Originally posted by inimalist
certain drugs like methamphetamine and cocaine have effects on the dopamine system specifically in the hippocampus, which is the same system believed to be affected in Alzheimer's.Whether they would be the same thing as Alzheimer's, I don't know. Certainly possible.
Any drug raises dopamine levels. Lots of other things also do, for example going sky diving would cause a rise in dopamine. It's the autonomic nervous system that has to be worried about.
Originally posted by chillmeistergen
Any drug raises dopamine levels. Lots of other things also do, for example going sky diving would cause a rise in dopamine. It's the autonomic nervous system that has to be worried about.
yes, most drugs do activate the dopamine system. If skydiving produces anywhere near the same dopamanergic reaction in the hippocampus as cocaine does, then there is as much speculation about it as a casue of alzheimer's as with coke. However, it doesn't. Cocaine and amphetamines act directly on dopamine receptors, creating an environment much different than that experienced during a rush of excitement.
The autonomic nervous system is the fight or flight system... What does that have to do with Alzheimer's?