androjunkie said:
Nice post man, sounds like you know your pharmacology. I can definately appreciate that. If the problem was in the pineal gland or the hypothalamus, then what can you do about it? Just out of curiosity, what role does serotonin play in sleep deprivation? I am not flaming you, I just want to know.
Sometimes surgery may be an option to remove possible tumors on the pineal or hypothalamus, or for correcting decreased vascular supply to these areas.
I'm not sure as to what types of medicine can be administered, possibly the highest potency melatonin delivered during specific times during the day or night to mimic natural pineal gland secretion.
Serotonin plays a critical role for sleep(REM), the sleep-wake cycle, as well as maintaining integrity for circadian rythem cycles.
It balances out other neurotransmitters which may have a stimulatory effect ie.norepinephrine,epinephrine, dopamine,acetylcholine.
Serotonin is compromised in conditions of stress-there are studies that show that chronic stress can cause huge cortisol secretions which can destroy neurons in the hippocampus(area in the brain, responsible for networking information and stimuli from various regions(lobes ) in the cerebrum then processing and consilidating them into long term memories) this damage can be reversed to a degree with the incorporation of an SSRI or an SNRI(serotonin-norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitor)
Low serotonin levels are found in depression and anxiety and most of the time insomnia is evidenced.
Over production of dopamine from stimulants or cocaine can down-regulate serotonin and create a pseudo-schizophrenia syndrome, and could lead in permanent death of those dopamine cells which were excited, due to excessive stress-output.
Drugs like extacy(MDMA) can over burn the serotonergic axons and cause irreversible damage} actual holes in the brain tissue from a bad batch, after a couple of uses.
Do a search on serotonin and sleep or (REM sleep)..tons of literature.
I found this to be interesting, and could pertain to a lot of athletes on these boards who complain about insomnia........
: Int J Sports Med. 2004 Feb;25(2):150-3. Related Articles, Links
Abnormal serotonin reuptake in an overtrained, insomnic and depressed team athlete.
Uusitalo AL, Valkonen-Korhonen M, Helenius P, Vanninen E, Bergstrom KA, Kuikka JT.
Kuopio University Hospital, Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Kuopio University Hospital and University of Kuopio, Finland.
[email protected]
The purpose of this report is to study serotonin reuptake of the brain in a severely overtrained athlete by using single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). A 26-year-old team athlete increased his training volume (by 200 %) and intensity markedly in a new high-level team. After two months, he started to feel continuous fatigue. He had tinnitus in his left ear, he felt disturbing palpitation and had pollacisuria. After four months, he started to suffer from insomnia. He still continued to play for another three months, after which he was unable to play.
He could only sleep for 3 to 4 hours per night. Only minor abnormalities could be found in extensive physical and laboratory examinations.
The athlete had a severe overtraining state. In the brain SPECT scans, using the specific radioligand for serotonin transporter imaging ( (123)I labelled 2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-[4-iodophenyl]-nortropane), low activity areas were detected in the midbrain, anterior gingulus, and left frontal and temporo-occipital lobes. In a psychiatric examination,
the patient was found to have signs of major depression, which he hardly recognized himself.We conclude, that that the severe overtraining state could have been related to
decreased serotonin reuptake in the brain and signs of major depression.
B32
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Dude that shit is like anesthetic in a pill.
and at the same time you're building up a huge tolerance to these meds and placing unnecessary stress on your organs.
B32
