Emma Haeusel

BCORE 119

Dr. McNabb

5/16/16

Drugs of Addiction

            For this essay, I am focusing on the first topic, the chemical nature of the substance, or the molecular structure, how it acts at a molecular level, or which neurotransmitters it interacts with, and whether or not it is addictive. I learned a lot about cocaine, about it’s history and the chemical nature of it, as well as how it reacts with neurotransmitters, especially the neurotransmitter dopamine.

Cocaine, or “coca”, as it was known before it was turned into the chemical substance known today, has been used for thousands of years for it’s powerful affects in South America by chewing the leaves (Cocaine: Research). It was used in tonics and medicines as well as the earliest Coca-Cola, hence the name (Cocaine: Research). The cocaine known today is a chemical substance, or “cocaine hydrochloride”, with the molecular formula of C₁₇H₂₁NO₄ (Cocaine).

The most important neurotransmitter that cocaine affects is dopamine. It “functions to increase the availability of … dopamine” (O’Donnell). Interestingly enough, many of the effects cocaine gives requires the brain to have a fully functional dopamine system, so in cases where the dopamine transmitters where damaged in animals, they no longer craved cocaine or sought it (Dackis). What cocaine actually does to the dopamine transmitters is it blocks the reuptake of dopamine, meaning the dopamine will stay in the synapses, and therefore causes an incredible amount of concentrated dopamine, leading to the intense feeling of reward- it is because there is so much more dopamine than the brain is used to (Dackis).

Many studies have been done on all forms of drugs and substances of addiction, and some of those are testing a person’s genes to examine whether they are more prone to addiction. In one study it was shown that a person’s genetic makeup accounts for up to 79% of their risk for becoming addicted to cocaine, as well as finding that there are specific genes that focus on encoding for dopamine receptors that can affect someone’s cocaine addiction (Cocaine: Research). Increased stress as well can affect whether a person becomes addicted to cocaine, as there are important ways in which stress and pleasure interact in the brain (Cocaine: Research).

            Cocaine is, as it says on the website “drugabuse.gov”, “powerfully addictive”. And it is the most addictive drug besides meth. As Dominic Streatfeild says in his book Cocaine: An Unauthorized Biography, “Put it this way: this is the drug that, when offered to animals, they will take- to the exclusion of all else including sex, water, and food- until they all drop dead” (Streatfeild, xi). The reason it is so addictive is it creates feeling of pleasure similar to that of having sex or quenching an extreme thirst. This is through the limbic system, where dopamine build-up is extremely high, and the part of the brain that generally blocks urges is impaired through continued use of cocaine (Nestler).

            Overall this has been a very enlightening research assignment. Before this, my knowledge of cocaine addiction was extremely limited. I am glad I was able to research this and will hopefully be more aware of addiction and the many things that can contribute to it as well as being aware of the affects any drug, not just cocaine, can have.

Works Cited

"Cocaine." ChemSpider. Royal Society of Chemistry, 2015. Web. May 2016.

Dackis, Charles A., and Mark S. Gold. "New Concepts in Cocaine Addiction: The Dopamine Depletion Hypothesis." Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 9.3 (1985): 469-77. Web.

"Is Cocaine Addictive? Cocaine Addiction Symptoms & Stories - Drug-Free World." Is Cocaine Addictive? Cocaine Addiction Symptoms & Stories - Drug-Free World. Foundation for a Drug Free World, 2016. Web. May 2016.

Nestler, Eric J. "The Neurobiology of Cocaine Addiction." Science & Practice Perspectives. National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2005. Web. May 2016.

O'Donnell, Diedre. "Cocaine Abuse." DrugAbuse.com. Sober Media Group, 17 July 2012. Web. May 2016.

"Cocaine: Research Report Series" National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). National Institute on Drug Abuse, May 2016. Web. May 2016.