I read an about the damage meth does to you and how it takes way too long to recover from it. How is Ritalin different even tho chemically they are cousins?
In: 417
Meth and Ritalin are both molecules that acts on the release of dopamine in brain cells along the brain’s reward circuits. To understand their difference, I will first explain what normally happens in the brain and then their individual differences.
Normally, we experience pleasure when dopamine triggers our brain’s reward centre. The wanted end result is ‘high’ or the feeling of euphoria. However, overstimulation of the reward centers causes nasty stuff like hallucinations. The latter never happens in our brains because our brain has an internal regulatory system (a kill switch) to stop the upstream release of dopamine if there is too much of it.
What differentiates the two is that
1. Methamphetamine is a dopamine receptor agonist. (Think of meth as a dopamine copycat) This means it directly binds to and stimulates the reward circuit, and therefore bypasses the brain’s internal regulation. Thus, there is no way for the brain to regulate the reward circuit and meth sends it into overdrive. Meth’s effect only dies down when meth is washed out from the body. That is why meth is more potent, causes longer downtime and more pronounced side effects.
2. On the other hand, ritalin is a dopamine reuptake inhibitor. Thus, it slows down the clearance of dopamine released by cells upstream of the reward centres instead of directly stimulating it. Because it does not overwrite the brain circuits, the dopamine in the reward circuit are still subjected to brain’s internal regulation (via negative feedback). This means that the reward centres don’t go into overdrive, and thus it has (comparatively) milder effects, lesser downtime and no addictive potential.
Source: Am a doctor
Latest Answers