Posted by SLS on August 5, 2012, at 2:52:45
In reply to Re: P: OCD symptoms » sheilac, posted by phidippus on August 4, 2012, at 20:02:29
> That's really odd. Probably becuase the drugs in adderall cause glutamate levels to increase in the nucleus accumbens. Alone, dextroamphetamine doesn't do this, but adderall has added salts.
Many of the glutamate circuits afferent to the nucleus accumbens (reward center) modulate dopamine release in that structure. The higher the glutamate, the lower the dopamine. Glutamate normally puts the "brakes" on dopamine release there. To reduce the glutamatergic innervation of these inhibitory circuits results in disinhibition and yields higher levels of dopamine. A number of years ago, I theorized (perhaps wrongly) that Lamictal does exactly this via glutamate release inhibition in the thalamus. At the time, no explanation had surfaced in the medical literature as to how Lamictal could exert antiidepressant effects. I'm not sure what the current consensus is on this. The bottom line is that Lamictal produces an antidepressant effect without directly affecting the neurons responsible for reward and pleasure.
- ScottSome see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.- George Bernard Shaw
poster:SLS
thread:1022572
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120803/msgs/1022750.html