01:830:364 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Prenatal Cocaine Exposure, Antisocial Personality Disorder, Nucleus Accumbens
Document Summary
Cocaine is a psychomotor stimulant, also called cns stimulant or sympathomimetic. Cocaine mimics effects of adrenalin and noradrenalin, which are released during. Cocaine increases heart rate and blood pressure, as well as arousal, anorexia, and motor activation. Cocaine increases dopamine (da) neurotransmission in the nucleus accumbens. Cocaine blocks re-uptake of da from the synaptic cleft, increasing the concentration of da at the post-synaptic membrane. Dopamine is synthesized by a series of enzymatic reactions from the dietary amino. Cocaine user cannot sit still, investigating the environment for stimuli of interest. Symptoms include target identification, forward locomotion, contact, licking, chewing, gnawing, swallowing and grooming. Higher doses of cocaine induce repetitive or ritualistic movement. Dumping contents of purse carefully arranging contents on floor, placing items back in purse, repeating contents on floor. Repetitive nodding of head up and down or from side to side, turning of the body to move in a repetitive circular pattern.