How Does Cocaine Produce Its Addictive Effects?
Cocaine is highly addictive because of how it works in the brain.3 When a person uses cocaine, it causes an increase in dopamine in the brain by attaching to dopamine transporters and increasing the amount of dopamine in nerve cells (neurons), modifying the way nerve cells communicate with each other.1,2 Cocaine can have long-lasting or irreversible effects on the brain.4 Dopamine has an impact on your movements, thoughts, pleasure center, and motivation.3,4 An excess of dopamine makes people feel good and want to keep using cocaine, while also diminishing the effects of dopamine felt with everyday pleasurable activities such as exercise, sexual intercourse, and eating.1,3 Your brain becomes desensitized to cocaine when you use it frequently, so larger amounts taken more often are needed to feel the same effects.1,3 This concept is known as tolerance. Tolerance develops as a result of the body adapting to repeated substance use over time, to the point where a person needs increasing doses to feel the same desirable effects. Tolerance builds as the body becomes so used to a substance that it no longer responds to it the way it initially did, and, as a result, the desired effects become blunted. An increase in tolerance often leads to escalating patterns of use—drinking more or using more of a drug, which can drive compulsive drug use and is a risk factor for addiction. Cocaine use is also strongly linked with memories, leading to emotional responses and cravings when a person is exposed to a triggering event, which makes it more difficult to stop using.4