2-Minute Neuroscience: Effects of Cocaine Video Lecture | A-Z Guide to Neuroscience - Personal Learning

Welcome to 2 minute neuroscience, where I
simplistically explain neuroscience topics
in 2 minutes or less.
In this installment I will discuss the effects
of cocaine on the brain.
Cocaine is a strong stimulant that can cause
a range of effects including increased energy,
alertness and euphoria, along with an elevated
heart rate and other sympathetic nervous system
responses.
Cocaine also has a high potential for abuse
and inclines users towards compulsive administration
of the drug.
Although all of the details of how cocaine
produces its effects are not known, it is
thought that the main mechanism by which cocaine
acts on the brain is through the inhibition
of the reuptake of neurotransmitters called
monoamines.
Monoamines are a group of neurotransmitters
that includes dopamine, norepinephrine, and
serotonin.
Reuptake is a method of removing neurotransmitters
from the synaptic cleft between neurons.
When reuptake is inhibited, it causes increased
levels of neurotransmitters in the synaptic
cleft.
Cocaine inhibits reuptake by blocking the
action of the proteins known as transporters
that are normally responsible for it.
By blocking monoamine transporters and inhibiting
monoamine reuptake, cocaine causes levels
of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin
to increase in the brain, enhancing the activity
of these neurotransmitters at their receptors.
Although cocaine increases levels of dopamine,
norepinephrine, and serotonin, it is not very
clear what the individual contribution of
each of these neurotransmitters is to the
effects of the drug.
However, it is generally thought that cocaine’s
action at dopamine receptors is most important
for making cocaine rewarding and promoting
the compulsive use of the drug.
The mesocortical and mesolimbic dopamine pathways,
which are sometimes called the mesocorticolimbic
dopamine pathway, are pathways that are rich
in dopamine neurons; they project from a dopamine
rich region in the brainstem called the ventral
tegmental area to a variety of locations in
the limbic system and frontal cortex.
These areas include a region called the nucleus
accumbens, which is considered important to
addiction and is activated whenever we do
something rewarding.
Thus, when someone uses cocaine, dopamine
activity along the mesocorticolimbic pathway
is increased, causing dopamine levels to rise
in regions like the nucleus accumbens.