Stimulants

Overview

Stimulants (also known as psychostimulants; colloquially as "uppers") are a major class of psychoactive substances that increase activity of the nervous system to promote alertness, arousal, and motor activity. Stimulants represent one of the three major classes of psychoactive substances alongside depressants ("downers") and hallucinogens. Subjective effects can vary but generally include wakefulness, focus enhancement, appetite suppression, thought acceleration, ego inflation, and euphoria.[1] PW

Stimulants (also called as central nervous system stimulant, psychostimulant, or colloquially an upper) are a class of psychoactive drugs that increase alertness. They are used for various purposes, such as enhancing attention, motivation, cognition, mood, and physical activity. Some stimulants occur in nature while others are synthetic. Common stimulants include caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, methylphenidate, and modafinil. Some stimulants are subject to governmental regulation or prohibition because they can have adverse side effects including addiction, drug tolerance, drug withdrawal, psychosis, anxiety, insomnia, cardiovascular disease, and neurotoxicity. The misuse or abuse of stimulants can have serious adverse health and social consequences, such as overdose, substance dependence, crime, and violent behavior. WP

Stimulants increase activity in the sympathetic nervous system. They often increase synaptic concentrations of excitatory neurotransmitters, particularly norepinephrine and dopamine. Other stimulants work by binding to the receptors of excitatory neurotransmitters (e.g., nicotine) or by blocking the activity of endogenous agents that promote sleep (e.g., caffeine). Stimulants can affect various functions, including arousal, attention, the reward system, learning, memory, and emotion. Effects range from mild stimulation to euphoria, depending on the specific drug, dose, route of administration, and inter-individual characteristics. WP

Stimulants have a long history of use, both for medical and non-medical purposes. Archeological evidence from Peru shows that cocaine use dates back as far as 8000 B.C.E. Stimulants have been used to treat various conditions, such as narcolepsy, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obesity, depression, and fatigue. They have also been used as recreational drugs, performance-enhancing substances, cognitive enhancers, and to promote aggression of combatants in wartime.[2–5] WP

References

1. Other Venable, S. J., Gilreath, J. Drugs stimulating the central nervous system. November 2012
2. Journal / agency Dillehay, Tom D.; Rossen, Jack; Ugent, Donald; Karathanasis, Anathasios; Vásquez, Víctor; Netherly, Patricia J. Early Holocene coca chewing in northern Peru. Antiquity. 2010. doi:10.1017/S0003598X00067004
3. Other Russia's army is learning on the battlefield
4. Other Kamieński, Łukasz. Routledge Handbook of Intoxicants and Intoxication. 2022-10-27
5. Journal / agency Rasmussen, Nicolas. Medical Science and the Military: The Allies' Use of Amphetamine during World War II. The Journal of Interdisciplinary History. 2011-09-01. doi:10.1162/JINH_a_00212 · PMID 22073434

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