Complementary therapies I take in addition to my
medication:
GNC Triple
Strength Fish Oil
$19.99
Serving Size: 1 Softgel Servings Per Container: 60
Calories: 15 Total Fat: 1.5g
EPA: 647mg DHA: 253mg
GNC Mega Men Sport Multi-Vitamins
(Bonus Size)
$34.99
Other Cool Stuff:
Tablet/Pill Splitter
$5.99
GoFit Yoga Mat
$24.99
Homedics LCD Digital Scale $39.99
Attention:
This
website is probably more suitable for people whom are 18
years of age or older. I use vulgarity from time to time,
and I sometimes talk about things that are generally
inappropriate. Sorry you 1st graders. Beat it.
Knowledge of the biology and chemistry of the brain isn't essential
to your use of medication, in the same way that knowledge of the
inner workings of an engine isn't necessary in order to drive a car.
It may be of interest, however, and provide you a more complete
understanding of how medications may help you. The biology of
our thoughts, feelings, and behavior is complex. It is
directed by the brain, whose anatomy, chemistry, and physiology
enable it to perform myriad functions at lightning speeds.
The brain is one part of the
central nervous system (CNS), the other being the spinal cord.
The CNS is composed of billions of individual cells, called
neurons. Sensory neurons take in information from
the outside world through the five senses and communicate it to the
brain. Motor neurons direct the body to respond by
making the muscles move. All other neurons communicate only
with each other, inside the brain. For example, if you hear an
alarm clock in the morning, sensory neurons transmit this
information from your ears to your brain. The neurons in the
brain access your memory and tell you that it's time to get your
body up. Motor neurons direct your arm and hand muscles to
turn of the alarm, you body to get out of bed, and your mouth
muscles to complain
Neurons The main part of each neuron is the cell body
(see figure 1), which
is where the machinery of the cell is located. One part of the
wall of the cell body ends in dendrites, tiny treelike
projections. The other part of the cell body tapers down into
a long axon, or tail. The tail ends in a number of terminal
buttons. The terminal buttons of a neuron lie on the
dendrites of another neuron, so that each neuron is like a link in a
chain. The space between them is called the synapse.
Each neuron connects with many different other neurons: terminal
buttons from many other neurons end on its dendrites, and its
terminal buttons end on the dendrites of many different neurons.
The entire brain is a series of interconnected groups of cells that
affect one another--there is no master cell. Usually a neuron
is "at rest," which means it is inactive and is not communicating
with the other neurons.
Communicationbetween Neurons It is the
communication between neurons that most concerns us, because this is
where the generation of emotions, thoughts, and memory occurs.
Communication occurs when a neuron "fires." When a neuron
fires, it releases chemicals called neurotransmitters out of
the terminal buttons. Neurotransmitters are small chemical
compounds made in the cell body of the neuron. Examples of
neurotransmitters include serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine,
acetylcholine, and gamma-0amino-butyric acid (GABA). The
neurotransmitter crosses the synapse and lands on the dendrites of
the postsynaptic neuron. The neurotransmitter is a chemical "messanger"
that influences the behavior of the next neuron by interacting with
a receptor on the postsynaptic neuron. Receptors are
proteins made by the cell that sit in the middle of the cell
membrane, the cover around the cell, and protrude on both the
outside and the inside.
How a Neuron Fires The excitable nature of the neuron,
the ability to be "at rest" and then suddenly "fire," is the product
of different concentrations of sodium and potassium inside and
outside the cell. At rest, there is a greater concentration of
sodium outside the cell compared to the inside, and a lesser
concentration of potassium outside the cell compared to the inside.
When a neuron is at rest, there is a small electrical charge across
the membrane, called the membrane potential, because of the
different proportion of ions present. If the total sum of all
the neurotransmitters released by other neurons is sufficient to
change the membrane potential, there is a sudden inflow of sodium
and outflow of potassium. This sudden inflow and outflow
travels down the neuron from the cell body to the end of the axon in
an action potential, or firing. The action potential
causes the release of the neurotransmitter from the axon at the end
of the neuron.
The release of a single molecule of a neurotransmitter is not enough
to determine whether the postsynaptic neuron will fire or not.
There must be enough molecules of neurotransmitters present to
change the membrane potential. In essence, the postsynaptic
neuron adds all the "messages" of neurotransmitters released from
all the axons that are resting on its dendrites. If enough
excitatory messages are received from presynaptic neurons, the
postsynaptic neuron undergoes an action potential and releases its
neurotransmitters onto the next neuron and the process starts all
over.
Inside a Neuron The intracellular events that shift the
membrane potential and lead to the action potential are due to the
change in the physical structure of the receptor caused by the
binding of the neurotransmitter. This change has two possible
consequences. First, the new shape may open a channel in the
receptor through which potassium and sodium can pass. When
these ions pass through, an action potential starts, leading to the
release of the neurotransmitter.
Besides this fast ion channel, receptors also exert their changes
through interaction with G-proteins. G-proteins are located
inside the neuron. They do not directly cause the flow of ions
through the channel of the receptor in the cell membrane, but they
have other effects within the cells. First, they alter the
behavior of ion channels, thereby affecting the intrinsic
excitability of neurons. Also, they regulate enzymes that
produce second messengers. Neurotransmitters are first
messengers, carrying information between neurons. Second
messengers are small water-soluble molecules that diffuse throughout
the interior of the cell to activate their targets. Second
messengers include things such as cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP),
inositol triphosphate, calcium, nitric oxide, and prostaglandins.
