Rio Fantastic
Bluelighter
Difference between a reuptake inhibitor and a "releasing agent" in terms of dopamine
Hello,
Just a quick question about the difference between the psychopharmacology of drugs like cocaine or Ritalin vs drugs like amphetamine/methamphetamine. It is my (admittedly very basic & limited) understanding that cocaine and methylphenidate work by blocking the dopamine transporter, so not actively releasing dopamine but just inhibiting its reuptake into the synapse, whereas meth/amphetamine work by actively making the transporters reverse direction and release dopamine into the synapse. If this is indeed the case, does that mean that the effect or high you get off of cocaine/ritalin is somewhat dependent on how much dopamine transmission there was anyway, since it only works to stop it from being taken up again and doesn't actually cause the initial rate of release to increase? If so, then does that mean that cocaine/ritalin would be significantly more pleasurable if taken when you're already in a relatively "high-dopamine" state, i.e. after sex or a meal or just when you're in a good mood as compared to when you're in a regular mood or a low dopamine-state? Also, if amphetamine actually facilitates the release whereas coke just stops it being taken back up, why is it that subjectively I, along with many others, can get a more euphoric high from a cocaine peak than from an amphetamine peak (can't speak for meth never tried it)? I'd have assumed that due to the nature of how they work, amphetamine should surely be the more euphoric of the too - the difference between putting a plug in a sink vs turning a tap on, to put it simply so you can see what I'm getting at. I'd love an answer from someone a bit more knowledgeable in neurochemistry/pharmacology than me, as unfortunately as of yet my knowledge on how drugs work is extremely limited to the very bare basics of where they act in the brain and what they feel like when I take them, haha.
Btw mods I wasn't sure if this question was quite "advanced" enough to classify it as being a question for NPD so wasn't sure whether to put it there or BDD, place it where you wish
Hello,
Just a quick question about the difference between the psychopharmacology of drugs like cocaine or Ritalin vs drugs like amphetamine/methamphetamine. It is my (admittedly very basic & limited) understanding that cocaine and methylphenidate work by blocking the dopamine transporter, so not actively releasing dopamine but just inhibiting its reuptake into the synapse, whereas meth/amphetamine work by actively making the transporters reverse direction and release dopamine into the synapse. If this is indeed the case, does that mean that the effect or high you get off of cocaine/ritalin is somewhat dependent on how much dopamine transmission there was anyway, since it only works to stop it from being taken up again and doesn't actually cause the initial rate of release to increase? If so, then does that mean that cocaine/ritalin would be significantly more pleasurable if taken when you're already in a relatively "high-dopamine" state, i.e. after sex or a meal or just when you're in a good mood as compared to when you're in a regular mood or a low dopamine-state? Also, if amphetamine actually facilitates the release whereas coke just stops it being taken back up, why is it that subjectively I, along with many others, can get a more euphoric high from a cocaine peak than from an amphetamine peak (can't speak for meth never tried it)? I'd have assumed that due to the nature of how they work, amphetamine should surely be the more euphoric of the too - the difference between putting a plug in a sink vs turning a tap on, to put it simply so you can see what I'm getting at. I'd love an answer from someone a bit more knowledgeable in neurochemistry/pharmacology than me, as unfortunately as of yet my knowledge on how drugs work is extremely limited to the very bare basics of where they act in the brain and what they feel like when I take them, haha.
Btw mods I wasn't sure if this question was quite "advanced" enough to classify it as being a question for NPD so wasn't sure whether to put it there or BDD, place it where you wish
