Posted by sowhysosad on April 25, 2009, at 20:55:02
In reply to Re: jaw clenching--likely culprit?, posted by SLS on April 25, 2009, at 19:00:19
> How do dopaminergic neurons become "depleted"?
One theory I read was that dopamine release is mediated by one of the 5HT2 receptors, but the jury's out.
Certainly in my case, my dopamine AND serotonin have been low for months and my jaw has been worse than ever, so it doesn't seem to be excess serotonin alone that's caused the issue. Plus taking codeine - which they hypothesise causes dopamine release through a gaba-mediated mechanism - caused a dramatic improvement. My issue is more with fine motor control when speaking rather than constant bruxism though.
I've also noticed an improvement since quitting imipramine last Sunday, almost as if it was somehow preventing dopamine release. That contradicts research which suggests some tricyclics cause dopamine increase dopamine in some parts of the brain (maybe through its anticholinergic action?), so who knows what was going on there.
poster:sowhysosad
thread:892765
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090416/msgs/892795.html