Essay on Cocaine and the Brain: The Neurobiology of Addiction

One can feel the effects of cocaine almost immediately after use, with these effects lasting only a few minutes or hours. The duration of cocaine 's effects depends upon how it is administered. The faster the drug is absorbed, the more intense the high, but also the shorter the duration. The high from snorting is relatively slow to arrive but it may last 15 to 30 minutes. In contrast, the effects from smoking are more immediate but may last only 5 to 10 minutes. “In the brain, cocaine interferes with the chemical messengers -- neurotransmitters -- that nerves use to communicate with each other. Cocaine blocks norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine, and other neurotransmitters from being reabsorbed. The resulting

The long term effects of cocaine are very extreme. Once having tried cocaine, an individual may have difficulty controlling the urge to use the drug and the perspective might change leaving the consumption of the drug as primordial. Cocaine’s stimulant and addictive effects are due primarily as a result of its ability to stop the reabsorption of dopamine by nerve

The ponderance that Brain = Behavior and the inherent ramifications of such proves no more fascinating than when addressed in the context of "Addiction and the Brain". Essential to consider is:

For short-term use, cocaine can provide extreme happiness, enhanced sensitivity to sound and touch or mental alertness. People takes cocaine as it can provide energy on their work but a long-term use of cocaine may lead to malnourishment, irritability, restlessness, paranoia and auditory hallucination (NIDA, 2016; Roncero, C., et al., 2013). Also, cocaine abuse may have other complications such as nosebleed because of snorting, difficulties in swallowing and easily infected by HIV or hepatitis C through needle injection and the misjudgment on having unsafe sex (NIDA, 2016). On the other hand, long-term use of cocaine may lead to addiction and a stronger dosage will be taken when they have any withdrawal symptoms. For instance, symptoms of depression, fatigue and increased appetite. Nowadays, still no medicines were approved for treating the addiction on cocaine and thus the treatment of cocaine addiction is

Cocaine has been Shown to block the reuptake of norepinephrine (NE) at the adrenergic nerve ending. Consequently, there is an increase in the postsynaptic stimulation of NE receptors and their target cells because of the increased levels at NE in the synapse. Cocaine’s effect on the adrenergic neurons themselves is inhibition (Dackis & Gold. 1987).

Cocaine’s primary effect on the brain is to produce “psychoactive and addictive effects primarily by acting on the brain’s limbic system, a set of interconnected regions that regulate pleasure and motivation. Initial, short- term effect- a buildup of the neurochemical, dopamine which gives rise to euphoria and a desire to take the drug again”(Nestler, 2005, p.4). This is normally seen in some individuals that draw in the drug like through inhaling. It gives them an instant increase in blood, and brain levels. It causes the individual to become addicted to this substance. Cocaine is thought to produce pleasure/reward like any addicted drug

As a coach, I had a player, who was very polite and worked hard in practice. She was very timid around other teammates. She would stop in to talk to me and never had friends that I could see her relate to. Trying to fit in desperately, she was happy to be included in the “social” activities in college. She got pregnant and her boy friend and her were arrested for conspiracy to deliver cocaine and both sentenced to prison. This course states cocaine can cause an initial rush of pleasure that makes you alert, talkative and confident. With prolonged exposure to meth and cocaine, it can destroy up to 50% of dopamine – producing neurons in certain parts of the brain. This can lead to irreversible symptons of Parkinson’s disease. (Cocaine handout) After several letters from her in prison, she thanked me for being a good listener. I know her family closed their eyes thinking it’s not an addiction, but a social activity that they can quit at any time. This course explains how a higher level of dopamine on a regular basis is needed just to keep you feeling normal. Cocaine can make people feel paranoid, angry and hostile even when they are not high. Prolonged use causes sleep deprivation and loss of appetite. A person can become psychotic and experience hallucinations. It increases the risk that the user will experience a heart attack, stroke, or respiratory failure which can result in sudden death. (Foundation for a Drug-Free

The stimulant properties in cocaine make it attractive as an antidepressant. Cocaine causes an individual to feel euphoria, enhances strength, and can mask fatigue. These intense contented feelings can cause an abuser to go on binges. Very rarely are cocaine abusers addicted to only cocaine. Other drugs such as marijuana and alcohol are used to combat the unpleasant effects of cocaine once the “high” wears off. The symptoms of the disorder interact with each other increasing the symptoms of all of the disorders.

