cocaine

Adenosine receptors (AR) are a family of G-protein coupled receptors, comprised of four members, named A1, A2A, A2B, and A3 receptors, found widely distributed in almost all human body tissues and organs. To date, they are known to...

Cocaine addiction is characterized by dysfunction in reward-related brain circuits, leading to maladaptive motivation to seek and take the drug. There are currently no clinically available pharmacotherapies to treat cocaine addiction...

Abstract The neurobiological mechanisms that underlie the resistance of drug cue associations to extinction in addiction remain unknown. Fear extinction critically depends on the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC). Here, we tested if...

Previous research has shown that females report more intense highs from cocaine use than do males, and that the former are more likely to become addicted to the drug, given the presence of the female hormone estradiol. However, little is...

In 1989 a whirlwind of concern was stirred up by a US drug enforcement officer who predicted for Britain a US-style “explosion” of violence associated with the ‘almost instantly addictive’ crack version of cocaine. That did not happen - but...

Abstract Cocaine exerts its behavioral stimulant effects by facilitating synaptic actions of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin. It is also neurotoxic and broadly cytotoxic, leading to overdose deaths. We demonstrate that the...

Working with mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins have contributed significant new evidence to support the idea that high doses of cocaine kill brain cells by triggering overactive autophagy, a process in which cells literally digest their...

Further evidence from England that the ‘Tough Choices’ schemes which force people arrested for certain offences to be tested for heroin or cocaine use and if positive to be assessed for treatment do not pay back in terms of treatment...

A new study published in the journal Biological Psychiatry claims that one’s desire for cocaine may be reduced by blocking signalling from a specific system in the brain primarily responsible for promoting wakefulness and appetite. The lead...