Article
Other

Nfia's Guide to Drugs and the Brain

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides a list of links to information on different types of drugs. Content on the pages include information about the drug itself, effects the drug has on the brain, common street names for the drug, and legal status.
Website
University of Utah

University of Utah: Drugs Alter the Brain's Reward Pathway

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides interesting data about how drugs alter the brain. Find facts, pictures, and animations to help portray the critical information about drugs of abuse. Also link to teacher resources and lesson plans.
Article
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: Pbs: Do All Drugs Affect the Brain Similarly?

For Students 9th - 10th
Discusses the mechanism by which drugs effect the brain. Contains links which discuss other aspects of drug addiction.
Handout
University of Washington

University of Washington: Alcohol and the Brain

For Students 9th - 10th
Suitable for upper elementary and up, this is a thorough explanation of what alcohol does to the body and nervous system. Includes information about fetal alcohol syndrome and links to further information.
Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: How Do Drugs Affect the Brain?

For Students 9th - 10th
Sara Garofalo explains how some drugs can alter the communication between cells in the brain.
Article
Biotechnology Institute

Biotechnology Institute: Your World: Learning About Drugs and Alcohol Through Biotechnology [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Find out what role genetics plays in why people become drug and alcohol abusers, and investigate how biotechnology can help shape the future of medications used for addicts.
Unit Plan
BSCS Science Learning

Bscs: Drug Abuse and the Adolescent Brain

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This module focuses on the science that explains the effects that drugs have on the brain and, by extension, a person's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Specifically, it focuses on the adolescent brain. Adolescents may be more...
Website
Other

Drugs and the Brain: Lsd

For Students 9th - 10th
This website includes a very brief overview of how LSD affects the brain and causes hallucinations. Also, there is a list of "common street names" and an explanation of LSD's "legal status" as a Schedule I drug.
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Understanding the Opioid Epidemic: How Opioids Change the Brain: Lesson Plan

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this lesson module, to be used with the program Understanding the Opioid Epidemic, students will understand that addiction is medically classified as a disease. They will learn about brain structure and functioning and how they are...
eBook
Rutgers University

Rutgers University: Drugs, Brains and Behavior

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a link to a book posted on the internet which discusses many different drugs and their effects on the brain. Also provides some discussion on the influences of different drugs and neurotransmitters in reference to different brain...
Online Course
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Reward Pathway in the Brain

For Students 9th - 10th
An physiologically and chemically illustrated presentation of pleasurable stimuli and the reward pathways followed in the brain. Also explained are studies of addiction that seem to take over a rational mind.
Handout
National Institute on Drug Abuse

Nida for Teens: Mind Matters: The Body's Response to Marijuana

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Facts about marijuana and its effects on the body, brain and life.
Interactive
University of Utah

University of Utah: Learn Genetics: Mouse Party

For Students 9th - 10th
Using an interactive demonstration, this educational site provides a glimpse into how illicit drugs disrupt the synapse through unique molecular mechanisms causing the drug user to feel 'high'.
Lesson Plan
National Institute on Drug Abuse

National Institute on Drug Abuse: Brain Power! The Nida Junior Scientist Program

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
This program uses scientific techniques to examine how drugs effect the brain. Its ultimate goal is to present learners with the negative effects of substance abuse and show the benefits of staying substance free. Each of the lessons...
Interactive
Other

Partnership for a Drug Free America: Parents Guide to the Teen Brain

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A complete guide to the development of the teenage brain. Find out about typical teenage behaviors, and the science behind their brain development that makes them act in certain ways.
Handout
National Institute on Drug Abuse

Nida: Research Report Series: Hallucinogens and Dissociative Drugs

For Students 9th - 10th
An advanced level report which defines hallucinogens and dissociative and explains their effects.
Unknown Type
BioEd Online

Bio Ed Online: Brain Chemistry Post Assessment

For Teachers 9th - 10th
The human brain is complex. Messages within the brain and the rest of the nervous system are conducted by cells called neurons. Drugs and other substances can interfere with or modify the transmission of messages between neurons. In this...
Handout
National Institute on Drug Abuse

Nida: "Ecstasy" Damages the Brain

For Students 9th - 10th
This article summarizes a medical study that examined ecstasy's effect on brain function. Learn how this designer drug causes both short term and long term damage in users' brains.
Interactive
Rice University

Rice University: Web Adventures: Reconstructors: Nothing to Rave About

For Students 9th - 10th
Online adventure game consisting of three consecutive episodes where you become a member of a team of scientists who investigate pain relieving drugs to see if they are safe. These virtual experiments cover concepts such as history of...
Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Nova: The Cannabis Question: Collection

For Students 9th - 10th
The NOVA documentary, The Cannabis Question, explores the story of cannabis from the criminalization that has disproportionately harmed communities of color to the latest medical understanding of the plant. What risks does cannabis pose...
Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Scholastic: The Awesomely Evolved Human Brain

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This lesson reinforces comprehension of key facts and concepts in the student article "The Awesomely Evolved Human Brain." Students will understand that the brain's reward system has evolved to help ensure the survival of the species....
Unit Plan
BBC

Bbc: Gcse Bitesize: The Nervous System

For Students 9th - 10th
An animal's response to a stimulus is coordinated by its central nervous system (CNS). Neurons carry electrical impulses, and are connected by synapses. Some drugs and toxins affect how impulses pass from one neuron to the next across a...
Interactive
Other

University of Nebraska at Omaha: Brains Rule! Games: Ecstasy Invaders

For Students 3rd - 8th
Go on a mission inside a nerve cell to find out about how neurons produce and release neurotransmitters to communicate with other neurons. Learn what happens to these brain chemicals when the drug ecstasy interrupts the process.
Interactive
Curated OER

Kids Health: How the Body Works

For Students 3rd - 8th
A colorful, interactive site for kids and teens. A holistic approach to learning about your body, including topics such as feelings, drugs, injuries, and other health issues. Available in Spanish.