Research Paper on:
Brain and the Long and Short Term Effects of Using Cocaine

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
population. The popularity of cocaine is not only in its increased availability and decreased price over the past few decades but also because of its addictive qualities. The addictive nature  of cocaine is based on the neurotransmitter dopamine which is responsible for the emotional feeling of a "high" from cocaine use. Cocaine inhibits the reuptake mechanism for dopamine concentrations in  the synaptic cleft on specific neurotransmitters and the resulting higher concentration leads to an increased emotional response. Short and long terms effects of cocaine use have been shown to include  brain hemorrhages, seizures, hypertension, high blood pressure, tachycardia, developmental problems in "crack babies" and in some cases death. While these severe effects are due to cocaine use, other severe effects  can also result from cocaine withdrawal. The effects of cocaine on the brain are profound  in their origins, continued usage and a result of withdrawal. Largely, most researchers have concluded that the emotional high experienced by cocaine users is a result of an increased concentration  of dopamine on specific neurotransmitters but levels of dopamine have also been found to be responsible for addictive behavior as well. Studies in cocaine use have revealed that cocaine cannot  be considered the harmless recreational drug it was once believed to be as effects from short term usage, long term usage, and withdrawal can result in brain hemorrhages, seizures, cerebral  ischemia and other problems within the neurological, cardio and systemic functions of the body. Cocaine, derived from the cocoa shrub, has been used  since the 1850s for its stimulant effects but a recent increase in its availability and a decrease in its costs have seen the use of cocaine rise dramatically in the