Posted by Mistermindmasta on July 21, 2005, at 23:50:40
In reply to Questions about dopamine, posted by squaw16 on July 18, 2005, at 14:48:27
> Hey, everybody
> I don't know if i have too much, too little, or a combination of both of dopamine. I have been binge-drinking and smoking for 15 years, which leads me to believe I have too little dopamine. But I also get strong paranoia, which I've read means too much dopamine. Can anyone help, please? My pdoc gave me Abilify, and I don't know if that raises or lowers dopamine. All I know is I still have strong cravings for beer and cigarettes.
> Thanks
> suqaw16
First off, there's no such thing as too little or too much dopamine. You definitely need to be looking at how much dopamine is in a certain brain circuit. A lot of dopamine in the prefrontal cortex can lead to being very quick thinking (obviously, good), but too much dopamine in the limbic circuit can cause paranoia. Atypical antipsychotics tend to increase dopamine in the prefrontal cortex (via antagonizing 5-HT2a receptors) while simultaneously decreasing dopamine in the limbic circuit (via antagonising Dopamine 2{?}) receptors. Thus, why you're on abilify. So it's not a question of too little or too much, its how much in each particular brain area.If you binge drink, it's probably because you don't have enough dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens, part of the reward circuit of the brain. SSRI's can sometimes increase dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens, therefore decreasing cravings, but sometimes they can increase cravings by indirectly lowering dopamine through the extra serotonin at certain serotonin receptors.
What you want to take home, though, is that your dopamine levels are imbalanced. That's more fitting than "too little" or "too much". Taking abilify balances your dopamine a little bit more, but actually doesn't necessarily fix the lack of dopamine in the reward circuit. It sometimes can, but might not for you. Everyone's brain circuity is vastly different.
poster:Mistermindmasta
thread:529647
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/subs/20050602/msgs/531286.html