Posted by dragonblack on August 6, 2010, at 13:12:11
In reply to Acetylcholine + Depresion, posted by BrainDamage on August 6, 2010, at 9:52:01
I am also interested in this. The book "The Edge Effect," by Braverman, has you take assessments to determine your personality "nature," and your deficiencies, by scoring you on dopamine, acetylcholine, gaba, and serotonin. I took a before and after assessment when I went back onto meds last year, and the biggest thing that changed was my acetylcholine score. (Interesting book, btw, though a bit simplistic and designed to be user friendly for the lay public)
I also wonder about this with regard to cigarettes and cannabis. People always talk about how nicotine stimulates the "pleasure center" of the brain or it "increases dopamine" but that's a secondary effect, nicotine is a weak maoi. maybe that's the main draw, but it certainly isn't the only, nor the first in terms of the speed with which it hits your system. Nicotinic receptors are a subtype of acetylcholine receptor. Likewise with cannabis, whether one regards it as an "antidepressant" or not, it is certainly a mood brightener and anxiolytic, for many with refractory mood disorders it's the only thing that provides relief, and cannabinoid receptors are a subtype of acetylcholine receptor. It's clear that the interplay between these neurotransmitters is extremely complex but I think that acetylcholine's role is getting short shrift with regard to affective disorders.
> It is very interesting to me that Acetylcholine is implicated in Depression, but that there is also relatively little research into this.
>
> From personal experience I can say that if I take anything that is Pro Choligenic it makes me feel depressed & sleepy.......
>
> I wish there was some way to reduce Cholines effects without affecting memory & cognition.
poster:dragonblack
thread:957470
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100731/msgs/957512.html