Posted by Racer on November 24, 2006, at 15:24:00
In reply to SSRIs and Dopamine, whats the verdict?, posted by Morhoun on November 24, 2006, at 10:19:29
The total amount of neurotransmitters isn't necessarily the most important question. In fact, there's a certain amount of evidence that SSRIs owe their success to their indirect effect on the dopamine system. (By the same token, the paradoxical calming effects of Ritalin, etc, are most likely due to their downregulation of the 5HT2c receptor, rather than to the increased availability of dopamine per se.)
Also, dopamine doesn't necessarily act in one way -- some dopamine receptor types are inhibitory, others excitory, so increasing dopamine transmission isn't necessarily going to have a predictable effect.
My understanding, though, based on what I've read, is that SSRIs tend to increase dopamine. Hope that helps.
poster:Racer
thread:706645
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20061123/msgs/706744.html