Final answer:
Symptoms of chronic amphetamine abuse include emotional lability, anorexia, amnesia, photophobia, and paranoid syndrome, along with potential for psychotic episodes.
Step-by-step explanation:
Symptoms of chronic amphetamine abuse include a range of behavioral, cognitive, and physiological effects. Some of the symptoms are emotional lability, which refers to rapid, often extreme, fluctuations in mood, anorexia or loss of appetite, memory impairments, including amnesia, increased sensitivity to light or photophobia, and a highly suspicious paranoid syndrome. These symptoms can be tied to the neurotoxic effects of amphetamines on the central nervous system, especially when used in high doses or over a prolonged period. Chronic use can lead to adverse changes in brain structure and function, including reduced gray matter volume and disruption of metabolic integrity in the CNS.
Chronic use of amphetamines is also associated with psychological changes such as psychotic episodes, which can include delusions and intense paranoia. While long-term medical use of amphetamines at therapeutic doses may not commonly lead to such severe side effects, recreational use at high doses poses a significant risk. This risk is exacerbated in drugs like methamphetamine, which is considerably more potent and neurotoxic than other amphetamine types.