2.07: Drugs and Behavior

• Introduction
• Learn
• Try It
• Task

Introduction

You've already learned that neurotransmitters are chemicals that have different effects on the body. You also learned that drugs affect neurotransmitters and therefore affect behavior. Drugs of abuse, or psychoactive drugs, alter the way people think, feel, and behave by disrupting neurotransmission or the process of communication between brain cells.

You learned about altered states of consciousness and that a person who is not completely aware is in a different level of consciousness- an altered state of consciousness. An earlier lesson discussed briefly that drugs produce an altered state of consciousness. In this lesson you will look at psychoactive drugs more closely to learn what they are and how they affect behavior.