Mh. Baumann et al., EFFECTS OF INTRAVENOUS COCAINE ON PLASMA-CORTISOL AND PROLACTIN IN HUMAN COCAINE ABUSERS, Biological psychiatry, 38(11), 1995, pp. 751-755
The aim of the present work was to examine the cortisol and prolactin
responses to acute cocaine administration in human cocaine users. Each
subject served as his own control during intravenous saline placebo a
nd cocaine (40 mg) infusion sessions, Cocaine significantly elevated p
lasma cortisol but did not affect prolactin, The rise in cortisol coin
cided with an increase in heart rate and blood pressure after cocaine,
In agreement with studies in animals, our data suggest that cocaine a
ctivates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in humans. However, b
ased on the wed-known importance of dopamine as a prolactin-inhibiting
factor, the failure of cocaine to suppress prolactin in the present s
tudy raises questions concerning the role of dopamine in the mechanism
of acute cocaine action in humans.