Amphetamines second-generation effects

In neurochemical terms, amphetamine and cocaine boost monoamine activity. Amphetamine has a threefold mode of action first, it causes dopamine and noradrenaline to leak into the synaptic cleft second, it boosts the amount of transmitter released during an action potential and third, it inhibits the reuptake of neurotransmitter back into presynaptic vesicles. These three modes all result in more neurotransmitter being available at the synapse, thus generating an increase in postsynaptic stimulation. Cocaine exerts a similar overall effect, but mainly by reuptake inhibition. The main neurotransmitters affected are dopamine and noradrenaline, although serotonin is boosted to a lesser extent. These modes of action are outlined in Chapter 3, and the neurochemical rationale for drug tolerance is covered more fully in Chapter 10. The main differences between amphetamine and cocaine are their administration routes (summarised above) and the more rapid onset and shorter duration of action for cocaine. 

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