Neurotoxicity mechanisms and clinical implications of six common recreational drugs.
Frontiers in pharmacology January 1, 2025 Jing Wang, Yulei Hao, Di Ma et al. 14 citations
Recreational abuse of six addictive drugs—methamphetamine, cocaine, synthetic cathinones, ketamine, nitrous oxide, and heroin—damages the nervous system through shared toxic pathways, including oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, excitotoxicity, and neuroinflammation. Psychostimulants disrupt monoaminergic signaling, causing cognitive impairment and neurovascular damage. Dissociative anesthetics impair glutamatergic transmission and mitochondrial function, worsening excitotoxicity and neuronal death. Opioids target the brain's reward system, inducing oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. Current treatments focus on symptom management and behavioral therapy; emerging options like antioxidants and NMDA receptor modulators need further validation.