5-ht2c antagonists and dopaminergic agents

[riaahacker]

I've had a thought running across my head this week and want to see what people think of it and it revolves around the 5-HT2c receptor. 5-HT2c antagonists have been shown to be effective antidepressants and anxiolytics and shown to increase dopamine release to food, sex, and drugs such as amphetamines as shown in this quote from wiki:

5HT2C receptors mediate the release of dopamine in response to many drugs, including caffeine, nicotine, amphetamine, morphine, and many others. 5HT2C antagonism will result in a much greater release of dopamine in response to drugs, and any dopaminergic stimulus. Sex, consumption of beverages and food, along with social interaction are all releasers of dopamine in the brain.

From the same article serotonergic psychedelics are stated to be strong activators of this receptor resulting in many of the unpleasant side effects of them but cause rapid downregulation which leads me to suspect that afterglow of a psychedelic experience could be partily caused by downregulation of this receptor.

The 5HT2C receptor is subject to rapid downregulation by serotonin. mushrooms and LSD are strong activators of 5HT2C. This mechanism is responsible for a large portion of the anxiety, depression, and otherwise undesirable effects of hallucinogens.

Will antagonism of the receptor increase the rewarding effects of other drugs such as amphetamine and lead to a reduction in dose? Will the increase of dopamine worsen dopaminergic neurotoxcity induced by strong agents such as methamphetamine, and will this increase lead to addictive behavior with drugs or with pleasurable activity? Would love to hear anyone's thoughts on this.

Reputation Comments on this post:

It made sense