Cocaine
hideCocaine (benzoylmethylecgonine) is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is both a stimulant of the central nervous system and an appetite suppressant. Specifically, it is a dopamine reuptake inhibitor, a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor and a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, which mediates functionality of such as an exogenous DAT ligand. Because of the way it affects the mesolimbic reward pathway, cocaine is addictive.
Its possession, cultivation, and distribution are illegal for non-medicinal and non-government sanctioned purposes in virtually all parts of the world. Although its free commercialization is illegal and has been severely penalized in virtually all countries, its use worldwide remains widespread in many social, cultural, and personal settings.
For more information about Cocaine, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with cocaine
Why can't some people give up cocaine?
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Nov 19, 2009 |
3 / 5 (1) |
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Drug dependency is a recurrent but treatable kind of addiction. However, not all people who are drug dependent progress in the same way once they stop taking drugs. A new study shows that, in the case of cocaine, a high score ...
Cocaine exposure during pregnancy leads to impulsivity in male, not female, monkeys
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 22, 2009 |
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0
Adult male monkeys exposed to cocaine while in the womb have poor impulse control and may be more vulnerable to drug abuse than female monkeys, even a decade or more after the exposure, according to a new study by researchers ...
Studies improve knowledge of underlying brain changes caused by addiction
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 21, 2009 |
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New research using animal models is enabling a deeper understanding of the neurobiology of compulsive drug addiction in humans — knowledge that may lead to more effective treatment options to weaken the powerful cravings ...
Cocaine Vaccine Shows Promise for Treating Addiction
Oct 05, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
5
(PhysOrg.com) -- Immunization with an experimental anti-cocaine vaccine resulted in a substantial reduction in cocaine use in 38 percent of vaccinated patients in a clinical trial supported by the National Institute on Drug ...
Computer model shows changes in brain mechanisms for cocaine addicts
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Sep 22, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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About 2 million Americans currently use cocaine for its temporary side-effects of euphoria, which have contributed to making it one of the most dangerous and addictive drugs in the country. Cocaine addiction, ...
Cancer drug may prevent cocaine relapse behavior
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Sep 22, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A drug in development to treat cancer could help prevent relapse behavior in people trying to overcome an addiction to cocaine, according to a new study by UC Irvine neuroscientists.
Longitudinal study investigates cocaine's impact on adolescent development
Aug 19, 2009 |
2.5 / 5 (2) |
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Teen years are filled with experimenting. Sometimes that means trying some risky behaviors.
New study: Up to 90 percent of US paper money contains traces of cocaine
Aug 17, 2009 |
2.9 / 5 (8) |
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You probably have cocaine in your wallet, purse, or pocket. Sound unlikely or outrageous? Think again! In what researchers describe as the largest, most comprehensive analysis to date of cocaine contamination ...
Cocaine and heroin harm placenta
Jun 11, 2009 |
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Cocaine and heroin increase permeability of the placenta. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology have shown that exposure to the drugs causes an increase in the ...
Brain-behavior disconnect in cocaine addiction
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
May 25, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (9) |
3
(PhysOrg.com) -- Parts of the brain involved in monitoring behaviors and emotions show different levels of activity in cocaine users relative to non-drug users, even when both groups perform equally well on ...
Cocaine: Perceived as a reward by the brain?
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
May 19, 2009 |
4 / 5 (3) |
5
Cocaine is one of the oldest drugs known to humans, and its abuse has become widespread since the end of the 19th century. At the same time, we know rather little about its effects on the human brain or the mechanisms that ...
Cocaine-linked genes enhance behavioral effects of addiction
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
May 13, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
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New research sheds light on how cocaine regulates gene expression in a crucial reward region of the brain to elicit long-lasting changes in behavior. The study, published by Cell Press in the May 14th issue of the journal ...
Researchers find prenatal cocaine exposure may compromise neurocognitive development
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
May 01, 2009 |
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Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that heavier intrauterine cocaine exposure (IUCE) is associated with mild compromise on selective areas of neurocognitive development during middle childhood. ...
Treating addiction by eliminating drug-associated memories
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Apr 23, 2009 |
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Researchers find new way to fight cocaine addiction
Apr 01, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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UC Irvine pharmacological researchers have discovered that blocking a hormone related to hunger regulation can limit cocaine cravings. Their findings could herald a new approach to overcoming addiction.
