The Brain & the Actions of Cocaine, Opiates, and Marijuana

Introduce the topic of your talk. Indicate that you will explain how the brain basically works and how drugs such as cocaine, opiates and marijuana interact with the brain's normal activities. Tell students that you will introduce the concept of "reward" which is the property that is characteristic of many addictive drugs. Describe the brain as a functional unit; it is made up of billions of nerve cells (neurons) that communicate with each other using electrical and chemical signals.