Serotonin action of drugs

[JorhanPsy]

Yello!

I have always wondered which serotonin action of drugs is considered safer or not-so-hard on the body.

Which of these types of serotonin actions would you classify as better? Safer?

-Serotonin agonist
-Serotonin releaser
-Serotonin releaser and reuptake inhibitor

My Guess would be the serotonin agonist since it doesn`t directly affect serotonin, it only mimics its action. At least to the degree I have found out. I also think that serotonin agonism is typical of the classic psychedelics like LSD and DMT, and Serotonin release and SRI are more typical of the less psychedelic and more stimulant/euphoric types of drugs like MDMA.

 

[farmacista]

agonist only mimics certain function of serotonine depending on subtype selectivity, while releasing agent and reuptake inhibitor will indirectely stimulate all receptor subtypes, so you can consider agonist safer than releasing agent because they will generate fewer biological response apart from the desired one

 

[Memantine]

Serotonin agonists. However it also depends on what receptor subtype you are talking about. Some subtypes cause anxiety, increased temperature and sexual dysfunction on activation.

Serotonin releasing agents are often considerably neurotoxic(not all)

 

[sekio]

"Which of these types of serotonin actions would you classify as better? Safer?"

This is too broad of a generalization to be answered... some serotonin agonists can be quite harmful, some serotonin releasers can have large ranges of safe dosages.... it depends on the compound in question and which serotonin receptors it effects as well as what other targets it may hit.

And as always the dose makes the poison... a mild serotonin reputake inhibitor can be toxic if overdosed and even stuff like the ergot alkaloids (which are considered toxic) are OK if dosed small enough.

 

[aced126]

It is observed that (selective serotonin) reuptake inhibitors (antidepressants) are generally safe if used in the right dosages. Continuous long term usage could cause one to go into withdrawal syndrome.

Many studies have shown neurotoxicity associated with serotonin release could be due to simultaneous dopamine release. Many pure serotonin releasers produce a response yet are not neurotoxic in those doses.

I have always wondered why co-administration of unselective dopamine agonists and serotonin agonists do not result in an MDMA-like response. If one were to directly inject into the brain serotonin and dopamine, would it create a response like so? Similarly, when dopamine releasing agents are administered with SSRIs, surely a more entactogenic like response should be observed, but that is not the case.

 

[neurotic]

^ well, we do know that coadministration of selective(ish) 5HT releasing agents and DA/NE releasing agents does result in an MDMA-like response

i feel dopamine release alone isn't even sufficient for stimulant effects. norepinephrine is probably necessary to not only for stimulant but also entactogen effects - NE neurotransmission has some relation to fear extinction learning. i made a thread wondering about the role of NE in entactogen effects but didn't get much responses. or it could be just that NE is necessary for the "kick"

 

[Ozle]

Yello!

I have always wondered which serotonin action of drugs is considered safer or not-so-hard on the body.

Which of these types of serotonin actions would you classify as better? Safer?

-Serotonin agonist
-Serotonin releaser
-Serotonin releaser and reuptake inhibitor

Firstly, I'm assuming you mean "serotonin reuptake inhibitor" instead of "serotonin releaser and reuptake inhibitor", since all SRAs are SRIs (they work by reversing the direction of the transporter protein).

Secondly...what are you trying to ask? You can't meaningfully discuss safety at all without citing a dose range, even a relative one (this is true even in the most extreme cases; drinking too much water will kill you at a high enough dose).

"Better" in what way? Agonists have wildly different properties depending on receptor affinities. SRAs tend to have euphoriant/empathogenic, but not necessarily stimulating (some are even sedative), effects, and SRIs appear extremely varied and idiosyncratic in their effects (theoretically they should be anxiolytic and mood-raising, somewhat like weaker forms of SRAs, but in practice they can have all kinds of strange differences in their effects, in addition to the ones seen in SRAs (e.g. stimulating/sedating)).