Posted by BarbaraCat on September 8, 2003, at 23:49:06
In reply to Re: a thought of my own, posted by SF24 on September 8, 2003, at 16:08:48
Your ideas are very intriguing. I've often wondered about those delicious tingles from drugs that target different neurochemicals. The scalp/spine tingles from amphetamines, the whole body pulsing tingles from MDMA, the rapturous shivers of psychedelics, the rapid wiry rush from that first cup o' coffee, the lovely afterglow of sex that is so like the warm whole body pulse from MDMA, etc. What causes them? They all have the same 'pleasure/reward' dopamine similarity, but the targeted receptor sites are so varied. Or are they?
I've also wondered about the sadly neglected down-line electrical potential, the cAMP second messenger system that communicates with the neuronal nucleus and then sends it's electrical impulse down the axon to the terminal, which, from there, is chemically ferried across the synaptic cleft. Those zaps seem so electrical and this axonal communication/firing/ionic gates flux all depend upon electrical potential (calcium/sodium ion exchange).
There's so much speculation and research being put into the terminal and synaptic cleft theories, and not enough into the down-line second messenger system. Electric-feeling zaps = electricity in my mind. There must be a disruption in the electrical system because those zaps are so undeniably electrical in nature to those who have experienced them. I believe we're overlooking a huge part of the whole neuronal symphony by looking at the, what, only 3 major neuropeptides we've come to recognize as the alpha and omega of psychiatric medicine? But all those billions of potential research dollars are better spent on defending us against the terrorists, eh?
Or maybe it's a temporary homeostatic seeking neural re-routing to the temporal lobe strategy which could cause the vertigo/dizziness usually associated with inner ear (temporal lobe territory) problems?
OR how about this? As serotonin decreases, dopamine increases. Those tingles are all remarkably dopamine-like. 'Pleasure/reward' system = dopamine. Many of those 'tingle' substances spoken of above are dopamine releasers which usually incite craving for more of the tingly buzz. Only this dopamine surge, usually so pleasant, doesn't feel much like pleasure. So, anything thoughts? So many possibilities, so little time. Maybe in 100 years we'll have this thing wired. - BarbaraCat
poster:BarbaraCat
thread:5582
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030907/msgs/258273.html