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Related Experiment Videos

Serotonergic responsiveness in human cocaine users.

Udi E Ghitza1, Richard B Rothman, David A Gorelick

  • 1Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.

Drug and Alcohol Dependence
|August 26, 2006
PubMed
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Cocaine use alters neuroendocrine responses in humans. Early abstinence may involve serotonin deficits, potentially impacting cocaine dependence.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroendocrinology
  • Psychopharmacology
  • Addiction Research

Background:

  • Animal studies indicate cocaine alters brain serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) function, affecting neuroendocrine responses.
  • Previous human studies on serotonergic challenges in cocaine users yielded inconsistent results.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effects of intranasal cocaine administration on neuroendocrine hormone responses to a serotonergic challenge in human cocaine users.
  • To explore potential changes in serotonin (5-HT) transmission during early cocaine abstinence.

Main Methods:

  • Eight human cocaine users underwent D,L-fenfluramine (FEN) challenges after periods of cocaine abstinence and daily intranasal cocaine administration.
  • Plasma cortisol and prolactin levels were measured following FEN challenges and cocaine/placebo administration.

Related Experiment Videos

  • A within-subject design compared hormone responses before and after controlled cocaine exposure.

    • Main Results:

    • Intranasal cocaine administration significantly elevated plasma cortisol levels without affecting prolactin, showing no evidence of tolerance.
    • The initial FEN challenge increased both prolactin and cortisol, while a subsequent challenge after cocaine exposure increased only prolactin.
    • A reduction in FEN-induced cortisol secretion was observed after cocaine exposure.

    Conclusions:

    • Intranasal cocaine acutely increases cortisol but not prolactin, with no tolerance developing.
    • Reduced cortisol response to serotonergic challenge post-cocaine suggests potential serotonin transmission deficits during early abstinence.
    • These serotonin deficits may contribute to the maintenance of cocaine dependence.