Blow, E, Meth and Ice:Blow, E, Meth and Ice:The Psychomotor StimulantsThe Psychomotor Stimulants

Psychology 3506

IntroductionIntroductionAmphetamine

– D and l, different isomers– Both together, Benzadrine– Just d, Dexedrine

NMDA– Ecstacy

Methamphetamine– Speed

IntroductionIntroductionMethylphenidrate

– RitalinEphidrine

– naturalCocaine

– Coca leavesCathinone

– Qat or chat or khat or whatever…….

IntroductionIntroduction

All of these are psychomotor stimulants– Operate on the monoamines

E NE DA 5Ht

Which monoamine and how depends on the drug

IntroductionIntroduction

Ecstacy and Speed Coke

A Little HistoryA Little History

Coca leaves have been chewed for thousands of years in South America

Active ingredient was isolatedIt cures everything and its fun!!!!!!Robert Louis Stevenson, Freud, Czar

Nicholas II, Henrik Ibsen, Popes.Big in the patent medicine business

Coke adds Life, and a wicked Coke adds Life, and a wicked High! The choice of a new High! The choice of a new

generation!generation!

HistoryHistory

Ephidrine has been around for a long time– Synthetic too!

Pseudoephidrine, popular among athletesChat (or whatever spelling you prefer) has

been taken for ages in Somalia, Ethiopia etc– Now it is popular (when refined) in Russia

Jeff

Administration and AbsorptionAdministration and Absorption

Oral, more constantInjection or snort, get a big rushCocaine

HCl– Testing for purity showed you could smoke it– Crack!

Peak concentration from 30 min to 3 hr after taking amphetamine

Administration and AbsorptionAdministration and Absorption

Probably more rapid from smokingCrosses the barriersExcreted in urineMetabolized by the liverCoke has a half life of about 40 min

Neruphysiology and EffectsNeruphysiology and Effects

Transmitter Leakage– CA + 5Ht

Increase in amount released– Ecstasy does this with 5Ht

Block reuptake– Coke does this only

In PNS E is released

Neurophysiology and EffectsNeurophysiology and Effects

Increases the release of DA in accumens– Reward system again

Cocaine can act as a local as it blocks Na ion channels

Effects– Heart rate increases– Dilation of blood vessels

Neurophysiology and EffectsNeurophysiology and Effects

Effectss (continued)

– Headaches– Dry mouth– Weight loss– Disrupts sleep

– REM rebound later

Behavioural EffectsBehavioural Effects

Cocaine and speed are indistinguishableFeels goodMore energyClear mindCome down later“Rush”

– Speed lasts longer than coke

Behavioural EffectsBehavioural EffectsPunding

– Sstereotyped behviourAmphetamine psychosis

– Happily, it clears up– DA?– Violence

Sensation gets better– Flicker fusion

Behavioural EffectsBehavioural Effects

Eliminates fatigue effects on Reaction Time– Flight simulator!

Overlearned taks

Athletci Performance too– Tested for in competition– Sudafed and NHL players

Behavioural EffectsBehavioural Effects

Nonhumans– Increase in SMA– Stereotypical behaviour (like punding maybe)– automutilation– Increases FI, decreases FR responding

Same sort of dynamic effect happens with negatively reinforced behaviour.

Behvioural EffectsBehvioural Effects

Nonhumans (continued)

– Dissociative effects too

– Discriminable from saline

ToleranceToleranceAcute tolerance develops quickly to cocaineAppetite suppressing effects disappear

– So do lethal effectsPsychosis, stereotypical behaviour show

negative tolerance– Sensitivity?

Withdrawal not that bad– Letdown, amphetamine deppression

AdministrationAdministrationCocaine

– Snorted, smoked injectedspeed

– Run and crash– Or small does– injected

Ecstasy– pills

Administration: Non humansAdministration: Non humans

If constantly available monkeys will stop for periods

If limited they’ll titrate

Rats will self-administer– Important for understanding reward model

Bad StufflBad Stuffl

Liver damageParanoiaHallucinationsTremorsWeight loss

Bad StuffBad Stuff

Indirect effectsBirth Defects?Crack Babies?OD

TreatmentTreatment

Detox

Contracting

SSRIs, MAOIs etc