Mind Over Matter - Teacher's Guide

Methamphetamine Activity Three

Objective
The student will learn more about how Methamphetamine and other drugs change the way the brain works.

Activity
Review with students the function of various brain areas (e.g., amygdala, hippocampus, cerebellum, etc.). Have students break into small groups and assign each group one brain area. Ask the students to discuss how Methamphetamine or other drugs might affect their brain area. Then have students discuss the function of this brain area and how changing it through drug use might change how a person feels, acts, remembers, learns, etc. Have each group present a summary of their discussions to the entire class. For extra credit, have students discuss and present how brain imaging techniques (such as PET, or Positron Emission Tomography) help researchers to examine how drugs act in the brains of living human subjects.