What are stimulants simple definition?

Stimulants are a class of drugs that speed up messages travelling between the brain and body. They can make a person feel more awake, alert, confident or energetic. 1. Stimulants include caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines and cocaine.

What is the definition of stimulants in psychology?

Stimulants are a class of psychoactive drug that increases activity in the brain. These drugs can temporarily elevate alertness, mood, and awareness. Some stimulant drugs are legal and widely used. Many stimulants can also be addicting.

What are 6 examples of stimulants?

Examples include:
  • amphetamines (speed and ice)
  • caffeine.
  • cocaine.
  • ecstasy (MDMA – methylenedioxymethamphetamine)
  • nicotine (tobacco).

What is the term for stimulants?

Stimulants (also often referred to as psychostimulants or colloquially as uppers) is an overarching term that covers many drugs including those that increase activity of the central nervous system and the body, drugs that are pleasurable and invigorating, or drugs that have sympathomimetic effects.

What are 5 types of stimulants?

What drugs are stimulants? Cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA, khat, nicotine and prescription stimulants.

Why are stimulants used?

Prescription stimulants are medicines generally used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy—uncontrollable episodes of deep sleep. They increase alertness, attention, and energy.

What is depressant in psychology?

Depressant substances reduce arousal and stimulation. They affect the central nervous system, slowing down the messages between the brain and body. 1. They can affect concentration and coordination and slow down a person’s ability to respond to unexpected situations.

How do stimulants work?

They work by increasing the amounts of the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain. The increase of these chemicals in the brain improves concentration and decreases the fatigue common in individuals who suffer from ADHD. However, Stimulants can also cause severe negative effects and addiction.

Why do stimulants cause anxiety?

Many medications for this condition are stimulants, meaning they rev up your brain. They also change the way your nerve cells send messages. Both of these things can make you restless and anxious, especially if you’re taking high doses.

What is the most commonly used stimulant in the world quizlet?

Caffeine is the most widely used stimulant.

What are the side effects of stimulants?

Many users experience a loss of appetite, increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure and body temperature, interrupted sleep patterns, panic, hallucinations, and irritability. Taking high dosages of stimulants can result in convulsions, seizures, and possibly even death.

How do stimulants change your brain?

Prescription stimulants change the way the brain works by acting on the chemicals dopamine and norepinephrine. Dopamine makes you want to take the drug again and again. Norepinephrine gets your brain and body ready for action.

What are stimulants used to treat?

Stimulant therapy is the most commonly used treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, also known as ADHD. Stimulants are an effective way of managing ADHD symptoms such as short attention span, impulsive behavior, and hyperactivity. They may be used alone or in combination with behavior therapy.

What do stimulants do to heart?

Stimulants are drugs that increase your heart rate, breathing rate, and brain function. Some stimulants affect only a specific organ, such as the heart, lungs, brain, or nervous system. Epinephrine is a stimulant. It is given during cardiac arrest to make the heart beat.

Is caffeine a stimulant?

Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant and the most commonly consumed legal, psychoactive substance. It has a wide range of effects of most people and is considered safe in limited amounts.

Do stimulants make you age faster?

The accelerated aging seen with amphetamines appeared to be even more pronounced than with tobacco use and was equivalent to about a 25 percent increase over chronological age, Reece told Reuters Health. In other words, adding a decade of aging to an average 40-year-old.

What organs do stimulants affect?

Stimulants stimulate the sympathetic nervous system and increase heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration (dilation of the bronchioles in the lungs). They can cause a dangerously high body temperature, especially if paired with physical exertion. Other serious effects include: Seizures.

Do stimulants raise blood pressure?

Stimulants. Stimulants, such as methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta, others), can cause your heart to beat faster or irregularly, raising your blood pressure.