Noradrenergic processes in the behavioral actions of psychomotor stimulants

Abstract

AbstractAlthough psychomotor stimulants such as cocaine and amphetamine are known to release both norepinephrine and dopamine in brain, most evidence indicates that it is the release of central dopamine rather than that of norepinephrine that mediates the reinforcing, discriminative, and eliciting properties of psychomotor stimulants, i.e., that drug‐induced dopamine release is a necessary and sufficient factor to account for these properties, while drug‐induced norepinephrine release is neither necessary nor sufficient. However, this generally accepted conclusion may not be completely accurate. Evidence is available indicating that psychomotor‐stimulant‐induced increases in norepinephrine release, while possibly not necessary, are sufficient to account at least for the eliciting and discriminative‐stimulus properties of amphetamine‐like drugs. The data supporting this contention are reviewed.