09-18-2007, 10:50 PM
Researchers have found evidence for a fundamental molecular mechanism underlying the hyperactive high of cocaine. In studies with rats, they have traced the effect to interactions between two types of receiving stations in neurons for nerve signals from their neighbors. The researchers' studies in rats found that when the animals received cocaine, a component of a receptor for the neurotransmitter dopamine tends to grab onto a component of a receptor for glutamate. The result, they found, was interference with normal activation of this glutamate receptor.
Posted on Thu, 07 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/200...160628.htm
Posted on Thu, 07 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/200...160628.htm