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Erowid/BlueLight Neuropharmacology Text

BilZ0r

Bluelight Crew
Joined
Dec 15, 2003
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I contacted erowid recently, with the proposal to write a text that would hopefully bring the laymen up to a reasonable standard, as far as neuropharmacology/neurophysiology goes, in regards to psychoactive drugs.

The erowid team replied, saying that they would love it.

What I'm now proposing to you guys, is that we write it. I suggest that a single person is asked to write a section/chaper (hopefully one you're familiar with). Erowid suggested using a Wiki, and I think that after we've written it up in posts in here, we can port it over to one, and link it all up.

The chapter layout I proposed to erowid basically looked like this

-What is a cell (BilZ0r)
---What is a Neuron? (ksi and BilZ0r)
-What is a Protein?
---How proteins are produced (crOOk and BilZ0r)
-----What is a receptor? (BilZ0r)
-----What is an Enzyme? BilZ0r)
-Electrical properties of the Neuron (BilZ0r)
---Ion Channels
-----Voltage Gated Ion channels (BilZ0r)
-----Ligand Gated Ion channels (BilZ0r)
-Chemical properties of the Neuron
---The synapse (BilZ0r)
---G-Protein Coupled Receptors, and signalling cascades (BilZ0r)
---Homeostasis in Neuronal Signalling (BilZ0r)

Special Topics
-Pharmacokinetics (BilZ0r)
-Learning, memory and addiction on a cellular level (BilZ0r)
-Monoamine transporters and the amphetamines (BilZ0r)
-GPCRs under the microscope (mitogen)

Drug Glossary

And then maybe some special topics, like neurotoxicity, or anything a particular contributor has a zest for (so long as its appropriate).

Right, so do I have any volunteers? Any suggestion on changing the chapter structure

Printable PDF available here
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/489/bluelightneuropharmacolmk2.pdf
 
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BilZ0r said:
I contacted erowid recently, with the proposal to write a text that would hopefully bring the laymen up to a reasonable standard, as far as neuropharmacology/neurophysiology goes, in regards to psychoactive drugs.

Sounds like a neat idea. I have a good background in neurophisiology, so I'd be up for doing a writeup about the electrical properties of a neuron. It shouldn't be too hard explaining action potentials, sodium/potassium current, membrane depolarization, etc in a simple, easy to understand way.

My only worry is that some of those proposed chapter topics would be hard to conceptualize without some background in biochemistry (ie what is a protein/enzyme/lipid) and cell biology, (ie plasma membrane structure/function). Maybe there should be an introductory chapter on some of these basics, focusing on the aspects relevant to some of the subsequent chapters.
 
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Well those exact things are what hopefully is going to be covered in the first two chapters... With "what is a neuron", explaining what a cell is, what the important parts of a cell are... and what is a receptor, what is a protein, about protein production, about enzymes...

There, I edited the chapter structure, so that receptors and enzymes are both subchaters under a protein section.

What I'm really looking for is someone to write something about Voltage Gated Ion channels... Although I understand them (the concept is preety simple), I feel that it would still be better if someone who felt they really had a good grasp of it wrote it (sure we would be going into Hodgkin-Huxley kinetics or anything, but still...)
 
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Well you sound perfect to tackle a section on how proteins are produced... That shouldn't be a very big section.. transcription, translation... an explaination that the cell can traffic the protein either intracellular or to the membrane...

You think that sounds like it would be enough?
 
BilZ0r said:
Well you sound perfect to tackle a section on how proteins are produced... That shouldn't be a very big section.. transcription, translation... an explaination that the cell can traffic the protein either intracellular or to the membrane...

You think that sounds like it would be enough?

Sure, easily doable. I'll PM you with a question or two that I have.
 
exactly how complex do you intend to make this?

writing a textbook is, as i am sure you am already aware bilZ0r, an incredibly large undertaking...
is it designed to be a general summary providing links and resources or a fully self-contained tome?

either way, i'd be happy to contribute.
protein structure (and its intergration with neuropharmacology) and general molecular cell bio is really my field. i know quite a lot about trafficking and mitogenesis etc.

this said, i'd have to be more than slightly conceited to think that i can write definitive articles on, say, the structure of connexin or something

-james
 
Writing a textbook is an incredibly large undertaking...
is it designed to be a general summary providing links and resources or a fully self-contained tome?


Ah my man! I wondered when you'd show up...

