Posted by ed_uk2010 on February 17, 2015, at 20:54:47
In reply to Re: Biology, psychology and OCD, posted by Bill82 on February 17, 2015, at 19:17:59
Hi Bill,
Thanks for the link.
I wondering whether the changes in activity of PKC occur in response to changes in synaptic serotonin levels.
I read several things about this:
A. Serotonin reuptake transporters are apparently fewer in number in pts with OCD. This could be the brain's attempt to compensate for a serotonin deficit.
B. Activation of of the enzyme PKC results in a decrease in serotonin reuptake. This may occur due to the serotonin transporters being internalised ie. removed from the neuronal cell membrane.
C. Activation of PKC in untreated OCD may be part of the compensatory mechanism described above. It may occur in response to a serotonin deficit, and could compensate partially for this deficit by reducing the number of active serotonin transporters.
D. Chronic treatments with SSRIs seems to reduce the expression of PKC in OCD. If PKC reduces the number of membrane serotonin transporters, you can see why the activity of PKC might be suppressed by SSRIs. It could be a further compensatory mechanism in order to avoid excessive inhibition of serotonin reuptake.
E. Strangely enough, the opposite, increased SERT availability, has been reports in the brains of untreated OCD pts by other researchers. The areas of the brain involved may have been different.
F. The problem with this type of speculation is that no one, including the scientists involed, appear to understand the immense complexity of neurological function very well!
G. I suppose we can say with some certainty that serotonin neurotransmission is closely linked to OCD symptoms, in some way. Whether this is primary, or secondary to some other abnormality is unknown.
poster:ed_uk2010
thread:1075804
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20150129/msgs/1076851.html