Cocaine is a psychoactive drug affects the limbic system of the body, which controls pleasure and motivation. In 1859 Albert Niemann, German Chemist, isolated cocaine from the leaves of the Coca plant which is located in the Andes Mountains of South America. It is the second oldest psychoactive drug and in the Medical field it is classified as a Schedule II Drug; meaning it can be used in a controlled medical setting but it is highly addictive. When cocaine is used as a recreational drug it increases the levels of Dopamine within the brain. The abusing of Cocaine causes health problems such as: hypertension, weight loss, stroke, and coma. In the United States back in 2013 drug use was extremely high among those between 18 and 24 years old.
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The research will also allow for medications to be discovered to treat those with a cocaine addiction or those that continuously relapse due to a former addiction. The Neural Mechanisms of Cocaine Addiction, Cocaine Cues, and Psychotherapy will be discussed. [National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2015]
Table 1: shows those in their late teens and early twenties have the highest rate of illicit drug use. Table 2: shows the rate of illicit drug in the United States among those in their fifties and sixties.
Neural Mechanisms of Cocaine Addiction When Cocaine is abused over a short period of time it causes homeostatic adaptations within the Dopamine transporter, known as antagonist-cocaine resulting in dependency and tolerance for the drug. When a drug abuser experiences stress it may cause a relapse. Stress-induced relapses activate the brain’s reward pathways that stimulate the release of glucocorticoid stress hormones. There is a major difference between drug rewards and natural rewards; especially since drug rewards are often chosen at the sacrifice of other rewards. Since addictive drugs such as Cocaine have no homeostatic benefit or reproductive
The research will also allow for medications to be discovered to treat those with a cocaine addiction or those that continuously relapse due to a former addiction. The Neural Mechanisms of Cocaine Addiction, Cocaine Cues, and Psychotherapy will be discussed. [National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2015]
Table 1: shows those in their late teens and early twenties have the highest rate of illicit drug use. Table 2: shows the rate of illicit drug in the United States among those in their fifties and sixties.
Neural Mechanisms of Cocaine Addiction When Cocaine is abused over a short period of time it causes homeostatic adaptations within the Dopamine transporter, known as antagonist-cocaine resulting in dependency and tolerance for the drug. When a drug abuser experiences stress it may cause a relapse. Stress-induced relapses activate the brain’s reward pathways that stimulate the release of glucocorticoid stress hormones. There is a major difference between drug rewards and natural rewards; especially since drug rewards are often chosen at the sacrifice of other rewards. Since addictive drugs such as Cocaine have no homeostatic benefit or reproductive