im confused! dopamine/AP question

[milkman]

my pdoc told me ppl who go psychotic have too much dopamine in the brain. right? well apparently the antipsychotics block it? so wouldnt harder the block the more effective it is for reducing psychosis? this cant be right! coz on another thread a guy said clozapine which is meant to be the best antipsychotic is a weak dopamine blocker. can someone plz explain this to me!

[jarn]

I'm no expert, but my understanding is there is no clear consensus or knowledge of exactly how APs work - some good ideas as to how, but not an entire understanding - nor is there a complete understanding of how psychosis/brain stuff works. ....Someone may be able to correct me on that point though.

[Überpolarbear]

too much dopamine causes schizophrenia? Yeah. IMHO it's quite possible that the researchers will find out it's complete bullshit in 10 years. there is a reason that it's cause the dopamine HYPOTHESIS and not the dopamine FACT or something. it's just a guess though. but yeah dopamine receprot blockers, particularly D2 receptor type blockers help with schizophrenia. that dopamine blockers help with schizophrenia doesnt necessarily mean schizophrenics have too much dopamine. the brain is a very complicated organ (which explains why it starts not working quite often). so in theory, blocking dopamine receptors could affect the brain in some way. maybe blocking dopamine has an effect on entirely different neurotransmitter indirectly? no one knows.

now here is the real argument. if schizophrenics really had too much dopamine, giving them dopamine receptor blockers would heal them withinm half an hour. not after up to 6 weeks (or not at all)

there are in fact other hypotheses exist about the cause of schizophrenia. the GABA hypothesis and the Glutamate hypothesis.

the glutamate hypothesis is looking more interesting every day as researchers ehm.. do more research (because that's what they do hehe) the reason why the glutamate hypothesis actually axists is the existance of PCP (angel's dust, emblaiming fluid etc.) an NMDA glutamic receptor antagonist (blocker) which causes symptoms which EXACTLY replicate all symptoms real schiczophrenia as opposed to amphetamine, which increases dopamine, that only causes some symptoms of real psychosis.

and then there is tha gaba hypothesis but i dont know much about that.

and yes. clozapine, the BEST antipsychotic in the whole world, has the weakest dopamine blockage of all antipsychotics. maybe it has some effect on glutamate receptors too? quite possible because clozapine blocks or activates almost every possible receptor of all kind all over the body. it's a so called dirty drug and dude it's also really dirty otherwise.

and then there is L-Theanine....

ok just kidding. disregard the above. I STFU already

[Astrid]

The dopamine thing is complicated. Some APs, particularly those with seortonin blocking effects, cause an increase of dopamine in a particula rpart of the brain (frontal cortex I think), where schizo people are supposed to have a defciency of dopamine. The fact that atypicals work, also provides some evidnece that serotonin is also involved.

As for clozapine specifically, it is not known how it works.