ABSTRACT
The cerebral damage caused by methamphetamine intoxication can be formidable. Prolonged use is associated with injury to the dopamine system. Essentially, continued methamphetamine use likely leads to axonic degeneration of the dopamine axon terminals in the striatum, frontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, and amygdala. Hypersensitization of neurons occurs, for example, in increasing sensitivity of D-1 receptors. It is important to note that changes in catecholamines alone cannot explain behavior in humans when they are methamphetamine intoxicated.
