What Are Stimulants?

By Author: linda john
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Stimulants, also known as "psycho stimulants", tempt euphoria with improvements in mental and physical function, such as superior alertness, wakefulness, and locomotion. Due to their effects typically having an "up" quality to them, stimulants are also occasionally referred to as "uppers". Depressants or "downers", which decrease mental and/or physical function, are in bleak contrast to stimulants and are considered to be their functional opposites.
Stimulants enhance the activity of the central and peripheral nervous systems. Common effects may include increased alertness, awareness, wakefulness, endurance, productivity, and motivation, arousal, locomotion, heart rate, and blood pressure, and a diminished desire for food and sleep.Legal Stimulants
Use of stimulants may cause the body to reduce significantly its production of natural body chemicals that fulfill similar functions. Until the body reestablishes its normal state, once the effect of the ingested stimulant has worn off the user may feel depressed, lethargic, confused, and miserable. This is referred to as ...
... a "crash", and may provoke reuse of the stimulant.
However, there is a category called as Legal Stimulants or Intoxicants. These are intoxicating drugs which are not prohibited by drug laws. The most commonly used intoxicant is alcohol but many others are used including native intoxicating plants historically used by indigenous cultures and modern chemical intoxicating substances that have not been defined as illegal yet.

There are another category of stimulants also which are called after Sympathomimetic drugs that mimic the effects of transmitter substances of the sympathetic nervous system such as catecholamines, epinephrine (adrenaline), norepinephrine (noradrenaline), dopamine, etc. Such drugs are used to treat cardiac arrest and low blood pressure, or even delay premature labor.
These drugs act at the postganglionic sympathetic terminal directly activating postsynaptic receptors, blocking breakdown and reuptake, or stimulating production and release of catecholamines.

The mechanisms of sympathomimetic drugs can be direct-acting, such as a-adrenergic agonists, b-adrenergic agonists, and dopaminergic agonists or indirect-acting, such as MAOIs, COMT inhibitors, release stimulants, and reuptake inhibitors.

Marijuana is one of the most popular drugs in Australia tried by more than 7 million Australians in a lifetime, with ecstasy being the second most popular tried by 2 million people. By age 20, 37% of the population will have tried illicit drugs, and by age 40, this is just shy of 60%.
Legal Stimulants
Depressants are also a kind of stimulant that are psychoactive drugs which temporarily diminish the function or activity of a specific part of the body or mind. Examples of these kinds of effects may include anxiolysis, sedation, and hypotension. Due to their effects typically having a "down" quality to them, depressants are also occasionally referred to as "downers". Stimulants or "uppers", as explained before which increase mental and/or physical function, are in bare contrast to depressants and are considered to be their functional opposites. Depressants are widely used throughout the world as prescription medicines and as illicit substances. When these are used, effects may include anxiolysis, analgesia, sedation, somnolence, cognitive/memory impairment, dissociation, muscle relaxation, lowered blood pressure/heart rate, respiratory depression, anesthesia, and anticonvulsant effects. Some are also capable of inducing feelings of euphoria. Depressants exert their effects through a number of different pharmacological mechanisms, the most prominent of which include facilitation of GABA and/or opioid activity, and inhibition of adrenergic, histamine and/or acetylcholine activity.