Once heroin enters the brain, it is converted to morphine and binds rapidly to opioid receptors.
Heroin slows the mind. Most heroin users will never notice, yet just a little bit is NOTICEABLE.
Abusers typically report feeling a surge of pleasurable sensation—a “rush.” The intensity of the rush is a function of how much drug is taken and how rapidly the drug enters the brain and binds to the opioid receptors. With heroin, the rush is usually accompanied by a warm flushing of the skin, dry mouth, and a heavy feeling in the extremities, which may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and severe itching. After the initial effects, users usually will be drowsy for several hours; mental function is clouded; heart function slows; and breathing is also severely slowed, sometimes enough to be life-threatening. Slowed breathing can also lead to coma and permanent brain damage.
Heroin slows the mind. Most heroin users will never notice, yet just a little bit is NOTICEABLE.
Abusers typically report feeling a surge of pleasurable sensation—a “rush.” The intensity of the rush is a function of how much drug is taken and how rapidly the drug enters the brain and binds to the opioid receptors. With heroin, the rush is usually accompanied by a warm flushing of the skin, dry mouth, and a heavy feeling in the extremities, which may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and severe itching. After the initial effects, users usually will be drowsy for several hours; mental function is clouded; heart function slows; and breathing is also severely slowed, sometimes enough to be life-threatening. Slowed breathing can also lead to coma and permanent brain damage.
- Some substances imitate natural neuromediators and take their place on their receptors. Morphine, for example, binds to the receptors for endorphin (a natural "morphine" produced by the brain), while nicotine binds to the receptors for acetylcholine.
- http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/i/i_03/i_03_m/i_03_m_par/i_03_m_par_heroine.html
Opiates modulation of cAMP levels and PGE2 binding in ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2872633
by PG Borasio - 1986 - Cited by 15 - Related articles
Neurosci Lett. 1986 May 6;66(1):7-12. Opiates modulation of cAMP levels and PGE2 binding in mammalian sympathetic ganglia. Borasio PG, Biondi C, Capuzzo ...Opiates inhibit ion conductances elicited by cell swelling ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8566169
by R Callaghan - 1995 - Cited by 2 - Related articles
Eur J Pharmacol. 1995 Oct 15;291(2):183-9. Opiates inhibit ion conductances elicited by cell swelling and cAMP in cultured cells. Callaghan R(1), Riordan JR.Opiates modulation of cAMP levels and PGE2 binding in ...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0304394086901576
by PG Borasio - 1986 - Cited by 15 - Related articles
The effects of opiates on cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) levels have been studied in sympathetic ganglia of guinea-pig, rat and rabbit.
