Answer:
Methamphetamine is a stimulant that provides an intense high and causes a reduction in the brain's baseline dopamine levels.
Explanation:
Methamphetamine is a drug of abuse, belonging to the amphetamine family, this psychostimulant compound, produces effects such as euphoria and increased energy and concentration. In the long term, when it's consumed chronically, it has other effects, especially at the level of the CNS, such as the decrease in the volume of the hippocampus, producing memory losses associated with the hippocampus and decreased neurogenesis in adults. Dopamine (DA), by acting as a neurotransmitter, it is able to increase neurogenesis in certain areas and decrease it in others. Given the acute intake of methamphetamine, there is an increase in the concentrations of dopamine and serotonin (5-HT), because methamphetamine acts as a substrate for the transporters of dopamine transporter (DAT) and serotonin transporter, therefore reducing the transport of both neurotransmitters.
When there is a chronic methamphetamine consumption, there is a decrease in the concentrations of basal levels of dopamine in the striatum, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, which is maintained in the long term. It also not only decreases cell proliferation, but also decreases neuronal differentiation and maturation of progenitor cells.
