Posted by undopaminergic on February 21, 2022, at 13:28:48
In reply to Re: back to Prozac maybe low dose » undopaminergic, posted by Jay2112 on February 21, 2022, at 13:09:02
>
> Yes, I mean't to write 'NMDA antagonist'...but actually, Lamictal *initially* increases glutamate, down-regulating it eventually. This may explain the initial overstimulating effects Lamictal has when you take it for the first 2-4 weeks.
>I never noticed anything from lamotrigine (generic Lamictal), but that may mean it has the stabilising effect it is supposed to.
More glutamate does not necessarily mean "stimulating" in any subjective (or even observable) sense of the word. Dopamine is mainly an inhibitory (receptor subtypes D2, D3, and D4) neurotransmitter, but still it is associated with stimulation, as with psychostimulants.
The dopamine D3 receptor is the most closely linked to subjectively pleasant states of mind, and yet it is purely inhibitory. NMDA-antagonists, such as ketamine and memantine, can produce some effects resembling those of stimulants, but they are inhibitory too. It seems that inhibiting certain parts of the brain induces stimulation and/or pleasure. As if the activity of certain parts of the brain serve to weigh us down or possibly even selectively make us feel bad/worse. Maybe in the future a surgical treatment of depression might involve destroying some of these parts!
-undopaminergic
poster:undopaminergic
thread:1118655
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20220128/msgs/1118710.html