Question

Cocaine is a drug that inhibits the active reuptake of noradrenalin into the brain's presynaptic neurons. It also binds inside sodium channels and blocks them. Would you classify cocaine as a stimulan

Answer 1

Cocaine acts as a stimulant by preventing nerve cells from taking up dopamine, enhancing dopamine action in the brain and causing addiction.

Step-by-step explanation:

Cocaine acts as a stimulant by preventing nerve cells from taking up dopamine, another neurotransmitter, from the synapse. High levels of dopamine are therefore available to stimulate the pleasure centers of the brain. The enhancement of dopamine action is thought to be responsible for cocaine's "high" and its addictive properties. After the binge, dopamine is depleted in less than an hour. This leaves the user in a pleasureless state and (often) craving more cocaine.