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Dopamine signals when a fear can be forgotten

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Re: Dopamine signals when a fear can be forgotten

#61

Post by RansomStark »

gigaflop wrote: post #36
static_void wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would unironically say this is the how of how adderall works for me. I am distracted from work by anxiety. With medication, I'm not distracted.

Generic Adderall Gang here, and in hindsight, I'm surprised at how little of it I need to realize a much better headspace. Makes me wonder if all of that caffeine in my undiagnosed youth was saying something...

I'm worried about my caffeine intake. ADHD diagnosed but never medicated.

I've been a heavy coffee drinker since i was a teenager.

I'm sitting at 13 double espressos today which is about average.

Lately the instant sleepiness post coffee isn't worth the focus, and I'm starting the think medication would be a healthier choice

Re: Dopamine signals when a fear can be forgotten

#62

Post by gigaflop »

static_void wrote: post #40
gigaflop wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Generic Adderall Gang here, and in hindsight, I'm surprised at how little of it I need to realize a much better headspace. Makes me wonder if all of that caffeine in my undiagnosed youth was saying something...

I'd be interested in your thoughts more here. The problem with amphetamine is you pay for every benefit: focus now, lethargy later; energy now, anhedonia later. But taking a small, consistent dose. Does that work? Do you feel you net benefits in life from taking the drug, discounting for withdrawal and/or tolerance?

> Focus now, lethargy later

IMO, that's always just been me. Now vs Later is hard to judge, though, because I tend to have "good focus" blocks of time, and "chill blocks". Exact timing depends on my overall weekly schedule leading up to a time period.

Also, I mentally classify different types of energy. Physical, social, and mental energies all have their different places in a day.

> small, consistent dose

For me, yeah, but YMMV based on brain chemistry and environmental variables. Since I use El Cheapo, I max out at 10mg 2x/day, but rarely adhere to that unless I'm planning ahead for it/have been on that roll for a while. This helps a lot with tolerance, especially when I have lazy weekends.

And from a personal perspective: It's a very simple drug to understand, which makes me feel at ease. Brain goes vroom, like an engine hitting a more comfortable RPM. Not every situation needs my full power.

Re: Dopamine signals when a fear can be forgotten

#63

Post by gigaflop »

RansomStark wrote: post #61
gigaflop wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Generic Adderall Gang here, and in hindsight, I'm surprised at how little of it I need to realize a much better headspace. Makes me wonder if all of that caffeine in my undiagnosed youth was saying something...

I'm worried about my caffeine intake. ADHD diagnosed but never medicated. I've been a heavy coffee drinker since i was a teenager. I'm sitting at 13 double espressos today which is about average. Lately the instant sleepiness post coffee isn't worth the focus, and I'm starting the think medication would be a healthier choice

Take this with a grain of salt, but I use it as an ad-hoc benchmark: FDA recommended maximum daily limit on caffeine is 400mg. If you're regularly going above that, then (politely) consider whether you should be.

Re: Dopamine signals when a fear can be forgotten

#64

Post by voytec »

Aurornis wrote: post #54
voytec wrote: post #29

It's weird that there's no mention of adrenaline (epinephrine) and noradrenaline (norepinephrine). Dopamine is only a precursor for a broader chemical reaction. All three - with dopamine - play crucial roles in our bodies' stress response system, and definitely with fear reactions. Dopamine is just a neurotransmitter. tyrosine -> dopamine -> (beta-hydroxylase) -> noradrenaline -> Phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferas…

> Dopamine is only a precursor for a broader chemical reaction. No, dopamine is a signaling molecule that participates directly in this functionality. You're right that it's just a neurotransmitter, but the relative pathways about how they're produced are irrelevant for this study. They looked at how dopamine binds to certain receptors in certain parts of the brain under certain conditions.

OK, maybe not "just a precursor" but still "just a neurotransmitter".

I've read "The Molecule of More" and as much reasonably looking material I could find on the subject to "understand" my ADHD and fight it w/o meds. And I still feel dumb. Could you please explain how dopamine "participates directly in this functionality"?

Re: Dopamine signals when a fear can be forgotten

#65

Post by astrange »

sosodev wrote: post #10
abhisek wrote: post #5

I have a simple question. How do I control dopamine in "my" brain so that I can focus on "here and now" instead of HN and GitHub.

Strengthen your prefrontal cortex so "you" have more control over your urges. You typically do this with meditation.

Not recommended if you're depressed/in a bad situation because you can just disassociate from everything instead of fixing it.

Re: Dopamine signals when a fear can be forgotten

#67

Post by SequoiaHope »

dns_snek wrote: post #52
SequoiaHope wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well MDMA therapy is a real one and probably much more effective than cocaine for these purposes.

MDMA (or psilocybin) assisted psychotherapy to be specific. I don't think just taking these drugs has been shown to be an effective treatment :)

Yes I was referring to MDMA assisted psychotherapy, which I am a huge proponent of. However I’ve found these materials to be quite effecting at healing when taken conscientiously outside of a traditional assisted therapy session. Of course there probably haven’t been a lot of studies on this because formal therapy studies are probably easier to get approved, so I wouldn’t take the absence of evidence as evidence of absence.

Re: Dopamine signals when a fear can be forgotten

#68

Post by gbnwl »

voytec wrote: post #64
Aurornis wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Dopamine is only a precursor for a broader chemical reaction. No, dopamine is a signaling molecule that participates directly in this functionality. You're right that it's just a neurotransmitter, but the relative pathways about how they're produced are irrelevant for this study. They looked at how dopamine binds to certain receptors in certain parts of the brain under certain conditions.

OK, maybe not "just a precursor" but still "just a neurotransmitter". I've read "The Molecule of More" and as much reasonably looking material I could find on the subject to "understand" my ADHD and fight it w/o meds. And I still feel dumb. Could you please explain how dopamine "participates directly in this functionality"?

FTA: “The team showed that indeed they express “D1” receptors for the neuromodulator. Commensurate with the degree of dopamine connectivity“

There are receptors specifically for dopamine on the amygdala neurons. Dopamine molecules are released by the pre-synaptic neurons, travel across the synapse, and bind to these receptors.

Dopamine’s role in the nervous system is not simply an intermediate on the pathway to produce epinephrine or norepinephrine. If you thought like this you’d reach the conclusion that testosterone is simply a precursor to estrogen because the pathway to convert it exists in some tissues of the body.

Re: Dopamine signals when a fear can be forgotten

#69

Post by RansomStark »

gigaflop wrote: post #63
RansomStark wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm worried about my caffeine intake. ADHD diagnosed but never medicated. I've been a heavy coffee drinker since i was a teenager. I'm sitting at 13 double espressos today which is about average. Lately the instant sleepiness post coffee isn't worth the focus, and I'm starting the think medication would be a healthier choice

Take this with a grain of salt, but I use it as an ad-hoc benchmark: FDA recommended maximum daily limit on caffeine is 400mg. If you're regularly going above that, then (politely) consider whether you should be.

400mg is only about 3 doubles. Thanks for the heads up

Re: Dopamine signals when a fear can be forgotten

#70

Post by munificent »

abhisek wrote: post #5

I have a simple question. How do I control dopamine in "my" brain so that I can focus on "here and now" instead of HN and GitHub.

Get away from screens.

It's hard to focus on the here and now when the here and now is the soul-deadening sensory-less experience of sitting motionless staring at a flat rectangle of pixels.

Go out in the woods. Get your hands dirty. Meet friends at a bar and laugh until your stomach hurts.

It's so much easier to be present in the moment when the moment is actually high fidelity and nourishing.

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