Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Cocaine stimulates the mesolimbic pathway in the brain. [15] Mental effects may include an intense feeling of happiness, sexual arousal, loss of contact with reality, or agitation. [12] Physical effects may include a fast heart rate, sweating, and dilated pupils. [12] High doses can result in high blood pressure or high body temperature. [16]
Cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript, also known as CART, is a neuropeptide protein that in humans is encoded by the CARTPT gene. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] CART appears to have roles in reward, feeding, and stress, [ 3 ] and it has the functional properties of an endogenous psychostimulant .
Addictive behavior observed from long-term cocaine users can be due to changes in the gene expression profiles in the brain's reward circuitry. Most research has been focused on the active regions of the reward-related genes, but Maze et al. [3] focuses at what happens to the heterochromatic regions.
Neuroscientists believe that drug addicts’ behavior is a direct correlation to some physiological change in their brain, caused by using drugs. This view believes there is a bodily function in the brain causing the addiction. This is brought on by a change in the brain caused by brain damage or adaptation from chronic drug use. [1] [2]
When used habitually, cocaine can change brain structure and function, resulting in addiction. [8] Circuits within the brain structure that play a part in stress signals become more sensitive. When cocaine is not being used this increases an individual's displeasure and negative moods. [8]
Neuropharmacology is a very broad region of science that encompasses many aspects of the nervous system from single neuron manipulation to entire areas of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. To better understand the basis behind drug development, one must first understand how neurons communicate with one another. [citation needed]
The claustrum is the region of the brain in which the KOR is most densely expressed. [ 20 ] [ 21 ] [ 22 ] It has been proposed that this area, based on its structure and connectivity, has "a role in coordinating a set of diverse brain functions", and the claustrum has been elucidated as playing a crucial role in consciousness .
The mesolimbic pathway and its positioning in relation to the other dopaminergic pathways. The mesolimbic pathway is a collection of dopaminergic (i.e., dopamine-releasing) neurons that project from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to the ventral striatum, which includes the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and olfactory tubercle. [9]