Posted by TamaraJ on April 4, 2005, at 9:47:37
In reply to Re: Why does nicotine solve all my psychiatric pro, posted by Mistermindmasta on April 4, 2005, at 0:39:03
> I think nicotine's antidepressant effect comes from the fact that activation of the nicotinic receptors induces PROLONGED activation of dopaminergic receptors in the reward region of the brain, as opposed to having a quick action then dissapppearing. I might be wrong on this... it might be the MAO action, but then why aren't certain foods not allowed when smoking? It can't be the MAO activity, unless it's restricted to MAO-B. I don't know.
~~~ This is extracted on an article I had found on the effects of nicotine.
"Monoamine Oxidase type B (MAO-B) is one of the enzymes responsible for degrading dopamine. It's been known for some time that cigarette smoke has the capability of irreversibly inhibiting MAO-B (20). And while nicotine metabolite concentration is inversely proportional to MAO-B levels, nicotine itself does not inhibit MAO-B (21). Inhibition of MAO-B compounded by nicotine's effects on dopamine release is probably one of the primary reasons why cigarettes are so rewarding and might add to their effect on body composition. In order to potentiate nicotine's dopaminergic action without smoking, one could take the MAO-B inhibitor l-deprenyl. Also, since l-deprenyl has dopamine re-uptake blocking activity (22), it would provide a double mechanism for making nicotine's effect on dopamine more pronounced."
(full article can be found at:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/par16.htm)
poster:TamaraJ
thread:479258
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050404/msgs/479617.html