Cocaine is a highly addictive substance that causes a rush of euphoria and a burst of energy when used. While the drug’s effects are often short-lived, the effects of cocaine on the brain can reinforce continued usage. By understanding these, it can help people determine when they should seek professional cocaine addiction treatment.
What Is Cocaine?
Cocaine is classified as a stimulant drug that is derived from the leaves of the coca plant, which is made into a white powder. The drug’s effects are fast-acting, causing a rush of energy and euphoria. The powder can be snorted, rubbed on the gums, or mixed with saline solution and injected into the veins.
Another type of cocaine is crack cocaine, which is a mixture of powdered cocaine and baking soda, which is cooked until it hardens. The hardened substance is then broken up into smaller pieces called rocks. The rocks are usually smoked.
How Does Cocaine Affect the Brain?
Cocaine stimulates the central nervous system, causing increased alertness, euphoria, and energy levels. In the brain, the drug targets specific brain pathways, regions, and neurotransmitters, including areas responsible for reinforcing positive behaviors, motivation, and pleasure. People usually call these areas the reward system.
What Are the Effects of Cocaine on Your Brain?
One of the immediate effects of cocaine on your brain is the forced release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain. The brain’s reward system links dopamine to things that bring us pleasure.
Consequently, the intense rush of dopamine causes feelings of euphoria and pleasure. Cocaine also interacts with norepinephrine and serotonin, two other neurotransmitters that regulate arousal and mood. At elevated levels, these neurotransmitters intensify euphoric feelings, increase alertness, and boost energy levels.
The brain remembers the elevated levels and associated feelings as positive behavior, which reinforces using cocaine again. Moreover, Continued use of cocaine alters the regular release of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, and makes it difficult to experience pleasure without using the drug.
As a result, it is difficult to experience any type of pleasure without using cocaine due to the drug altering the brain’s reward system. This makes people want to use cocaine to experience pleasure, reinforcing continued usage, dependence, and eventual addiction.
Short-term Effects on the Brain
Cocaine is a fast-acting substance that has immediate effects on the brain, including:
- Elevated energy levels
- Increased alertness
- Euphoria
- Talkativeness
- Elevate heart rate and blood pressure
- Appetite suppression
- Engaging in risky behaviors
Another effect of cocaine on the brain from continued use is an increase in tolerance to the substance. As tolerance builds, the drug’s effects diminish. As a result, users require large amounts to achieve the desired effects. At increased dosages, some people can experience:
- Paranoia
- Irritability
- Anxiety
There is also an elevated risk of a heart attack from taking large dosages and accidental overdose when cocaine is cut with fentanyl.
Long-Term Effects on the Brain
There are several long-term effects of cocaine on your brain from prolonged use. The drug rewires the reward system and related pathways, making it difficult to experience any type of pleasure without using the drug. Cocaine also causes a decrease in gray matter volume. Gray matter is what helps people interpret and process information and is related to memory, cognitive functions, and thinking.
Other long-term effects are:
- Depression
- Psychosis
- Anxiety
- Cognitive impairments
- Increased risk of neurodegenerative disorders, like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
Does Cocaine Kill Brain Cells?
Cocaine use can kill different types of brain cells. Most notably, the drug reduces gray matter from long-term usage. We naturally lose gray matter as we age, but cocaine use speeds up the aging processes in the brain.
Another way the drug kills brain cells is by triggering autophagy. This is a natural process where specific cells in the brain digest other cells to help keep the brain healthy. However, when cocaine triggers these cells, they essentially become cannibal cells and digest any type of brain cell, including ones they shouldn’t destroy.
Other Effects of Cocaine Use
Regular cocaine use affects the entire body, not just the brain. Other potential effects one could experience are:
- Gastrointestinal and stomach problems: Cocaine reduces the flow of blood in the stomach and gastrointestinal tract. This can cause perforations and ulcers to form.
- Malnutrition: Cocaine is an appetite suppressant, which can cause extreme weight loss and lead to malnutrition.
- Nosebleeds: Snorting the powder irritates the nasal passages and linings, drying out the mucus membranes and damaging the blood vessels in the brain, leading to frequent nosebleeds.
- Loss of smell: People can lose their sense of smell from the damage caused by cocaine to the nasal passages and linings.
- Increased risk of illnesses and infections: Sharing dirty needles, engaging in unprotected sex, and reducing immune system response increases the likelihood of illnesses and infections.
- Cardiovascular problems: Prolonged use can cause permanent high blood pressure, irregular heart rates, and an increased risk of heart attacks.
Physical Brain Changes
In addition to killing brain cells, other physical changes that occur from continued cocaine use include:
- Restricted blood flow to the brain: The drug damages arteries and veins, causing restrictions in them and reducing normal blood flow.
- Increased risk of brain clots: Continued cocaine use can create blood clots in the brain, which could result in a stroke.
- Increased risk of seizures: Long-term or heavy cocaine use can cause seizures while under the influence of the drug, and seizure disorders, even after cocaine use is discontinued.
Get the Help You Need Today at Renewal Health Group
Seeking help for cocaine addiction can reverse many of the effects of cocaine on your brain. At Renewal Health Group, our caring and compassionate team provides comprehensive and personalized care to help you safely stop using cocaine. Contact us now to learn more about our cocaine rehab programs in Southern California and take the first steps to a brighter, substance-free future.
Published: 5/19/2025
