Effects of L-cocaine on local cerebral glucose utilization in the rat.

The 2-deoxy-D-[l-14C]glucose method was used to map the in vivo metabolic response (local cerebral glucose utilization. LCGU) to L-cocaine in the rat brain. Injections of L-cocaine HCl (30 mg/kg, i.p.) selectively enhanced LCGU in 5 out of 56 brain regions that were examined (caudate-putamen, globus pallidus, substantia nigra pars reticulata, subthalamic nucleus, cerebellar vermis), but 10 or 30 mg/kg L-cocaine reduced LCGU in the habenula. In general, the acute effects of L-cocaine on LCGU resembled previously reported effects of D-amphetamine and apomorphine.