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Effects of chronic cocaine abuse on postsynaptic dopamine receptors

Published Online:https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.147.6.719

To assess the effects of chronic cocaine intoxication on dopamine receptors in human subjects, the authors evaluated [18F]N- methylspiroperidol binding using positron emission tomography in 10 cocaine abusers and 10 normal control subjects. Cocaine abusers who had been detoxified for 1 week or less showed significantly lower values for uptake of [18F]N-methylspiroperidol in striatum than the normal subjects, whereas the cocaine abusers who had been detoxified for 1 month showed values comparable to those obtained from normal subjects. The authors conclude that postsynaptic dopamine receptor availability decreases with chronic cocaine abuse but may recover after a drug-free interval.

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