The purpose of this report is to inform people of how the medication and drug, Lorazepam effects your brain and how it impacts on how consumers behave in social situations. Lorazepam is a prescription medication that can be consumed orally, nasally or injected. It has a tranquilising effect on the brain and is predominantly used to treat anxiety and anxiety related symptoms. It also can be used to treat disorders that associated with depression and can also be used to induce sleep, treat seizures, treat nausea and relax muscles. Lorazepam is in the group of drugs called benzodiazepines which also includes; diazepam, chlordiazepoxide, oxazepam, temazepam, nitrazepam, loprazolam, lormetazepam, and clonazepam. The accessibility of lorazepam is making the number of lorazepam abusers increase. People should understand how lorazepam effects their brains and what risks there are to the wellbeing of people who abuse it. This report begins with the chemical reaction that creates lorazepam and then its chemical properties. It explains how lorazepam enters the bloodstream and effects the neurons in the brain. It also explains how lorazepam affects a person social behaviour and how lorazepam addiction affects an abusers social behaviour.



Lorazepam production process

Lorazepam is made up of carbon, hydrogen, chlorine, nitrogen and oxygen atoms with the chemical formula C15H10Cl2N2O2. Lorazepam is created by an oxidisation reaction in which potassium peroxydisulfate (K2S2O8), iodine (I2) and potassium acetate (CH3CO2K) are reacted with the 1, 4-benzodiazephine ring (C9H8N2). The reaction occurs in the 3- position where the carboxylic acid functional group takes place. The extra hydrogen is swapped with a potassium ion making the carboxylic acid functional group into an ester functional group. Oxazepam is also made in the same reaction. Lorazepam’s systematic name is 7-Chloro-5-(2-chlorophenyl)-1, 3-dihydro-3-hydroxy-2H-1, 4-benzodiazepin-2-one. The molecular structure is shown in figure 1.

Figure 1: Structure of Lorazepam

Lorazepam in the bloodstream, body and brain

Lorazepam can enter your bloodstream intravenously, oral consumption and snorting. If taken orally it will go through the digestive system and be absorbed in the small intestines. If injected, it will go directly into the bloodstream and be directed to the brain. Due to lorazepam’s insurability, snorting and oral consuming can make it longer until you can feel the relaxing effects. It takes about 2 hours before the relaxing effects of lorazepam start however when used to treat anxiety, it can take up to 72 hours before the effects start to kick in. Lorazepam can last for about 12-18 hours in your system.

Lorazepam is metabolised by the liver and then excreted by the kidney. Although extremely rare, lorazepam can cause liver injury although it does not affect the liver as much as other benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines including lorazepam, affect the central nervous system and activate the brain’s reward systems. Lorazepam works by acting on receptors in the brain called Gamma-Amino Butyric Acid (GABA) receptors making them less susceptible to stimulation. Upon binding to the receptors, the chloride channels are opened and chloride is allowed to flow in, causing hyperpolarization of the neuron. This causes activation and the release of the GABA neurotransmitter in the brain. GABA neurotransmitters act as a natural relaxant. They help to balance the nerve activity in the brain and are involved in inducing sleepiness and reducing anxiety. As GABA activity increases so does its calming and sleepiness effect while anxiety and muscle tenseness decreases. This reaction is shown in figure 2.

Figure 2: GABA interaction at a nerve synapse after administering Lorazepam.

How does Lorazepam impact on social behaviour?

Lorazepam impacts on a person’s social behaviour by relaxing and calming down the consumer to the point where they feel much more comfortable and relaxed in social conversation and highly stressful moments. It can, however, impact on a person’s social behaviour from a different perspective through addiction and withdrawal. Lorazepam is highly addictive and can lead to some serious health problems. People continue to use lorazepam and get addicted to it because of how calm and relaxed they feel when they consume it. People get so addicted to the relaxing feeling, when the effects wear off they can feel depressed, frustrated and angry therefore giving them the need to want to consume more lorazepam. 

Many disorders can arise from Lorazepam addiction such as depression and anxiety disorders, panic and seizure disorders, insomnia and post-traumatic stress disorder. It has also been found to be linked with some drug assisted suicide attempts. A lorazepam abuser can have many mood, physical, psychological and behavioural symptoms. An abusers social behaviour can be affected because they may experience mood levels of hyperactivity then low mood levels where they can be violent, aggressive and agitated. They may experience social withdraw where they cut themselves off from any social interaction and connections. They also would experience occupational, social and scholastic dysfunction where they cannot function in any social environment such as a school or the workplace. If an abuser is trying to discontinue the use of lorazepam too quickly or without medical supervision then some side effects can occur. Withdrawing to fast can have the person experience mood swings from high frustration to anxiety and depression, seizures, panic attacks and hallucinations. Consuming lorazepam can make it easier to handle social interactions by making the body and the person’s behaviour more relaxed and calm. Getting addicted to lorazepam however can make it hard to deal with social environments and make your behaviour become irregular with mood swings and anxiety.

Conclusion

Lorazepam is used to calm and relax an anxious patient and is generally harmless except when abused where it can have a serious negative impact on one’s social life and wellbeing. Lorazepam works by triggering GABA neurotransmitter receptors in the reward system of the brain which then tells the brain and muscles to relax. A person may get hooked on the good and relaxing feeling that lorazepam creates and abuse it whenever they feel nervous. When serious addiction happens a person may have to consume lorazepam in large quantities just to be able to feel the effects. Lorazepam is addictive because it makes the GABA receptors less susceptible to stimulation so that the abuser thinks that it needs more lorazepam in order to stimulate the receptor and feel the effects. If used correctly however, lorazepam can make you feel more at ease and relaxed in social environments and stressful situations.  Lorazepam effects your social behaviour by calming you down, making you less likely to act with violence and aggression or become depressed and anxious. 

Public education piece

My public education piece is a pamphlet to advise the general public of the information learned during this research assignment.

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