Posted by linkadge on July 16, 2005, at 17:24:11 [reposted on July 17, 2005, at 22:19:58 | original URL]
In reply to Re: Why people with schizophrenia smoke cigarates, posted by Ezmoney on July 16, 2005, at 15:25:24
I don't know about this. Stimulants like amphetamine, cocaine, etc robustly increase the release of dopamine and are notorious for causing paranoid and schitophrenic like behavior ie "amphetamine psychosis". The behavioral effects of stimulants can be blocked by neruoleptics which do not affect the release of dopamine, but rather block its effects in certain limbic circutry.
I think stimulants are abused in shitsophrenia because they treat the negative symptoms of the disorder. They certainly do not cure the disorder.
Other drugs like valproate, lithium, and vitamin C, also have antipsychotic acitivity, and they too lower dopamine release in certain limbic circuts such as the amygdala.
Its a lot more complex than just saying shitsophrenia is due to too much or too little dopamine. Because it is dependant on the region.
Nicotine does a lot more than just affect dopamine release. Some theorieze that its effects in schitsophrenia might be related to nicotinic receptor activation, or even activation of the 5-ht1a receptor which stops dopamine release in the NAA, and amygdala.
Linkadge
poster:linkadge
thread:529312
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/subs/20050602/msgs/529317.html