The Mechanisms of Cocaine Tolerance

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

Brain chemistry is a detailed system that helps the brain to interact with the chemicals that moves important around the brain. Brain chemistry changes depending on what substance or how much of the substance is used. These changes can indicate signs of the beginning of an addiction over time if the drug use begins to get worst it can lead to dramatic changes in the brains over all chemistry. This example supports the theory of brain change ”‘when we elevated levels of ΔFosB in the NAc, the mice exhibited behaviors that are considered reliable indicators that exposing people to the same conditions would cause addiction: They showed more sensitivity to the drug (responded to doses one-third those required to produce a response in normal animals), self-administered more drug, and displayed greater drive (or craving) for cocaine (they worked two to three times as hard to get the drug) ().” The opposing side stated this as their disagreement “human psychology is simply the reflection of human neurophysiology. Thus, for instance, although the authors claim that their account of addiction is relatively 'skeptical,' and has less explanatory power than that of their opponents, they nevertheless seem to accept at least the possibility of a complete account, which will only come about as a result of 'further advances in biological and psychological science (Foxcroft, L. J.

Addiction is thought of a biological nature that is past through genetics according to the biological theory as explained in P2. A contrasting theory of the biological theory would be the classical and operant conditioning theory, this was made by Pavlov. The basis of conditioning theories is that addiction is the end result of the reinforcement of drug use. The drug acts as a reinforcer and gains control over the user’s behavior. In contrast to the biological models of the exposure theories, these conditioning models suggest that anyone can show addictive behavior if they are given reinforcements, regardless of their genetics. The advantage of this

According to the biological perspective, drug use may start off as casual, but through continued use, it produces changes in the brain that influences the onset and maintenance of drug addiction. (Horvath et al., 2013). Drugs have their most prominent effects on the function of neurotransmitters. Almost all major drugs of abuse activate the reward system and cause a flood in the levels of dopamine which is a neurotransmitter that is involved in pleasure. As a result, not only do people learn to associate drug use with pleasure, but the brain also starts to reduce its own natural dopamine production in adjustment to the levels of dopamine produced by the drugs. This is called tolerance, and the consequences of tolerance are highly influential

Progressive ratio schedules have been used to study the effects of different drugs or doses. The progressive ratio schedule is defined as increasing the ratio requirement (the number of responses needed to acquire an injection) following each reinforcement until there is no longer a response. The breaking point is the final ratio and is used to evaluate the efficacy of the reinforcer. Different motivational variables change the value of the breaking point. Increasing the dose of cocaine increases the value of the breaking point. On the other hand, pre-treating animals with spiperone or SCH23390 will decrease the breaking point. Therefore, it can be implied that both D1 and D2 receptors are needed to reinforce the effects of cocaine (Hubner & Moreton, 1991).

I was given the honor to work for the Neisewander Laboratory with Dr. Janet Neisewander, a behavioral neuroscientist who uses animal models to study mechanisms of drug abuse. I was involved weekly in the neuroscience lab. During this time I learned how to perform self-administration of cocaine on Sprague-Dawley rats. Also, I learned the brain anatomy of a rat, executed brain slices, replicated the DNA, performed jugular vein surgeries and took vaginal smears of female rats to determine menstrual cycles. Before graduating with my Bachelor's degree from Arizona State University, my lab team and I created a poster of our results from our female rats on ovarian hormonal status influencing 5-HT1B receptor agonist effects on self-administration

This article focuses on examining how the brain effects cocaine dependent individuals and treatment. The first section primarily focuses on providing a biopsychosocial description of cocaine addiction or dependence based on recent research findings. This description includes a discussion on the evolution of cocaine dependence to become a major public health issue. This is followed by an evaluation of the social impact of the problem. The analysis is carried out on the premise on why cocaine dependence and

M.J. is a 21-year-old female who presented herself in the emergency room with a laceration on her hand and a positive test for cocaine in her system. The patient is a single mom of two toddlers and has a live-in boyfriend. The patient presented to the E.R. that her house was destroyed in a fire and lacerated her hand while trying to escape. Her boyfriend, who is a heroin user, perished in the fire. She is now having difficulty remembering the fire and she feels like she is in a dream. M.J. is being admitted to the psychiatric unit. Because of this traumatic event, the likelihood that this patient is experiencing anxiety and depression is very high: leading to acute stress disorder. This disorder is prevalent within the first month of

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

Discovering an effective pharmacotherapy for cocaine use disorder remains a top research priority nationally since there are currently no FDA approved medication for the treatment of cocaine dependence. While several classes of medications have shown some efficacy in some phase two clinical trials, none has been proven to show consistency and lasting efficacy. Recent progress in the understanding of the effect of cocaine on the

In common with all other classes of substance use disorders, cocaine dependence has been shown to be strongly associated with depression by community and clinical surveys. Cocaine is considered a stimulant that can be inhaled as a powder, injected intravenously, or smoked. The euphoria caused by cocaine is short acting, starting with a ten to twenty second rush, followed by a fifteen to twenty minutes of less intense euphoria. A person that is high on cocaine feels energetic, invincible, and on top of the world. Cocaine works by blocking the reuptake of norepinephrine and dopamine. This leaves more neurotransmitters present at the synapse, which means the receptors are continuously being activated. This is believed to be the reason for the feeling of euphoria. At the same time the presynaptic supplies of dopamine and norepinephrine are being depleted. This is what causes the crash that happens after the drug wears off (451). I believe that the patient’s cocaine dependence is definitely related to the depression disorder along with the other precipitating

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

Cocaine abuse and dependence affected 1.4 million Americans in 2008 (Volkow, 2010). Cocaine is known for its addictive properties (Letchworth et al., 2001). Therapeutic and medicinal techniques utilized to relieve drug effects and drug seeking behavior have become increasingly popular in the scientific community. In general the affected areas during or after cocaine use have been identified subsequently providing research into the physiological aspects of cocaine use. Research to determine drug-seeking and relapse is imperative due to the prevalence of cocaine use and the rehabilitative qualities a medicinal cure could provide.

Cocaine is an illegal substance and is a powerful addictive stimulant that is derived from the Coca plant which is native to South America, most of the time it comes in a powder form to snort up the nose or inhaled as smoke, and the effects usually range from happiness, burst of energy, mental alertness, hypersensitivity of Sight, sound and touch and being irritable and extremely paranoid. Cocaine is a very appealing drug as its effects are quick and almost gives a person a sense of invincibility and enhances a person’s energy, and a person develops an attachment to the drug because it makes him/her feel good, and stops the withdrawals [1], also over time the person can become tolerant to it, hence why he would need more to lift himself up again as the come down would also get worse. Therefore driving a person to take more [1] .

A third theory proposes that “habit formation and maintenance are two essential components of drug addiction.” (Newlin, et al.) In this theory the casual drug initiates or creates the habit and the transition to addiction is also a transition to habit maintenance. The habit theory also refers to environmental cues that are associated with an individual’s drug use. Newlin, et al. state that drug liking changes with addiction to drug “wanting” and to “needing”. They further state that the drug use “becomes semi-autonomous and partially or wholly divorced from the motivational processes that originally promoted it. (Newlin, et al.) In other words it takes on “a life of its own” a mundane habit that is neither pleasurable nor exciting. (Newlin, et al.) Newlin and his colleagues theorize that humans and mammals in general adapt to survive and some of the habits that are formed are a means of survival. In their