Live data from Hacker News

Nicotine Normalizes Brain Activity Deficits That Are Key to Schizophrenia

neurosciencenews.com

231–240 of 246 posts

Re: Nicotine Normalizes Brain Activity Deficits That Are Key to Schizophrenia

#231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People shouldn't vape in offices for the same reason they shouldn't pass gas. It smells and it's rude.

Are you under the impression that it's possible to not pass gas? I mean, it can be pretty unpleasant, yeah, but I can't actually shut down my digestive system on command.

I have the ability to make my way to the restroom prior to passing gas.

Re: Nicotine Normalizes Brain Activity Deficits That Are Key to Schizophrenia

#232
post #38

Tangential self experimentation anecdote: I was intrigued by reports that nicotine can improve cognition in otherwise healthy people so I read through as many studies/articles I could find online. After deciding that I'd done enough research I took the plunge and began self experimenting with 2mg gum. I took it daily throughout the day at regular-ish intervals for around 2-3 months. The affects I experienced were as…

Nicotine also accelerates cancer growth. Specifically, nicotinic acetylcholine receptor overstimulation is associated with growth and metastasis of pancreatic cancer [1]. Thus, I'd say that nicotine is unhealthy for long-term chronic use. Caffeine, on the other hand, has shown long-term health benefits in studies.[2] [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26264026 [2] http://www.theverge.com/2017/1/16/14285210/coffe…

Note that this risk is likely considerably smaller for nicotine gum and patch users [1], though:

>Indeed, although ST studies indicate that ST increases the risk of oral cavity and pancreatic cancer, at least for some forms of ST (9–11), both are substantially less than the risk of these cancers from smoking (11, 12). The former risk seems to be a consequence of exposure to tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNA) because in Sweden, where ST products are produced in a way to substantially reduce TSNAs, the risk of oral cavity cancer does not seem to be increased (11).

>Still, it should be noted that the risk of pancreatic cancer from low-TSNA tobacco is substantially lower than from smoking, and so this comparison adds reassurance for the long-term safety of NRT.

>A smoking cessation study by Stepanov and colleagues, however, showed that NNK metabolites were not detectable in persons using NRT (34, 35). However, they did find intermittently high levels of NNN similar to baseline smoking levels among some oral NRT users and in 1 of 9 persons using the NRT patch (36). Although these data indicate a potential cancer risk to NRT users, especially oral users, it is important to realize that NNN is only one of the TSNAs in cigarette smoke, let alone of the many other tobacco smoke carcinogens, and so in this context the risk, if any, seems small compared with continued smoking.

[1] http://cancerpreventionresearch.aacrjournals.org/content/4/1...

Re: Nicotine Normalizes Brain Activity Deficits That Are Key to Schizophrenia

#233
post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not parent, but nothing I have tried improves my sleep. Baseline is just bad. Exercise, meditation, alarms – nothing works. The only thing that raised the baseline was quitting caffeine.

The thing that finally worked for me was blackout curtains in my room. I didn't realize just how much the incoming light from outside my window was affecting my sleep. In pitch black darkness, I'm out like a light and have the deepest sleep imaginable. (It's so effective that I have to set an alarm to wake myself up, otherwise I'll stay asleep for 10-12 hours) I'm able to replicate this somewhat using a sleeping mask…

>In pitch black darkness, I'm out like a light and have the deepest sleep imaginable. (It's so effective that I have to set an alarm to wake myself up, otherwise I'll stay asleep for 10-12 hours)

This could be a sign you're not getting much restful sleep and that you may need those 10 - 12 hours to pay back sleep debt.

Re: Nicotine Normalizes Brain Activity Deficits That Are Key to Schizophrenia

#234
post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The older I get, the more "neurotypical" becomes synonymous for capitalism-compatible. No matter the size of your parachute/coping mechanism, if you fall on Jupiter, it's not the (decelerated) fall that kills you, it's the jostling torture of simultaneously hitting fluid from under you, and being crushed by the weight of fluid above.

I'm inclined to agree with you. ADHD seems to be simply a code word for prescribing amphetamines to people who are confronted by the genuinely boring reality of sitting in the same room with the same people who do nothing and go nowhere for years on end. Unfortunately other economies and models of social order demand similarly horrific obedience, and capitalism is not alone. It's just the thing we got stuck with. Fee…

Not saying amphetamine is necessary the best solution, but ADHD is a real and debilitating condition for a lot of people across all ages.

It's not just "being bored"; it creates serious difficulty in day-to-day and long-term functioning.

Re: Nicotine Normalizes Brain Activity Deficits That Are Key to Schizophrenia

#235
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMO Vaping is a far safer alternative to smoking for getting nicotine.

True, but being healthier than smoking is not exactly a high bar. If you must take nicotine as a nootropic, take it orally. Vaping is much more addictive than letting a 2mg lozenge slowly dissolve. Relative addictiveness of different ROAs is directly correlated with how quickly the drug takes effect, and when you vape the nicotine hits your bloodstream within seconds. Also I can't mention enough that if you take an M…

"Also I can't mention enough that if you take an MAOI you should stay far away from nicotine."

