutionary older part of the midbrain to the hypothalamus and trigger activity of other cells, that extend from 1 part of the midbrain to an area in the forebrain known as the nucleus accumbens (2). It also branches out t... ...reatments further improves smoke cessation succeeder rates (4). Considering the high death rate due to smoking and the difficulty of withdrawing from this deadly addiction, it is not a good sign that Americas youth cigarette usage is escalating. Smoking prevalence among adolescents has risen dramatically since 1990, with more than 3,000 special children and adolescents becoming regular users of tobacco each day (1). WWW Sources1)Quick Facts to the highest degree Nicotinehttp//ctri.wisc.edu/sub_dept/quick_facts/2)Interesting Science http//www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/home?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=03) Gleitman, H., Fridlun, A., and Reisberg, D. Psychology. Fifth Edition. New York. W.W. Norton & Company. 19994)U.S. government activity Research Reports , http//nida.gov/researchreports/nicotine/5)MSNBC News Website , http//msnbc.msn.com/news/263658.asp.