What category of drugs does cocaine fall into?
Psychomotor stimulants.
What effects do cocaine and amphetamines have?
Sensorimotor activation, alertness, arousal and excitement
Who was particularly enthusiastic about the effects of cocaine?
Freud. Also smoked many cigars, got jaw cancer and had a prosthetic and many operations.
What are the two structurally similar synthetic drugs to cocaine?
WIN 35,428 (CFT) and RTI-55 (beta-CIT).
In what different ways can cocaine be taken?
Intravenously, smoking, intranasally and orally.
Which method of cocaine ingestion results in the highest plasma cocaine concentration?
Intravenous.
Where are the principal coca-growing regions?
South America - Columbia, Peru and Bolivia.
What does cocaine do to the body?
It increases synaptic catecholamine and serotonin levels by binding to the transporter and blocking re-uptake; it’s an indirect dopamine agonist.
What are the mild-moderate effects of cocaine and amphetamines?
Mood amplification, heightened energy, insomnia, motor excitement, restlessness, talkativity, hyperactive ideation, increased sexual interest, anger, mild-moderate anorexia.
Inflated self-esteem
What are the severe effects of cocaine and amphetamines?
Irritability, hostility, anxiety, fear, withdrawal, extreme energy or exhaustion, total insomnia and anorexia, compulsive motor stereotypies, rambling, incoherent speech, disjointed flight of ideas, decreased sexual interest, extreme violence, delusions of grandiosity.
What does cocaine do to the sympathetic nervous system?
Creates a high and ‘rush’, but also vasoconstriction, hypertension. This can cause strokes or intracranial haemorrhage.
Apart from inhibiting neuron transporters, what can cocaine do?
Block nerve conduction by inhibiting Na+ channels, local anaesthetic.
What is the role of dopamine in psycho-stimulant induced behaviours?
It plays a central role, as shown by microinjection and lesion studies - 6-ODHA lesions to the NA and striatum decrease locomotor and stereotyped behaviours (which are increased by psychostimulant microinjection) and decrease reinforcing effects. The mesolimbic pathway is key.
What is the difference between the effect of cocaine and amphetamines on the dopamine system?
Cocaine only blocks transporters, amphetamines also stimulate release.
What did Rocha et al (1998) find?
That wild-type mice self-administer cocaine more than DAT knockout mice on a FR-2 schedule.
What did Vorel et al (2002) find?
That in rats implanted with stimulating electrodes cocaine reliably enhanced brain reward by decreasing the reward threshold, which was completely blocked by SB-27701-A.
What did Inada et al (1992) do?
Gave rats a continuous IV infusion of either saline or cocaine for 11/12 days then either a cocaine or saline ‘challenge’. Locomotor activity was measured and it was found that cocaine-infused rats developed tolerance - showed less activity.
What did Post and Contel (1983) find?
That rats given daily cocaine injections showed a progressive increase in stereotyped behaviour (sensitisation) compared with saline controls. Was definitely due to cocaine - gave saline and showed lower stereotypy ratings.
What’s the difference between tolerance and sensitisation?
Sensitisation is like reverse tolerance - an increase in responsiveness to a drug resulting from repeated use of it.
Does chronic cocaine use produce tolerance or sensitisation?
Both - it depends on the pattern of administration, the behavioural response measured and the time elapsed since last does (short=tolerance, long=sensitisation).
What are the three main treatment strategies for cocaine addiction?
Pharmacological, behavioural and psychosocial.
What does pharmacological treatment for cocaine addiction involve?
Desipramine, dopamine antagonists, maybe D3, even vaccines.
What does behavioural treatment for cocaine addiction involve?
Avoidance of relapse triggers.
What does psychosocial treatment for cocaine addiction involve?
Counselling and support.
What did Carrera et al (2001) find?
That immunised rats, when challenged with cocaine, have lower locomotor activity and stereotypy than controls.
