Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, Ecstasy) is a popular recreationally used drug among young people in Europe and North America. The recent surge in use of MDMA and increasing concerns about possible toxic effects of the drug have inspired a great deal of research into the mechanisms by which the drug may affect the central nervous system. This paper reviews studies on the neurochemical,...
Rats were allowed to self-administer cocaine during a 3-h session for 15 days. One to 11 days after the last cocaine exposure, rats were anesthetized with urethane and effects of microiontophoretically-applied dopamine on glutamate-evoked firing of neurons in the nucleus accumbens and in the caudate/putamen were tested. Dopamine produced a dose-dependent inhibition of glutamate-evoked firing in...