Amphetamine Dependence Information

Amphetamine dependence refers to a state of dependence on a drug in the amphetamine class.

Tolerance is developed rapidly in amphetamine abuse, thereby the amount of the drug that is needed to satisfy the addiction needs to be increased at regular intervals.^[1]

Conversely, some researchers have reported observing the opposite effect in animal models: repeated amphetamine use can produce reverse tolerance or sensitization to the psychological or locomotor-stimulating effects of the drug.^[2] Development of sensitization to amphetamine may depend on the daily dosage of amphetamine^[3] or the amount of time elapsed since the discontinuation of repeated dosing.^[4]

In rodent studies, repeated amphetamine treatment produces robust behavioral sensitization (or reverse tolerance) to some of the drug's effects.^[5] Depending on the dosing regimen, sensitization may persist for up to one year after the discontinuation of amphetamine treatment in rodents.^[6]

In humans, however, there is no systematic evidence of the development of behavioral sensitization to amphetamine after acute or chronic amphetamine treatment when the drug is used in the therapeutic dose range (i.e., is not abused).^[7] The absence of observed sensitization development in humans (compared to that observed in rodents) may be explained by different amphetamine metabolism or different mechanisms of action of amphetamine in humans versus rats.^[8]

Amphetamine does not have the potential to cause physical dependence, though withdrawal can still be hard for a user.^{[9][10][11][12][13][14]}

Many users will repeat the amphetamine cycle by taking more of the drug during the withdrawal. This leads to a very dangerous cycle and may involve the use of other drugs to get over the withdrawal process. Users will commonly stay up for 2 or 3 days to avoid the withdrawals then dose themselves with benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and in some cases opiates, to help them stay calm while they recuperate or simply to extend the positive effects of the drug. Chronic abusers of amphetamine often insufflate, smoke or inject the drug in order to experience a rush, with extra risks for infection, vein damage and overdose.

References

1. ^ "Amphetamines: Drug Use and Abuse: Merck Manual Home Edition". Merck. Archived from the original on February 17, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070217053619/http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec07/ch108/ch108g.html. Retrieved February 28, 2007.
2. ^ Wolf, Marina; White, Francis; Nassar, Richard; Brooderson, Richard; Khansa, Mohamad (January 1993). "Differential development of autoreceptor subsensitivity and enhanced dopamine release during amphetamine sensitization" (PDF). Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 264 (1): 249–255. ISSN 0022-3565. PMID 8093727. http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/264/1/249.full.pdf.
3. ^ Hooks, M.; Jones, G.; Neill, D.; Justice Jr., J. (January 1992). "Individual differences in amphetamine sensitization: dose-dependent effects". Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior 41 (1): 203–210. doi:10.1016/0091-3057(92)90083-R. ISSN 0091-3057. PMID 1539070. http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/009130579290083R.
4. ^ Paulson, Pamela; Robinson, Terry (January 1995). "Amphetamine-induced time-dependent sensitization of dopamine neurotransmission in the dorsal and ventral striatum: a microdialysis study in behaving rats" (PDF). Synapse 19 (1): 56–65. doi:10.1002/syn.890190108. ISSN 0887-4476. PMID 7709344. PMC 1859849. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/109703180/PDFSTART.
5. ^ Robinson, Terry; Kolb, Bryan (May 1999). "Alterations in the morphology of dendrites and dendritic spines in the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex following repeated treatment with amphetamine or cocaine". European Journal of Neuroscience 11 (5): 1598–1604. doi:10.1046/j.1460-9568.1999.00576.x. ISSN 0953-816X. PMID 10215912. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/121442612/HTMLSTART.
6. ^ Robinson, Terry; Kolb, Bryan (November 1997). "Persistent structural modifications in nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex neurons produced by previous experience with amphetamine". Journal of Neuroscience 17 (21): 8491–8497. ISSN 0270-6474. PMID 9334421. http://www.jneurosci.org/cgi/content/full/17/21/8491.
7. ^ Solanto, Mary (January 2000). "Clinical psychopharmacology of AD/HD: implications for animal models". Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 24 (1): 27–30. doi:10.1016/S0149-7634(99)00061-5. ISSN 0149-7634. PMID 10654657. http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0149763499000615.
8. ^ Advokat, Claire (July 2007). "Update on amphetamine neurotoxicity and its relevance to the treatment of ADHD" (PDF). Journal of Attention Disorders 11 (1): 8–16. doi:10.1177/1087054706295605. ISSN 1087-0547. PMID 17606768. http://jad.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/11/1/8.pdf.
9. ^ Reference on lack of physical dependence.
10. ^ Leith N, Kuczenski R (1981). "Chronic amphetamine: tolerance and reverse tolerance reflect different behavioral actions of the drug". Pharmacol Biochem Behav 15 (3): 399–404. doi:10.1016/0091-3057(81)90269-0. PMID 7291243.
11. ^ Chaudhry I, Turkanis S, Karler R (1988). "Characteristics of "reverse tolerance" to amphetamine-induced locomotor stimulation in mice". Neuropharmacology 27 (8): 777–81. doi:10.1016/0028-3908(88)90091-3. PMID 3216957.
12. ^ Chronic Amphetamine Use and Abuse
13. ^ Sax KW, Strakowski SM (2001). "Behavioral sensitization in humans". J Addict Dis. 20 (3): 55–65. doi:10.1016/0006-3223(95)00497-1. PMID 11681593.
14. ^ I. Boileau, A. Dagher, M. Leyton, R. N. Gunn, G. B. Baker, M. Diksic and C. Benkelfat (2006). "Modeling Sensitization to Stimulants in Humans: An [11C]Raclopride/Positron Emission Tomography Study in Healthy Men". Arch Gen Psychiatry 63 (12): 1386–1395. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.63.12.1386. PMID 17146013. http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/63/12/1386.

Categories: Amphetamines

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