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Cocaine also blocks the serotonin transporter and norepinephrine transporter, inhibiting reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine from the synaptic cleft into the pre-synaptic axon terminal and increasing activation of serotonin receptors and norepinephrine receptors in the post-synaptic neuron, contributing to the mental and physical effects ...
These chemicals inhibit the action of DAT and, to a lesser extent, the other monoamine transporters, but their effects are mediated by separate mechanisms. Monoamine transporters are established targets for many pharmacological agents that affect brain function, including the psychostimulants cocaine and amphetamine. Cocaine and amphetamine ...
The effect of these structural changes on behavior is uncertain and studies have produced conflicting results. Two studies [18] [19] have shown that an increase in dendritic spine density due to cocaine exposure facilitates behavioral sensitization, while two other studies [20] [21] produce contradicting evidence.
Cocaine's mechanism of action in the human brain includes the inhibition of dopamine reuptake, [49] which accounts for cocaine's addictive properties, as dopamine is the critical neurotransmitter for reward. However, cocaine is more active in the dopaminergic neurons of the ventral tegmental area than the substantia nigra.
Axon terminals (also called terminal boutons, synaptic boutons, end-feet, or presynaptic terminals) are distal terminations of the branches of an axon. An axon, also called a nerve fiber, is a long, slender projection of a nerve cell that conducts electrical impulses called action potentials away from the neuron's cell body to transmit those ...
Cocaine is a relatively "balanced" inhibitor, although facilitation of dopaminergic neurotransmission is what has been linked to the reinforcing and addictive effects. In addition, cocaine has some serious limitations in terms of its cardiotoxicity [194] due to its local anesthetic activity. Thousands of cocaine users are admitted to emergency ...
One form of behavioral neuropharmacology focuses on the study of drug dependence and how drug addiction affects the human mind. Most research has shown that the major part of the brain that reinforces addiction through neurochemical reward is the nucleus accumbens. The image to the right shows how dopamine is projected into this area.
This receptor had been seen to modulate the rewarding effects of cocaine, and receptor antagonists had blocked the acute locomotor stimulating effect and lowered behavioral sensitization. Changes in the sigma 1 receptor have been shown to modulate dopamine release, so shifts in its expression can change the behavioral responses to cocaine with ...