A Guide to Drugs and the Brain Home Drug Effects Drug Research Drug Street Names Back to NFIA Commentary Drugs and the Brain Addictive drugs enter the body through a number of routes, make their way into the bloodstream, and go straight to the brain where they exert their effects. Scientists have determined that most addictive drugs initially act on one part of the brain, the brain reward system.
Drugs mimic the brain's natural chemicals.
Instead of teaching us to repeat survival-oriented behaviors, drugs teach us to take more drugs. If use continues, drugs gradually change the brain and these changes can eventually lead to addiction. Such short-term effects as intoxication, impairment of judgment, and, occasionally, overdose are also the result of drugs' actions on the brain. Copyright 2001 National Families in Action. All rights reserved.