Reuptake modulator

A reuptake modulator, or transporter modulator, is a type of drug which modulates the reuptake of one or more neurotransmitters via their respective neurotransmitter transporters. Examples of reuptake modulators include reuptake inhibitors (transporter blockers) and reuptake enhancers. Reuptake pumps are a relevant example of transporters. Reuptake is the removal of neurotransmitter molecules from the synaptic cleft back into the nerve terminal that released them. It is the main mode of termination of action for norepinephrine in the periphery, dopamine, and serotonin. Antidepressants and cocaine owe some of their pharmacological effects to the blockade of reuptake, resulting in prolonged presence of neurotransmitters in the synapse and longer stimulation of receptors on effector cells. Amphetamines in part reverse the pumping mechanism and cause the release of the mobile pool of neurotransmitters back in the synapse (the mobile pool represents the nonvesicular neurotransmitter that was freshly reuptaken but not yet repackaged into synaptic vesicles).

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