The brain and drug abuse
Your brain controls everything from solving a sum to keeping your heart beating. A drug is any substance that changes how the body works, and many drugs work by changing the brain.
By the end of this page you can
- Give the job of the cerebrum, cerebellum and medulla, and explain how alcohol and medicines can be abused
- Describe the effects of an illegal drug and of misused prescription drugs
- Follow alcohol from a drink to a crash
- Define drug, depressant, stimulant and addiction
- Discuss the effects of alcohol abuse
Goals tick themselves off as you try the activities below.
Photo: Edeh Sophia, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped, resized, JPEG q66.
From above you see the cerebrum, the largest part, in two halves. The cerebellum and medulla sit underneath, at the back.
How often it shows up in past papers
Paper 1 counts come from our past-paper bank of CSEC Biology Paper 1s. Paper 2 is not included yet.
Three parts, and what drugs do to them
Tap each card.
Six drugs, six risks
Tap a drug to see what it does and the harm it can cause.
What does it do?
Pick a drug on the list.
Every abused drug has three kinds of cost: physiological (the body), social (family and community) and economic (money, work and health care).
From a drink to a crash
Drag or tap each card into its slot.
What starts it?
Seven terms to know cold
Say what each term means before you flip the card. Name the brain region with its job.
Six quick questions, then a real one
Pick an answer to see why it’s right or wrong.
Which part of the brain controls balance?
Which part of the brain controls breathing and heartbeat?
Memory and reasoning are controlled by the
Alcohol is a depressant, so it
Long-term heavy drinking most often damages the
Which is an example of prescription drug abuse?
exam style · 4 marks
Discuss the physiological, social and economic effects of alcohol abuse.
Sign in to have your answer marked, or check it against the mark scheme. Sign in
Practice questions are written by My V.I.P. Academy. They are not official CXC papers.