Cocaine

Question 1

What is cocaines chemical formula?

Answer 1

Alkaloid

Question 2

What is its botanical origin?

Answer 2

Coca

Question 3

What are its related NT’s

Answer 3

Serotonin, Norepinephrine, Dopamine

Question 4

Administration

Answer 4

Chewing (leaf) tea

Question 5

What are its effects

Answer 5

alleviates fatigue, appetite suppressant

reduce pain

Question 6

Administration?

Answer 6

Inhaled and insufflated/injected

Question 7

Inhaled 3 different ways its processed

Answer 7

Paste: leaves mixed with organic solvent (karosine/gas) smoked with tabacco –> toxic

Freebase: extract into solvent (ether) explosive

crack: mixed with baking soda and water -> cheap (safer)

Question 8

Insufflated/ injected

Answer 8

Hydrocholride: salt form of freebase

potency increase with successive extractions

Question 9

reuptake inhibitor?

Answer 9

mesolimbic Dopamine pathway

Question 10

What does the mesolimbic dopamine pathway do?

Answer 10

Blocks transporter protein

results in post synaptic reactivation
feeling of pleasure, acute doses: positive symptoms schizophrenia

Question 11

What are the problems that arise with this? what does limbic imply?

Answer 11

Limbic implies emotion

1) dopamine is rewarding (motivating), but is difficult to disentangle from emotions
2) euphoria is induced by actue doses, implying a different (emotional) mechanism

Question 12

More problems with the reuptake inhibitor of the mesolimbic dopamine pathway?

Answer 12

Dopamine transporter ANTAGONIST do not induce the same behavioural effects as cocaine

Question 13

What is CART

Answer 13

Cocaine and amphetamine regulated transcript

Question 14

Neuromodulator produced after what is triggered

Answer 14

Psychostimulation

Question 15

cocaine and amphetamine regulate the Transcription how?

Answer 15

the transcription is Storeed in vesicles along with dopamine increase release

when alone induces locomotor activity, with dopamine prevent increase

Question 16

also induces results similar to what?

Answer 16

Starvation (hypothalamus)

responsible for decrease in eating behaviours
-possibly related to serotonin

Question 17

cocaine acts as a Antagonist, How?

Answer 17

Blocks sodium channels
-no electric propagation
-anesthesia
constricts vasculature

Question 18

Cocaines short term effects. (3)

Answer 18

Enhanced self esteem/confidence
giddiness
arousal, motor activation, euphoria 
increased talkativeness
disinhibition

Question 19

Cocaines long term effect (4)

Answer 19

Anxiety/depression
-down regulation in limbic system
Motor problems/tremor
-down regulation in midbrain
death from psychosis-related or depression related to suicide
-implies motivation and disinhibition still in effect
Delay discounting
-outcomes are evaluated differently because of time delay ($5 today or $10 tomorrow)

Question 20

Cocaine tolerance
“Acute”
(3)

Answer 20

Acute : pronounced primary effect.
Coke out: subsequent administration does not illicit same effect over 10-12 hours (immediate tolerance)
freeze: psychic numbing followed by exhilaration/well-being
Let down depression: occurs after 1st dose as a result of coke out
emotional uplifting
serotonin linked to “liking” happens after coke out

Question 21

cocaine tolerance “Physiological”

Answer 21

-Slows
heart-rate/blood pressure
high incidence of 1st time over-dosing
emulates sympathetic nervous system