Who is Depressant?
Colloquially known as "downers", depressants or CNS depressants are drugs that lower neurotransmission levels, decrease the electrical activity of brain cells, or reduce arousal or stimulation in various areas of the brain. Some specific depressants do influence mood, either positively (e.g. opioids) or negatively, but depressants often have no clear impact on mood (e.g. most anticonvulsants). In contrast, stimulants, or "uppers", increase mental alertness, making stimulants the opposite drug class from depressants. Antidepressants are defined by their effect on mood, not on general brain activity, so they form an orthogonal category of drugs. Depressants are closely related to sedatives as a category of drugs, with significant overlap. The terms may sometimes be used interchangeably, or may be used in somewhat different contexts. Depressants are widely used throughout the world as prescription medicines and illicit substances. Alcohol is a very prominent depressant. When depressants a...
