Test Your Brain

Your brain + weed

Not worried about the long-term risks?

You decide, but remember it's the only brain you've got.

It's not like you can get a brain transplant.

Cerebral Cortex

Information
This part of the brain helps with...

• Problem-solving, comprehension This comes in handy on exams
• Control and judgment
• Motor skills

Risks
The cerebral cortex helps route messages in your brain. Pot can distort your thinking, perception and judgment, and can make you do things that you normally wouldn't.

What Happens

• Poor judgment
• Dulled senses Do you really want to miss the good stuff in life?

Limbic System

Information

• This is the emotional center of the brain that controls how you deal with problems and how you feel about yourself. Among other things, weed is a depressant. Dude, it's a downer
• The hippocampus (located here) is also important for memory and learning. You could fall behind in school

Risks
This part of the brain is most influenced by weed. When the THC in pot attaches to CB (cannabinoid) receptors, this affects emotional responses, learning and memory. Also, the limbic system creates a memory (or craving) of the drug, which can lead to addiction.

What Happens

• Depression Dealing with problems is hard enough
• Short attention span That should help you ace your SATs
• Lack of motivation
• Paranoia and suicidal thoughts Nobody wants to go there

Hypothalmus

Information
This part of the brain helps:

• Blood pressure and heart rate
• Slows metabolism, effects thirst and appetite
• Sleep cycles and wakefulness
• Body temperature

Risks
The THC in marijuana attaches to CB (cannabinoid) receptors here and makes it hard for your body to regulate itself (which means your blood pressure spikes, you're hungry and your hormones are out of whack).

What Happens

• Excessive sweating Don't worry, no one will notice
• Sleep disorders
• Increased appetite ("munchies") Sure, pigging out is really attractive

Prefrontal Cortex

Information
This is the part of the brain that helps you:

• Make decisions
• Understand long-term consequences

Risks
Pot can alter blood flow to this region of your brain, which can affect your judgment and ability to make decisions.

What Happens

• Poor judgment Doing stupid stuff really isn't you
• Taking more risks than normal

Cerebellum

Information
This is the part of the brain that helps you run, throw a ball or ride a bike. It helps with:

• Balance and physical coordination
• Internal timing system and reaction time It's sooo not safe to drive high

Risks
The THC in weed interferes with signals being sent to this part of the brain, making movements slow and difficult.

What Happens

• Problems with balance and coordination
• Distorted perception of time Get off the couch - You're missing out

 

---

 

Test Your Brain

Question 1:
Teens who use marijuana weekly have _________ of depression later in life.
a) no risk
b) double the risk
c) triple the risk

The answer is B
Young people who use marijuana weekly have double the risk of depression later in life. Also teens who smoke pot weekly are 3x more likely than non-users to have suicidal thoughts.

Question 2:
What part of the brain is most influenced by smoking pot?
a) Prefrontal Cortex
b) Hypothalmus
c) Limbic System

The answer is C
They are all affected but, the limbic system is most influenced by pot because of the high number of CB (cannabinoid) receptors.  THC (the main active ingredient in marijuana) attaches to and activates the CB receptors, and interferes with the normal functioning of the brain.

Question 3:
What is NOT a short-term effect of smoking weed?
a) Problems with memory and learning
b) Lung-cancer
c) Paranoia & increased heart rate

The answer is B
All of these risks could be brought on by smoking pot. But lung cancer is a long-term risk of smoking weed since it contains some of the same cancer-causing chemicals found in cigarettes.

BONUS QUESTION:
A student who smokes pot may do poorly on a test given the next day because of weed's effect on what brain area?
a) Hippocampus
b) Hypothalmus
c) Prefrontal Cortex

The answer is A
The hippocampus is an important brain area for processing memory. Pot smokers have trouble remembering things because of the drug’s effect on this area.

Source - National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Thanks for taking this short quiz – here’s another one (http://abovetheinfluence.com/pressured/default.aspx) to try.