Opinions - Dopamine Question

[trammy]

Does anyone know about how to boost swim Dopamine levels?

swim am looking for a way to get the effect swim got from Hydrocodone.

[Oneiros]

Take opiates?

Cocaine will increase dopamine, too.

Or are you looking for ways that don't involve drugs? Try running, weight lifting, and sex.

[icecreamdude321]

Green tea will help a lot, the drink or the extract. I always have the most positive experiences with opiates, when I drink some coffee about 2 or 3 hours before taking the pills. And then right after I take the pills, I usually jerk off, and take a shower. And then I sit in my hot tub, until I can really feel the effects kicking it. It's also nice to have some good marijuana and tobacco around, if you are into that sort of thing.

[cra$h]

dopamine boost - cocaine
seratonin boost - opiates
hot sauce actually floods the brain with dopamine, because the body wants the nutrients from the pepper, and to block some of the spice pleasure is induced every time you eat a pepper, encuraging to eat more.

[painter]

^^^ So this is why I like to eat curry? Thank you - Moments of revelation like this are what makes life so worthwhile.....

[beefybeef87]

methamphetamine > cocaine

[psilocybley]

Well for starters, make sure SWIY's body has what it needs to make dopamine, so he should consider taking a daily dose of L-Tyrosine (or Acetyl-L-Tyrosine) or D/L-Phenylalanine. They are both precursors of dopamine and norepinephrine, but L-Tryosine doesn't seem to cross the blood-brain barrier as well as Phenyl. On the other hand if SWIY is also taking 5-HTP then Phenylalanine would be a waste.

If SWIY is looking for Hydrocodone-like experiences, SWIM recommends Kratom. Specifically look for Maeng Da and Bali leaf, and a 7-8% extract to boost the effects. The Maeng Da is pricey but worth it in SWIM's opinion. Kratom is a non-opioid narcotic that has affinity at the good ole Mu opioid receptor.

I also believe that L-Theanine increases dopamine levels.

Originally Posted by cra$h

dopamine boost - cocaine
seratonin boost - opiates

This is wrong. It may be more appropriate for the Pharmacology forum, but I've addressed the original question and would like to clear this up:

Actually cocaine modulates the release and reuptake of Serotonin more than opioids do. In 1998 an experiment was done to test the effects of cocaine in mice that genetically lacked either presynaptic dopamine transporters or postsynaptic 5-HT1B receptors.

When mice that lacked the dopamine transporters were given cocaine, the coke did act as a positive reinforcer. This means that since the mice should not have been able to be reinforced by cocaine there must be another reinforcing factor involved in cocaine's mechanism of action.

The consensus is that cocaine is primarily dopaminergic in action, but one of its effects is blocking the reuptake of Serotonin. Another study in 2001 concluded that, "(1) cocaine may normally wok to provide rewarding actions at both [Dopamine and 5-HT] transporters and/or (2) either dopamine or serotonin transporters can modulate cocaine reward in the lifelong absence of the other transporter."

On opioids, I've never read anything that suggests that serotonin is directly involved, although Dopamine DEFINITELY is. The consequence of an opioid agonist binding to a Mu receptor is a reduction in the neurotransmission of GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter, which thus disinhibits the release of dopamine from dopaminergic neurons, and that is the root of the reward mechanism in opioid agonists. It should be mentioned that dopamine and 5-HT are intricately connected, and both seem to modulate the release of the other.

I think the more likely explanation for the pepper thing is that nociceptive neurons (pain-sensing neurons) are activated when the sensory nerves exposed to the 'painful' spiciness of peppers cause the release of endorphins, which cause the release of dopamine mentioned in the paragraph above. Peppers may be good for you and stuff, but I think the pain factor makes more sense.