Possible Interaction: Amphetamine and Dopamine

“This hypothesis gets major support from the reported d-amphetamine-induced worsening of psychosis, because amphetamine increases dopamine activity in the brain.”

“Finally, in vivo microdialysis experiments showed that amphetamine potentiated orexin A-induced dopamine and glutamate release in the ventral tegmental area (VTA).”

“Interestingly, while 1 µM AMPH did not cause long-term effects in the LLC-PK1 cells, in the SH-SY5Y cells, it decreased the DA uptake after one, two, but not three, cell divisions and 5-day RA differentiation.”

“Pretreatments with 50 µM AMPH caused a significant reduction of DA uptake both right after 15 h and 3 cell divisions followed by neuro-differentiation with retinoic acid (RA) for 5 days.”

“Previous data showed that by binding to catecholamine transporters, AMPH prevents the reuptake of the neurotransmitters dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE).”

“The same pattern was observed in rats, where an acute injection of amphetamine caused a significant rise in striatal dopamine levels, with no effect of naltrexone pretreatment.”

“Dopamine is released in rat brainstem locomotor networks, and amphetamine potentiates dopamine release in vivo.”

“In an ex vivo whole-brain preparation, fluorescent reporters of vesicular cargo and of vesicular pH reveal that amphetamine redistributes vesicle contents and diminishes the vesicle pH-gradient responsible for dopamine uptake and retention.”

“Consistent with this decrease in surface EAAT3, amphetamine potentiates excitatory synaptic responses in dopamine neurons.”

“Addiction to psychostimulants, including cocaine and amphetamine , is associated with dysregulation of dopamine and serotonin (5-HT) neurotransmitter systems.”

“ Dopamine neurotransmission is increased by acute administration of all drugs of abuse, including the stimulants cocaine and amphetamine.”

“Keltner and Pugh (2007) also note that amphetamines produce a profound effect on the “pleasure pathways” in the brain by enhancing dopamine production.”