Buprenorphine is a weak dopamine releaser relative to heroin, but its pretreatment attenuates heroin-evoked dopamine release in rats.

Aims: The United States of America is currently in an opioid epidemic. Heroin remains the most lethal opioid option with its death rate increasing by over 500% in the last decade. The rewarding and reinforcing effects of heroin are thought to be mediated by its ability to increase dopamine concentration in the nucleus accumbens shell.