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Updated: May 30, 2026

Assessment of Cocaine-induced Behavioral Sensitization and Conditioned Place Preference in Mice
Published on: February 18, 2016
[Similarities and differences in the effect of cocaine on alpha-adrenergic and muscarinic response]
Abstract:
Similarities and differences in the effect of cocaine on alpha-adrenergic and muscarinic receptors were shown in three experimental models. The postsynaptic stimulating effect of cocaine through activation of alpha-adrenergic receptors was found in a chicken embryo without innervation and in an innervated rat vas deferens. Cocaine caused an increase of the amount of activated alpha-adrenergic receptors and the appearance of an additional receptor pool and changed their dimerization level. Cocaine acts as an antagonist on muscarinic receptors of the chicken embryo. The inhibition of muscarinic receptors in the rat brain by cocaine leads to a decrease in the number of receptors and their partial monomerization. Thus, cocaine influences both the alpha-adrenergic response and the muscarinic response by its influence on receptors. Experiments on various objects have shown that cocaine activates the alpha-adrenergic response and inhibits the muscarinic response.
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