Click on the following links. Please note these will open in a new window.

Article 1: Heal, D. J., Smith, S. L., Gosden, J., & Nutt, D. J. (2013). Amphetamine, past and present—A pharmacological and clinical perspective. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 27, 479-96.

Summary: The article reviews the history of amphetamine and describes the relationship between its chemical structure and its pharmacology, which makes it well-suited for therapeutic uses and also enhance its abuse liability.

Questions to Consider: [Critical thinking questions based on the article to gauge student comprehension and analysis]

1. What do the authors mean by saying that ADHD has long been considered an “American” diagnosis?
2. Why does the chemical structure of amphetamine provide insight into the neurotransmitter that it affects?
3. What role does basal dopamine tone play in determining someone’s vulnerability to abuse amphetamine?
    

Article 2: Novellas, J., López-Arnau, R., li Carbó, M., Pubill, D., Camarasa, J., & Escubedo, E. (2015). Concentrations of MDPV in rat striatum correlate with the psychostimulant effect. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 29, 1209-18.

Summary: This article describes research on the pharmacokinetic properties of MDPV, a synthetic cathinone, and it relates the drug’s psychostimulant effects with concentrations in the striatum.

Questions to Consider:

1. How are MDPV and cocaine’s mechanisms of actions similar?
2. What purpose did saline injections the animals received before being placed in the activity box serve?
3. What effects did haloperidol treatment have on locomotor activity of animals that received MDPV?
    

Article 3: Kinsey, B. (2014). Vaccines against drugs of abuse: Where are we now? Therapeutic Advances in Vaccines, 2, 106-17.

Summary: This article reviews ongoing research into the possibility of using vaccinations against drugs as a way of treating and/or preventing drug abuse.

Questions to Consider:

1. How would a vaccine prevent a drug from entering the brain?
2. What do the results of studies using vaccines for methamphetamine and cocaine suggest about this line of research?
3. What are some of the major challenges to creating drug vaccines?