Cocaine and amphetamines (‘stimulants’) are distinct central nervous system stimulants with similar effects (Pleuvry, 2009; Holman, 1994). Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid extracted from coca leaves. Amphetamines are a subclass of phenylethylamines with primarily stimulant effects, including amphetamine, methamphetamine, methcathinone and cathinone and referred to as ‘amphetamines’ in ...

Although emotional dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia is thought to be associated with poorer outcomes in terms of overall quality of well-being, only a few basic studies have examined the biochemical effect of antipsychotics on emotional function. In this investigation, we examined differences in the effects of aripiprazole and haloperidol on the conditioned fear response in methamphet...

Genetic studies on METH abuse and METH psychosis are influential in the fields of comorbidity of substance abuse, etiological models of schizophrenia, and the nosology of prolonged or chronic substance-induced psychosis. Most data of genetic markers associated with METH abuse or METH psychosis derived from Asian samples. Previous studies on Meth abuse and Meth psychosis have identified many pot...

Previous studies demonstrated that tolerance to the long-term neurotoxic effects of methamphetamine on dopamine neurons could be induced by pretreating with multiple injections of escalating doses of methamphetamine. The mechanism(s) underlying this tolerance phenomenon is unknown. Some recent studies suggested that aberrant vesicular monoamine transporter-2 (VMAT-2) and dopamine transporter fu...