Amphetamine-type stimulants

Abstract

Amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) refer to a group of drugs, mostly synthetic in origin, whose principal members include amphetamine, methamphetamine and MDMA (ecstasy). Use of these substances has a stimulatory effect on the central nervous system and influences the levels and action of the important neurotransmitters: dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin. The action of these neurotransmitters induces a range of excitatory responses in the central nervous system. The differing degrees to which a substance affects these neurotransmitters contributes to the psychostimulant properties of individual ATS. There are also a number of synthetic stimulants that bear little structural similarity to ATS but have comparable mechanisms of action.