Possible Interaction: Amphetamine and Cocaine

“Here, we review presynaptic dopamine terminal alterations observed following self-administration of cocaine and amphetamine , as well as possible mechanisms by which these alterations occur and their impact on the progression of addiction.”

“This review describes commonly used methodologies to measure dopamine and baseline parameters of presynaptic dopamine regulation, including exocytotic release and reuptake through the dopamine …, as well as dramatic adaptations in dopamine neurotransmission and drug sensitivity that occur with acute non-contingent and chronic, contingent self-administration of cocaine … amphetamine.”

“Both cocaine and amphetamines produce differential lasting behavioral alterations, that is, locomotor sensitization, depending on the time of the day they are administered.”

“ Amphetamine also led to an increase in intracellular Ca(2+) that was blocked by prior treatment with 5 microM thapsigargin or 10 microM cocaine.”

“Previous microscopic studies have shown that the length of dendrites and density of dendritic spines increased in the nucleus accumbens and frontal cortex after repeated exposure to amphetamine and cocaine , but the molecular mechanisms responsible are not well understood.”

“A relative catecholamine deficiency occurs following prolonged abuse of cocaine and amphetamine due to transporter upregulation and receptor downregulation.”

“It is likely that cocaine acted by inhibiting NE re-uptake, iproniazid by blocking MAO, and amphetamine by a combination of both these mechanisms.”

“However, amphetamine lacks the ion channel-blocking properties of cocaine.”

“Correlations were detected between cocaine and amphetamine consumption (r2=0.98), and between heroin and cannabinoids (r2>0.82).”

“such complications are also known to be associated with abuse of cocaine , which is often spiked with amphetamines [2–4].”