Neurochemistry of Addiction: Monitoring Essential Neurotransmitters of Addiction

Excerpt

Developments in chemical monitoring have provided the neuroscientist with a powerful toolbox for investigating biological mechanisms of drug addiction. Indeed, by sampling time-dependent changes in neurotransmitters in situ, these techniques have contributed prominently to our understanding of the neural substrates of goal-directed behavior and how drugs of abuse alter the functioning of these neural systems and ultimately cause addiction. Historically, chemical monitoring in the central nervous system has been dominated by voltammetry and microdialysis. Fundamentally different in analytical strategy, voltammetry and microdialysis bring distinct strengths and weaknesses to neurotransmitter measurements.