By and large, second messengers affect enzymes called protein
kinases and protein phosphatases. Protein kinases act by
tranferring a phosphate group (a molecule composed of phosphorus and
oxygen) onto a protein; a phosphatase takes it off. Since the
function of a protein is highly dependent upon its three-dimensional
configuration, the addition or subtraction of a phosphate group
produces significant changes in how the protein works. For
example, the proteins that produce neurotransmitters can have
phosphates put on or taken off, thereby affecting the rate of
synthesis of a neurotransmitters.
Besides the direct effect of the second messenger on activity within
the cell, second messengers also affect the expression of the DNA
genetic material. Regulating the expression of genetic
material can also affect the potential excitability of the neuron.
Changes in gene expression occur more slowly because of the complex
series of events that must occur in the expression of genes,
including the transcription of DNA to RNA, the transport of the RNA
across the cell to the site of protein production, and the formation
of proteins from RNA.
The Fate of Neurotransmitters Four things can happen to
the neurotransmitter after the release into the synapse (see figure
2). It can interact with a receptor on the outside membrane of
the cell that it came from (1). Such stimulation usually
starts a negative feedback loop to reduce further synthesis of the
neurotransmitters. Second, it can be brought back into the
same cell from which it was released in a "reuptake" process (2).
Third, it interacts with a receptor on the postsynaptic neuron (3).
There are many different receptors for serotonin. Finally, it
can be metabolized, or broken up into smaller parts to permit
excretion. Some neurotransmitters are metabolized in the cell,
while others are metabolized in the synapse (4). In either
case, the metabolized parts are eventually carried away in the blood
and excreted in the urine.
Epinephrine - Affects the
metabolism of glucose and nutrient energy stored in muscles to be
released during strenuous exercise.
Serotonin - Plays an important role
in regulating mood, sleep, impulsivity, aggression, and appetite.
Hallucinogens and antidepressants affect serotonin.
Glutamate - Primary excitatory
neurotransmitter in the brain.
GABA - Primary inhibitory
neurotransmitter in the brain.
Endorphins - Chemicals produced
naturally by the brain that reduce pain and the stress of vigorous
exercise and positively effect mood. Pain killers affect
endorphins.
Almost all psychiatric medications exert their effects on
neurotransmitters. Different ones influence the metabolic
breakdown, the reuptake process, or the binding onto the receptor.
Figure 3 shows the sites of action for many psychiatric drugs.
Amantadine and dextroamphetamine (1) enhance release of
neurotransmitters into the synapse. Antihistamines,
antipsychotics, beta-blockers, and antiparkinsonian agents (2) block
the effects of a neurotransmitter on the post synaptic receptor.
Benzodiazepines (2), on the other hand, act like a neurotransmitter
and stimulate the postsynaptic receptor. Methylphenidate,
SSRIs like fluoxetine, and tricyclic antidepressants like imipramine
(3) block the reuptake of the neurotransmitter into the presynaptic
neuron. MAOIs (4) inhibit the breakdown of some
neurotransmitters inside the presynaptic neuron. Donepezil (5)
inhibits the breakdown of a different neurotransmitter
(acetylcholine) in the synapse. Buspirone and mirtazepine (6)
affect receptors on the presynaptic membrane.
Although the effects of neurotransmitters within the cell are
complex, the main effect is to make the postsynaptic neuron either
more or less likely to fire. Neurotransmitters
are excitatory if they make the postsynaptic neuron more
likely to fire and inhibitory if they make it less likely to
fire.
The Brain as a Whole Additional complexities in the
biology of the brain derive from the presence of many different
neurotransmitters in different areas of the brain, multiple
receptors for each neurotransmitter, many different second
messengers, many different genes that affect the production of the
protein enzymes and receptors, and many forces that control the
production of those genes. All play a role in whether or not a
neuron will fire an action potential. Some of these
complexities are beginning to be understood, but there are still
areas where we are ignorant.
Brain architecture and functioning are shaped by experience in life.
The brain is not a static organ that is formed in the womb and
remains unchanged for the rest of life. The brain continues to
develop, grow, and make new connections well into the fourth decade.
Even apart from the incomplete understanding of the events that
occur at a cellular level, however, is our almost total lack of
understanding of how the brain as a whole is organized.
Although we know some of the sites in the brain that are involved in
the production of thoughts, feelings, emotions, and memories, we
have no understanding at all of how neurons interact with each other
to produce these things. Only further research will help us to
tease apart the incredible complexity of the brain and its
interactions with the outside world.
Most of this is from the book The Complete Guide to Psychiatric
Drugs by Edward Drummond, M.D.
ZacharyOdette.com
Name:Zachary Adam Odette Birthdate:06-06-1985 Location:Swartz Creek, Michigan USA Diagnosis: schizoaffective Medications Taken Daily: 40mg of
Abilify at night, 300mg of Wellbutrin in the morning, 600mg of Trileptal at
night, 50mg of Revia at night Complementary Therapies: talk-therapy
once every two weeks, 4g of omega-3 EPA fish oils taken daily, 1000 I.U. vitamin E taken daily,
1000mg of VItamin C taken daily, Mega Men Sport multi-vitamins taken daily,
Magma Plus Green Foods supplement taken daily, animal-assisted therapy (dogs), go running and
exercise daily,
taking two classes at local college, no street drugs taken since year 2005, and
I'm tryin' to give up cheap booze...
