also decrease activity in two areas of the dorsal striatum — the part of the brain that’s primarily responsible for cognitive motor functions, learned responses to stimuli and some executive functions (such as inhibitory control) but has also been associated with movements and rewarding experiences.
The authors of the study highlighted that although the cohort analyzed was modest, these findings constitute the first medical evidence that lingering effects of cocaine in the brain can be seen before an addiction to the drug is developed.
The team added that as long as personalized cues are provided, recreational users of cocaine are proven to also be neurologically affected by the drug and to experience extracellular levels of dopamine in the dorsal striatum.
“Dopamine transmission in [the dorsal striatum] might contribute to the development of persistent and excessive drug use,” they concluded.
