Neuropsychopharmacology and the Affective Disorders

Abstract

AmphetamineThe acute stimulant and euphoriant effects of amphetamine in man are well established,¹⁷³ but this drug is of little value in the treatment of the major depressive disorders. Amphetamine inhibits the neuronal uptake of norepinephrine in brain; increased levels of normetanephrine-³H and decreased levels of tritiated deaminated catechol metabolites are found in brain after intraventricular injection of norepinephrine-³H.^{147,148, 174 , 175} Amphetamine also appears to release norepinephrine and dopamine from neurons.^{148, 176} Because of these and similar findings, it has been suggested that amphetamine might exert its central effects indirectly by releasing catecholamines and preventing the inactivation of these monoamines at . . .