Elevated levels of stress are associated with an increased incidence of drug abuse in both laboratory animals and humans. This is not just an unhappy coincidence. The neurotransmitter, dopamine, has been implicated in both the exposure to stress and the self-administration of numerous drugs of abuse, including cocaine. Alain Gratton, PhD,
investigates the role of dopamine in drug abuse, as well as exposure to stress.

To conduct their investigations, Alain Gratton and his team implement in vivo voltammetry – a state-of-the-art research technique that enables the second-to-second monitoring of minute changes in dopamine in response to various stimuli. The use of in vivo voltammetry, and other complimentary techniques, is enabling Alain Gratton to characterize the role of dopamine in mediating responses to acute and chronic stress, as well as to the administration of drugs of abuse and the development of drug dependence