Cocaine also known as crack cocaine is a stimulant drug, a stimulant raises one’s heart rate, attention and awareness and breathing. Stimulants were used to treat respiratory issues but is now prescribed for individuals with ADHD. In the 1800’s is when cocaine began to be seen as an addicting substance due it’s mood-altering effects on one’s brain. Cocaine can be inhaled through a pipe, when in powder form it can be snorted, and some individuals inject the drug into their bloodstream through intermuscular or intravenously. Individuals that use cocaine repeatedly use the drug within a short time span between each time used so that the euphoric high stays longer. The effects that cocaine has on the central nervous system is so

Stimulant drugs rev up the central nervous system by increasing heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure. Thus, someone who abuses stimulants will experience enhanced positive emotional reactions and a minimized level of negaitve emotional reactions, as well as alertness. Someone who abuses nicotine, a stimulant, will experiecne relaxation and alertness due to the way in which nicotine activates receptors sensitive to the neurotransimitter acetylcholine. Someone who abusues the stimulant cocaine will experience euphoria, enhanced mental and physical capabilities, stimulation, a decrease in hunger, indifference to pain, and diminished fatigue. Crack cocaine will generate intense euphoria, but will follow with unpleasant feelings. Stimulants

When cocaine is used an electrical signal in the presynaptic nerve cell release neurotransmitters across the synaptic cleft to bind to receptors on the postsynaptic cell. Once the neurotransmitters are bound to the receptors a release of a new electrical signal occurs in the postsynaptic cell. The neurotransmitters are gradually removed from the receptors and brought back into the presynaptic cell through neurotransmitter specific reuptake pumps on the lining of the presynaptic cell. Cocaine affects the levels of dopamine, serotonin and Norephedrine by blocking the reuptake pumps.This results in excess levels of the neurotransmitters to be in the synaptic cleft. These high levels of neurotransmitters continue to bind to receptors which releases more electrical signals to the postsynaptic neuron. Over time this hyperactivity of the neuron causes the postsynaptic cell to reduce the number of receptors on it. Once the hyperactivity stops in the postsynaptic cell normal cell function resumes. However with fewer receptor cells the user feels a lessened sensation of the neurotransmitters. The physiological effects of cocaine can be attributed to the chemical process it disrupts in the nerve cells. Loss of appetite, disturbed sleep patterns, nausea, anxiety, paranoia and depression are attributed to altered serotonin levels. Increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, increased body temperature, contracted

What do schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease, bipolar disorder, and cocaine all have in common? It turns out they are all linked to the role of the dopamine transporter (DAT), which is an integral membrane protein responsible for the reuptake of dopamine from the synapse. Drugs that bind to DAT to prevent the reuptake of dopamine are used to treat the diseases mentioned above, among others. However, cocaine, which is also a DAT blocker, leads to profoundly negative effects, such as addiction and psychomotor stimulation. Understanding how different DAT blockers produce distinct behavioral and chemical responses could be the key to developing better drugs to treat dopaminergic disorders and also addiction to DAT blockers like cocaine.

The University of Utah conducted a study and created a simulation called “Mouse Party” and shows how drugs cross the membrane in the brain and show the effects that the drugs have. For example, in the “Mouse Party” simulation, one of the dugs tested was cocaine. The simulation first states that dopamine transporters main function is to remove dopamine from the synaptic cleft when their job is finished. It then goes on to explain that when cocaine enters the system, the drug blocks the dopamine transporters; when this blockage occurs, the dopamine left in the synaptic cleft has no option but to bind to the receptors multiple times over which in returns over stimulates the cell. The simulation also explains that cocaine focusses in the reward pathway and is also in the section of the brain that controls voluntary movements, which explains why cocaine abusers are twitchy and cannot sit still for a certain period of time. (University of Utah Genetic Science Learning Center Mouse Party 2013). With the different drugs, different transport mechanisms, bulk, active, and passive, were used to transport the drug from the outside of the cell to the inside of the

The drug Cocaine alters chemical levels in the brain which can lead the user to have the ‘feel good’ factor.

Cocaine, on the other hand, has been found to have a profound effect on increased dopamine activity. Kennedy & Hanbauer (1983; cited in Karch, 2007) found a strong correlation between cocaine binding and the inhibition of dopamine uptake, and therefore proposed that dopamine transporters are binding sites for cocaine. Such research, which correlates strong reinforcing properties of cocaine with inhibition of dopamine transporters, suggests that cocaine has a more significant affect upon dopamine, than than it has upon serotonin and noradrenaline. The excessive role of dopamine can explain the high degree of pleasure that users of cocaine experience, as well as depression and cravings, which follow.