What cocaine does to your body and brain
Whether it's snorted, smoked, or injected, cocaine enters the bloodstream and starts affecting the brain in a matter of seconds. Once there, it interferes with the brain's normal process of absorbing and recycling certain hormones, including those that play key roles in pleasure, desire, and drive.
Users feel this excess as intense euphoria.
But the high is short-lived, and in most cases lasts anywhere from five to 30 minutes. Regular, heavy use can have negative consequences, from nose bleeds to permanent lung damage and even death.
One part of the brain that appears to be most acutely affected by cocaine includes key memory centers. Scientists are studying the role this might play in addiction, since it could help explain why for some people, seeing certain places, people, or things that were linked with the experience of using can trigger a desire to return to the drug despite negative consequences of using.
NOW WATCH: 7 surprising medical benefits of marijuana
- 2 states where home prices are falling because there are too many houses and not enough buyers
- US buys 81 Soviet-era combat aircraft from Russia's ally costing on average less than $20,000 each, report says
- A couple accidentally shipped their cat in an Amazon return package. It arrived safely 6 days later, hundreds of miles away.
- 9 health benefits of drinking sugarcane juice in summer
- 10 benefits of incorporating almond oil into your daily diet
- From heart health to detoxification: 10 reasons to eat beetroot
- Why did a NASA spacecraft suddenly start talking gibberish after more than 45 years of operation? What fixed it?
- ICICI Bank shares climb nearly 5% after Q4 earnings; mcap soars by ₹36,555.4 crore