drugs of abuse

• Brain reward pathways involve activity in some neuronal pathways in the brain, particularly the meso-limbic dopamine pathway, which begins in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and terminates in the nucleus accumbens (NAC).
• Many drugs of abuse, including opiates, nicotine, amphetamine, cocaine, ethanol, cannabis, ecstasy, PCP, barbiturates, and caffeine, increase dopamine release in the NAC.
• LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) and Ecstasy (MDMA - 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) enhance serotonin (5HT) function in the NAC.
• Phencyclidine (PCP) and ketamine, which are hallucinogenic, block N-Methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) antagonists.