title: Chronic cocaine alters limbic extracellular dopamine. Neurochemical basis for addiction.
abstract: The extracellular concentration of dopamine in the ventral striatum was measured daily by means of brain microdialysis. Chronic cocaine (10 mg/kg twice daily) altered the dopamine output compared to that in vehicle-injected rats, inducing a pronounced increase in the first 3 days followed by a clear-cut decrease. This reduction in the output of dopamine during chronic cocaine as well as during withdrawal may be neurochemical substrate for the addictive properties of cocaine.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Farmacologia Medica, Università La Sapienza, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Imperato
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mele
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Scrocco
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Puglisi-Allegra
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003042:Cocaine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D008032:Limbic System / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000378:metabolism*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D003042:Cocaine; D004298:Dopamine