Stimulants

2/28/2025

• Stumlants increase activity of CNS

  • increased blood pressure, heart rate, and alertness

  • rapid behvaior and thinking

  • increased dopamine, norepinerine, and serotonin

• Most common stimulants

  • caffine

  • cocaine/methlphenidate

  • ampheramines

• Caffeine

  • adenosine 2A receptor antagonist

  • prevents inhibition of VTA dopamine by adenosine

  • Metabolism (glucose and ATP) leads to sdenosine build up over the day

  • This build up inhibits VTA activity and makes us tires

  • Blocking the adenosine leads to more dopamine and more motivation, energy or effort

  • Increased dopamine esspacaily when you are tired

• Stimulant use disorder

  • stimulant dominates the individuals life

  • Leads too poor functioning in social relationships and at work

  • Tolarance and withdrawl reactions tied to increased doses

  • annual rates amoung people older than age 11

    • Blah

• Cocaine; processed cocaine (hydrocolride powder)

  • most powerful natral known stiulant

  • produces a euphoric rush of well being, followed by let down (crashing)

  • Increases the supply of dopamine at key neurons throughout brain

  • Blah

  • Effects of high does of cocaine

    • Cocaine intoxication

    • cocaine induces psycotic disorder

    • depression like letdown (crashing)

  • More powerful, cheeper forms have been avilable since 1984

    • Freebasing

    • crack

  • Phiscal dangers of cocane

    • overdose

    • excessive does and heart irregularities or brain seazures

    • increased likehood of oreganancy complications

    • damage to the nose

    • death (>10,000 per year)

    • levamisole toxicity (deworming agent for dogs, tends to cause random absecesses in people)

    • You dont know what people put in the cocaine u take

  • Reuptake transport

    • after the vessicle realseases nerotranmiter into the cleft

    • The nerotranmiter is floating

  • Monoamines (dopamine,serotnin, Norepinhrine)

    • rely upon sodium ptasium gradiernts to move neurotranmiter across the membrain

    • they dont work without sodium

    • also transport potassium (k+) and cloride (CL-) across gradients

• Amphetamines

  • Lab maniufactured stimulant drug

    • ex: amphetamine, dextroamphetamine, methamphetamine

    • most often in pill/capsule form

    • revrese the doamine transporter rather than blocking it

      • prevent vesicles from filling with dopamine

      • conitration gradent in wrong direction

      • dopamine from inside flushes out

    • Misuse amoung college students

      • almost 1 out of 10 undergrads acquire amphatamines or related stimulants

      • pharmasutical vs natral

• Methamphetamine (meth, crack)

  • recent surge in popularity: used at least once by 5.4% of US residents older than age 11, spreading across the US

  • 42% of current users are woman

  • club drug

• Once nerotranmiters are taken into cells the get reciled

  • transporter are also used neurotansmiters into vessicles'

  • therfore these tansporters can directly affect how much nerotranmiter is avilble

• Some drugs block transporter and older drugs pull into tranporter and effect vessicles (look at chart in slides)

• Tolerance

  • short lived (7-14 days after no exposure)

  • Diff effects have diff time scales

    • ADHD migh be helped for a prolonged period

    • Appitatie suppersion migh disapear after a couple of days

  • Psyh aspects are mainly due to adaptive changes in brain

    • changes to cpompensate for a LOT of extra dopamine

  • Meth will kill doamine nerouns, cocaine less so

  • no changes in metablisom over time

• Bothe cocaine and amphethamines act in the doapmine system

  • neculus accumbens dopamine synapeses are cirtical for addiction

  • animals will adminster to get the right amount of doamine in neculus accumbens

  • frontal cortex matters in people

• long term

  • changes to dopamine transporters in striatium (reduced transporter)

  • Decreased dopaime avalible in frontal cortex

  • Changes in D2 dopamine receptors in frontal & straitum for cocaine

  • Changes in D1 receptors and transporters for meth- could be the result of cell death amoung dopamine nerouns

  • presynaptic dopamine deficiency (less nerotranmiter realised)

• Withdrawl