The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
Amantadine is a medication (Symmetrel) that is believed to be an indirect DOPAMINE agonist; this means that it releases the neurotransmitter dopamine from nerve terminals in the brain. Since some of the symptoms of CO-CAINE withdrawal and cocaine dependence are thought to be related to abnormalities in the dopa-mine systems of the brain, and these are thought to contribute to relapse, amantadine has been examined as a treatment possibility.
Afterchronic cocaine use, many patients' dopa-mine systems eitherfail to release sufficient dopa-mine orare insensitive to the dopamine that is released. This relative dopamine deficit is believed to be responsible for the dysphoria of cocaine withdrawal. It was hoped that amantadine would relieve their dysphoria and reduce relapse back to cocaine abuse by increasing the release of dopa-mine in the brains of cocaine-dependent patients. Amantadine has been effective in reducing depressive symptoms in patients with neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease, which is due to the death of dopamine-producing cells in the brain; however, no solid evidence exists that it is helpful in preventing continued cocaine use or relapse to cocaine use afterdetoxification.