TV REVIEWS : ‘3-2-1 Contact’ Shows How Drugs Affect the Brain

Remember the public-service spot that showed an egg sizzling in a frying pan and telling us it’s “your brain on drugs”? A new PBS “3-2-1 Contact” special, “Brainstorm: The Truth About Your Brain on Drugs” (at 7 tonight on KCET-TV Channel 28), has the rest of the story.

Featuring veteran “3-2-1” hosts Stephanie Yu and Z Wright, two bright, engaging teens, the documentary uses animation, interviews and films of real brain surgery (not for the squeamish) to illustrate the function of the brain and what happens when drugs enter the system.

Any drug, legal or illegal: the Novocain your dentist gives you, morphine prescribed by a physician, the cigarette you smoke, alcohol and street drugs from marijuana to crack cocaine. All alter brain function, we’re shown, affecting the chemical exchange between neurons, which in turn affects the messages sent between the brain and the body.

In typically upbeat “3-2-1” fashion, there are humorous cartoons with a serious side and light-hearted but to-the-point dialogue between the co-hosts. A highlight is when Wright plays a used brain salesman, glibly trying to sell Yu on what he has in stock: lizard, dog and human brains. These are all real, by the way, displayed on platters. If you’ve always wondered what a lizard brain looks like, here’s your chance.

Much of what is presented has a “curious minds want to know” emphasis, rather than a cautionary one, but a clear picture of the human toll taken by drug abuse comes across during interviews with several teens who are recovering addicts. The teens field questions put to them by children--why did you start using drugs? How did they make you feel?--and their difficult answers make a powerful case for just saying no.