THE EFFECTS OF COCAINE AND THE AMPHETAMINES ON BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR - ACONFERENCE REPORT

A Chicago City-Wide Mini-Conference on Cocaine and the Amphetamines wa s held on the 13 May 1996 at Loyola University Chicago. The purpose of the one day symposium was to facilitate the dissemination of recent r esearch findings of investigators in the Chicago area working in drug abuse research. The speakers discussed recent concepts relating to the consequences of the amphetamines and cocaine on different biologic pr ocesses including the development of neuronal pathways, adaptational r esponses to chronic administration and neurotoxicity. Some of the spec ific areas discussed were: (a) psychostimulant-induced effects on brai n serotonin and dopamine systems, (b) amphetamine-induced neurotoxicit y, (c) the long-term consequences of prenatal exposure to cocaine, (d) effects of cocaine withdrawal on hormone responses, and (e) mechanism s underlying drug-taking behavior and dependence. The potential clinic al consequences of the research findings and how they impact on medica tions-development and community efforts in dealing with the problems o f drug abuse were also discussed. Progress on these issues, which was presented at the First Annual Follow-Up Meeting, held on the 17 July 1 997, are also included in this report. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.