Caffeine

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Caffeine, contained in coffee and other drinks, is a mild stimulant and "is the most widely used psychoactive drug in the world."[1]

Pharmacology

Caffeine competitively antagonizes adenosine receptors. This antagonism prevents adenosine's inhibition of intracellular cyclic AMP. Cyclic AMP is a second messenger that increases sympathetic stimulation and increases norepinephrine and dopamine release[1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 O'Brien, Charles (2006). “Chapter 23. Drug Addition and Drug Abuse”, Keith Parker; Laurence Brunton; Goodman, Louis Sanford; Lazo, John S.; Gilman, Alfred: Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 11th. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-142280-3.