...Well it's going to be neither I hope... not a list of links, or a tome... hopefully it will be the kind of thing you could read in a 2 to 3 sittings... I hope each chapter will be around 500-2000 words... Depending on the chapter, I don't you'd even references, just a bibliography...

So would you be down for writing a chapter? Maybe down regulation, and desensetization of receptors?
 
i think it would be interesting to have two parts to each chapter: the first being a general intro, and the second being a collection of some of the latest research in the field.
just a link to an abstract, a couple sentences describing the paper, then a sentence saying why this particular piece of research is exciting.

receptor trafficking is good for me. signalling, transmodulation etc. and protein structure...

we need a geneticist

damn my mum just found my pot of opium tea and chucked it :/ "what are you doing brewing up plants? youll poison yourself! you know your father just sprayed everything in the garden with Confidor?"
lol...
she thinks the opium poppies are poisonous...
 
... well I hope to keep it pretty simple if someone wants to get advanced then they can go read neuropsychopharmacology the 5th generation or something...

I don't think we really need a geneticist, there isn't much genetics that is relevant to the pharmacology of recreational drugs... not in my opinion at least.

I wasn't really going to have much of a mention on receptor trafficking, as a) it's relavence to recreational drugs is limited b) it's pretty advanced and c) it's still pretty uncharted... Don't you think? But any of those chapters above apart from the one raybeez has taken, are still open.
 
Ive read neuropsychopharmacology one of the editions. I dont know much about it anymore. But Im sure I can assist a bit in writing up a bit.
Besides that we had a good dutch print of some of the most important chapters for our farmacotherapy course.
 
Whats your educational background? Is there any chapter you're especailly skilled to tackle?
 
"-Chemical properties of the Neuron
---The synapse
---G-Protein Coupled Receptors, and signalling cascades
---Receptor downregulation"

sounds like me

also,
"what is tolerance and how do the mechanisms vary between drugs?"
molecular tolerance:
-desensitization
-downregulation
pharmacokinetic tolerance etc.

also,
perhaps a chapter on some psych experiments, like discriminative stimulus etc. would be good.
i know sweet FA about that sort of stuff. would be interesting to learn a bit more.

also, maybe a comment on how a little knowledge of the underlying pharmacology of recreational substances can enhance the safety or comfort of using that substance.
for instance (not the greatest example but i cant think of anything better right now,) MDMA induced hyperthermia, or the fact that tolerance develops to the majority of the effects of opioids, but that this does not include inhibition of gastric motility (constipation!)
 
Well we'll put you down for downregulation and desensitization for the moment?
 
Maybe I am missing something here, but I do not see any drug-related material in the proposed chapter layout.
Is this to serve simply as an introduction to the neural system, or are specific 'neurotoxins' going to be discussed?
 
An introduction to the neural system, with the objective of helping people understand other research on recreational drugs.

Thats why we don't need to cover molecular biology, because that interaction isn't probably particularly important in regards to recreational drugs.

Hopefully, where appropriate, people will use recreational drugs as examples though.
 
my high school/college bio/anat/phys should give me adequate background for what is a cell, and the important parts of a cell, and if anybody jumps ship on "how a neuron works", I could pick that up too. :). Can we use copyrighted images. Lord knows most of these concepts are better expressed through diagrams.
 
atlas, it shouldn't be a problem using copyrighted images as long as they are identified as such and cited in a bibliography.
 
I just finished the chapter in my school book about enzymes (I study biochemistry) so I can write about them. I could use common enzymes working in drug metabolism, inhibition by MAO's, and some other things. I really don't know what enzymes has to do with the neuropharmacology but if it needs to be explained I'll gladly do so. Since english isn't my primary language there might be some grammatical errors, hopefully some of you could fix them.
 
i think creating an extensive glossary (preferably with a feeback page and refular updates) would be really helpful; i'd bookmark it.
i've only taken cog-neuro at an undergraduate level, and find that a major problem for me is not knowing the shorthand for specific neurotransmitters that i only know the group name for.

Similarly a section on how abbreviations, acronyms, & other diction are conjoined would be helpful.

I'd be happy to collaborate with atlas on how a neuron functions. if i can find my notes/tests i have also have alot of drawings (some rather meticulously done). i can contribute those, and possibly do more drawings for other topics if needed.

I'd also be willing to do some work for the vocab section. This page might help for vocab if nothing more: http://www.neurotransmitter.net/drugmechanisms.html
 
I think it would be best to create our own diagrams...

If you "don't know what enzymes has to do with the neuropharmacology", then it's probably best if you don't write the section specifically dealing with that question.
 
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