A comprehensive dictionary of over 200,000 medical and healthcare abbreviations.
Similar to heroin, oxycodone produces â along with pain management â a euphoric high caused by stimulation of the reward center of the brain. Oxycodone elevates levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is considered the pleasure chemical of the brain. On the street, OxyContin is known as âOxy,â âOC,â âOxyCotton,â âHillbilly Heroin,â and âKickers,â and is often used if heroin or morphine is not available.
The distinctive characteristics of neurotransmitters, compared to other signaling molecules, are made clearer by comparison with the actions of the hormones secreted by the endocrine system. Hormones typically influence target cells far removed from the hormone-secreting cell (see Chapter 8).he subsequent binding of neurotransmitters to specific receptors on postsynaptic neurons (or other classes of target cells) transiently changes the electrical properties of the target cells, leading to an enormous variety of postsynaptic effects (see Chapters 7 and 8).