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I read somewhere that when using tobacco porducts the Nicotine acts as a replacment to dopamine. Is it possible that long term use of nicotine can cause your body to produce very low amounts of dopamine naturally much like aas can lower your natural test levels? And if so could it cause depresion/anxiety? Is there any way to jump start your dopamine production after the use of tobacco as discontinued?
Interesting...Id say PM DOCM but he isnt around anymore. I think hes out fighting the good fight somewhere
I do not know.....I am just here to look at punks avatar:D
drugs are bad...lol
I'm waiting for the rest of the pic to show up.Quote:
Originally Posted by damiongage
Bumb im rely looking for an educated answer here but yes i too am greatfull for punks avatar!
I had a discussion along these lines a while back with one of my professors. He said that nicotine may not be the only chemical associated with the "pleasure" response. Other NT's might be involved in the whole spectrum of an addiciton. I looked something up on this topic to refresh my memory since you sparked my curiosity. Here is an excerpt.
smoking decreases the brain levels of an important enzyme that breaks down the neurotransmitter dopamine. The amount of the enzyme, called monoamine oxidase (MAO), is reduced by 30 to 40 percent in the brains of smokers, compared to nonsmokers or former smokers. The reduction in brain MAO levels subsequently results in an increase in the levels of dopamine in the brain. This agrees with the previous studies which suggest that dopamine is important in the addictive properties of tobacco and cigarettes.
Research has shown that although nicotine causes increases in brain dopamine it has no affect on the MAO levels in the brain. This leads to the possibility that another component of cigarettes other than nicotine may be inhibiting MAO. "Whatever is inhibiting MAO could be acting in concert with nicotine to enhance dopamine's activity by preventing its breakdown," is a hypothesis formed Dr. Fowler and her colleagues.
The concept that the smoking-related reduction of MAO activity may synergize with nicotine's stimulation of dopamine levels to produce the diverse behavioral effects of smoking leads to the suggestion that MAO inhibitor drugs may be useful as an additional therapy with people who are attempting to quit smoking, she adds. MAO inhibitor drugs are currently used to treat depression and Parkinson's disease. One such drug, moclobemide, is already being used experimentally to assist persons trying to quit smoking.
We now know that dopamine, either directly or indirectly, most likely plays an important role in getting and keeping people addicted to tobacco and alcohol. It is interesting to look at how dopamine effects withdrawal from these substances. Alcohol addiction is believed to be caused by morphine like substances which arise from acetaldehyde and dopamine in the brain. Nicotinic acid (vitamin B3) can help metabolize alcohol and reduce the acetaldehyde levels and thus possibly reduce craving for alcohol. G.A.B.A agonists have also been found to be effective in relieving alcohol intoxication. The nutritional precursor of GABA is glutamine. D-phenylalanine inhibits enkephalinase, thus maintaining the brains endogenous opiate levels and reducing craving.
Perhaps not an answer to your question, but an interesting read anyway.