Am J Psychiatry 1975; 132:225-231
Copyright © 1975 by American Psychiatric Association
Cocaine psychoses: a continuum model
RM Post
The author describes an orderly progression of clinical syndromes
(euphoria, dysphoria, paranoid psychosis) with cocaine use that is related
to dosage, chronicity, and genetic and experiential predispositions. That
affective alternations are caused by a drug which also produces a
schizophreniform psychosis suggests a continuum with implications for
understanding the endogenous psychoses. The author emphasizes that
alternations in the same neurotransmitter substances may be involved in
these multiple psychiatric syndromes, which contrasts with previous "one
illness, one transmitter" models.
