Cocaine’s action may be likened to that of the antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac). Prozac belongs to a family of drugs that increase the levels of the mood-regulating neurotransmitter serotonin between nerve cells by blocking its reuptake. They’re called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs. Cocaine, one might say, is a dopamine reuptake inhibitor. It occupies the receptor on the cell surface normally used by the brain chemical that would transport dopamine back into its source neuron. In effect, cocaine is a temporary squatter in someone else’s home.