Can you explain more? You mean in addiction terms (I'd agree) or something else?

Re: Nicotine Normalizes Brain Activity Deficits That Are Key to Schizophrenia

#236
post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have never been addicted to cigarettes and do not smoke but I do chew nicotine gum all the time for ADD (and yes there is a difference between ADHD and ADD). I took me a while to figure out that nicotine is a superior stimulant over caffeine, adderall, ritalin and even chocolate extract (albeit chocolate was surprisingly effective). The big plus with nicotine is that it doesn't have the after downer that the above…

>The big plus with nicotine is that it doesn't have the after downer that the above stimulants have. What do you mean by this? Caffeine withdrawal over nicotine withdrawal seems like a no brainer to me with what I've seen from smokers, but I don't smoke so I can't say first hand.

Caffeine withdrawal, out of the many types, is my least favorite to experience.

Nicotine withdrawal (non-tobacco) is nearly unnoticeable, while nicbacco withdrawal can be a little annoying. Although, while I smoked for years, I never smoked more than a pack or two pipes full a week, so perhaps it scales.

Neither compares to the full on pounding headaches, teeth grinding, and occasional auditory hallucinations that can accompany cold turkey, n pots a day caffeine withdrawal.

I rate caffeine easily on par with opiates in terms of the length and discomfort of their withdrawal.

Re: Nicotine Normalizes Brain Activity Deficits That Are Key to Schizophrenia

#237
post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not parent, but nothing I have tried improves my sleep. Baseline is just bad. Exercise, meditation, alarms – nothing works. The only thing that raised the baseline was quitting caffeine.

What works for me is a couple cups of Chamomile tea before bed.

not for me

Re: Nicotine Normalizes Brain Activity Deficits That Are Key to Schizophrenia

#238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As far as I'm aware, the currently prevailing theory is that many deeply depressed people may be be having suicidal thoughts, but their depression is also so strong that they don't have the energy and/or motivation to actually go through with it. Apathy is winning. As the drugs start to lift you out of the hole of apathy, you suddenly start to have more energy and motivation, but you're still depressed. So you still…

This sounds like an apologist's explanation for an inconvenient truth. Sounds reasonable, but falls apart when confronted with actual data. (Edit: I'm sure you were paraphrasing what you'd read somewhere.) Here's a quote from the Boston Globe's 5/7/2000 article: >> Three years before Prozac received approval by the US Food and Drug Administration in late 1987, the German BGA, that country’s FDA equivalent, had such s…

Oh yeah, it was definitely just something I've heard a bunch of times, and not something I'd personally looked up the research on. Thank you for the links.

Re: Nicotine Normalizes Brain Activity Deficits That Are Key to Schizophrenia

#239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even more dangerous when you consider this paper. [1] In particular, see point two, "Psychology is less politically diverse than ever". Academic psychology seems to lean Democrat by a ratio of 14:1! Fourteen to one! That kind of bias is ridiculous when you consider the power they have over their patients and the politically-infused repercussions of their diagnosis. Case in point: gun ownership. [1]: http://heterodoxa…

Don't scientists and medical people in general tend to lean left? It's perhaps not too surprising that people who care enough about medicine to make a career of it don't much like the party that, broadly, tends to cut public medical coverage. Gay people lean left for a similar reason.

Here's a relevant article I found. It's definitely not true that all doctors trend left, but it is true that psychiatrists trend left.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/07/upshot/your-surgeon-is-pr...

Re: Nicotine Normalizes Brain Activity Deficits That Are Key to Schizophrenia

#240
post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These days, I would think they would recommend vaping over smoking. Vaping is apparently much safer, and only contains nicotine (plus glycerin/glycols). In my experience, cigarettes are much more relaxing and calming than vapes. I would think that the other compounds in cigarettes add to the overall soothing effect. Something about pure nicotine doses like through vapes just doesn't feel as good as a cigarette. One o…

There's been a kneejerk reaction to ban e-cigarettes in English MH hospitals. Justifications vary from "we don't know it's safe", "we think the nicotine is harmful unless it's being used to quit smoking and also being tapered down", to "The batteries are dangerous". This ban isn't just on actively vaping inside the hospital, but having the unpowered device, or vaping in the hospital grounds.

Some big colleges in the US are banning vaping on school grounds (indoors and outdoors). I think it's a reasonable rule to have for a hospital or laboratory, where the environment needs to be as controlled and contaminant-free as possible. Nicotine being fundamentally bad? Unstable batteries? That does seem a bit kneejerk, and unsubstantiated. Some airplanes or confined environments ban heavy perfume, out of respect for people with asthma and sinus issues. This is a much more justifiable reason IMHO. Either way, banning it outdoors seems a bit far... it seems like less work to equate vaping with smoking, instead of actually treating it as its own thing.
Post reply on HN