This article was written with the help of Macquarie University and relevant staff who assisted in providing the apparatus, methods etc. for the data collection.
Abstract
In an attempt to examine the effects of cocaine on dopamine and horizontal locomotor activity, an experiment was conducted on Acheta domestica (crickets). In a double-blind design 121 crickets were randomly assigned to groups before baseline data collection commence. After which, they were then injected with either cocaine or saline only (vehicle). In both the pre and post-treatment timeframes horizontal locomotor activity was measured for twenty minutes. Statistically significant results were found to exist between the saline and cocaine groups, with the cocaine group displaying a much higher amount of horizontal locomotor activity than their counterparts. These results suggest, as is supported by other evidence, that cocaine blocks the Dopamine Transporter.
