ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the positron emission tomography (PET) studies that investigate the effects of chronic use of cocaine on the human brain within the context of its toxic and addicting properties. The process through which repeated use of some psychoactive drugs that generates addiction has elicited the curiosity of many researchers. Despite widespread research in this area, there is very little knowledge with respect to the chemical and functional changes that occur in the human brain during addiction. Addiction to drugs has been classified as either physical or psychological. One of the problems in the investigation of mechanisms of addiction in humans has been the inaccessibility of the human brain to investigation. The clinical studies have evaluated the toxic effects of chronic use of drugs of abuse in the human brain. The mechanistic studies have examined the neurochemical changes that occur with drug addiction, tolerance, and withdrawal.
