After I posted on, what was in my opinion, a poor use of Nuvigil, several people referred to caffeine as being peddled as a wakefulness enhancer and stimulant for centuries. True, but caffeine is different neurobiologically than amphetamine like stimulants.
Amphetamine modulates neurotransmitters in the brain, with the majority of amphetamine effects being exerted on the monoamine neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Amphetamine most likely has a much broader effect on the brain and central nervous system dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine are just the most noticeable ones. Amphetamine activity throughout the brain appears to be site-specific. Certain receptors that respond to amphetamine in some regions of the brain tend not to do so in other regions, such as memory formation in the hippocampus. Amphetamine's influence on neurotransmitter activity specifically in regions implicated in reward explains the behavioral implications of the drug, mainly the euphoria characteristic of use.
Caffeine is the most widely used psychoactive drug in the world. I enjoy it in the form of a nice cup of dark roasted coffee of Indonesian or Ethiopian origin. It is one of those GRAS compounds (generally recognized as safe) that has some pleiotropic effects.
Thus spake Wikipedia: "Adenosine acts as an inhibitor neurotransmitter that suppresses activity in the central nervous system. Consumption of caffeine antagonizes adenosine and increases activity in neurotransmission including acetylcholine, epinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, glutamate, norepinephrine,cortisol, and in higher doses, endorphins which explains the analgesic effect to some users. At very high doses (exceeding 500 milligrams) caffeine inhibits GABA neurotransmission. This evidence explains why caffeine causes anxiety, insomnia, rapid heart and respiration rate."
So instead of bathing my brain in a bath of dopamine, I'll stick to my coffee. It has other health benefits as well. I leave you with Voltaire's response to a comment that coffee was a slow poison. "It must be. I've drunk 40 cups a day for the last 50 years and I'm not dead yet"
If you enjoy my blog, follow VictrixCMC on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter (@VictrixCMC)
Amphetamine modulates neurotransmitters in the brain, with the majority of amphetamine effects being exerted on the monoamine neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Amphetamine most likely has a much broader effect on the brain and central nervous system dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine are just the most noticeable ones. Amphetamine activity throughout the brain appears to be site-specific. Certain receptors that respond to amphetamine in some regions of the brain tend not to do so in other regions, such as memory formation in the hippocampus. Amphetamine's influence on neurotransmitter activity specifically in regions implicated in reward explains the behavioral implications of the drug, mainly the euphoria characteristic of use.
Caffeine is the most widely used psychoactive drug in the world. I enjoy it in the form of a nice cup of dark roasted coffee of Indonesian or Ethiopian origin. It is one of those GRAS compounds (generally recognized as safe) that has some pleiotropic effects.
Thus spake Wikipedia: "Adenosine acts as an inhibitor neurotransmitter that suppresses activity in the central nervous system. Consumption of caffeine antagonizes adenosine and increases activity in neurotransmission including acetylcholine, epinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, glutamate, norepinephrine,cortisol, and in higher doses, endorphins which explains the analgesic effect to some users. At very high doses (exceeding 500 milligrams) caffeine inhibits GABA neurotransmission. This evidence explains why caffeine causes anxiety, insomnia, rapid heart and respiration rate."
So instead of bathing my brain in a bath of dopamine, I'll stick to my coffee. It has other health benefits as well. I leave you with Voltaire's response to a comment that coffee was a slow poison. "It must be. I've drunk 40 cups a day for the last 50 years and I'm not dead yet"
If you enjoy my blog, follow VictrixCMC on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter (@VictrixCMC)
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