I have scoured the first couple pages of Google attempting to discover how, neurochemically speaking, cocaine acts as a stimulant on the body. In regards to the Google query, "how does cocaine affect the brain and body?" -- many of the immediate results simply discuss how cocaine attaches itself to the dopamine transporter, thus preventing the reabsorption of dopamine into the dopamine system, resulting in euphoria. That said, I don't think this explains the stimulant-like affects of cocaine.
For example, while caffeine also affects the brain dopaminergically --- increasing the receptivity and efficacy of dopamine, caffeine attributes its stimulant-like effects from being an adenosine antagonist, which promotes the efficacy of acetylcholine. Unfortunately, however, few stimulants act in this manner. Thus, how does cocaine stimulate the brain and body?
