Lack of long-term monoamine depletions following repeated or continuous exposure to cocaine.

Cocaine was administered to rats for prolonged periods either by repeated injections (10 mg/kg twice daily for 10 days and 12.5 mg/kg 8 times daily for 10 days) or by continuous intravenous infusion (100 mg/kg/day for 21 days). None of the regimens produced long-lasting depletions of dopamine (DA), serotonin (5-HT), or major metabolites in striatum, hippocampus, hypothalamus, or somatosensory cortex. These results suggest that prolonged exposure to cocaine does not produce neurotoxicity like that observed with d-amphetamine or d-methylamphetamine.