Brain Adaptation May Dampen Effects of Cocaine
NIDA-funded researchers recently were surprised to find evidence that a cocaine-induced change in the structure of brain cells represents an adaptive response that may limit the drug's impact. Previously, scientists had suspected the opposite—that the modification contributed to the tenacity of some harmful effects. Cocaine's acute psychoactive effects, such as the rush and high, occur because the drug disrupts the normal ebb and flow of neurotransmitter molecules that carry signals between brain cells. The drug's mechanisms for producing longer-lasting effects, such as craving and altered