Sensitization to the locomotor stimulant activity of cocaine is associated with increases in nitric oxide synthase activity in brain regions and spinal cord of mice.

Effects of multiple administrations of cocaine and subsequent cocaine withdrawal on the activity of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in brain regions and spinal cord of male Swiss-Webster mice were determined. Chronic administration of cocaine resulted in the development of sensitization to its locomotor activity in the mouse. Chronic administration of cocaine was associated with increases in NOS activity in cerebral cortex, cerebellum, midbrain, hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala and spinal cord, but NOS activity was unaffected in pons/medulla and corpus striatum. Forty-eight hours after withdrawal from cocaine, NOS activity was increased only in the cerebral cortex. Recent studies have shown that cocaine-induced sensitization to behavioral effects can be inhibited by NOS inhibitors. The present studies provide the first evidence that chronic treatment with cocaine alters NOS activity in brain regions and spinal cord, and are consistent with behavioral studies with cocaine and NOS inhibitors.