Dopamine reuptake inhibitors

Dopamine plays a number of roles in the brain. One well known role is in the brain's reward center, where dopaminergic signalling is critical to the desire for rewarding events.

The synapse is a tightly spaced structure connecting two neurons. In typical synapses, the presynaptic axon of one neuron connects to a postsynaptic dendrite of another neuron; the small gap between the axon and dendrite is called the synaptic cleft. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synapse

Neurotransmitters are released into the synaptic cleft through vesicles, and their levels are regulated in part through proteins called transporters, which function a little bit like revolving doors; they bind to and transport neurotransmitters from the synaptic cleft back into the neuron (reducing their level in the synapse).

The concentration of various neurotransmitters in a synapse (related to extracellular neurotransmitter concentration = levels outside of neurons) influence neuronal signalling by binding to proteins called receptors. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, which binds to a number of different dopamine receptor types.

Heightened levels of extracellular (synaptic) dopamine in specific areas of the brain (such as the ventral tegmental area and the nucleus accumbens in the mesolimbic pathway) enhance liking and wanting of activities or substances that induce them, by binding to and activating dopamine…