Anatomy & Physiology..in my terms..

OK, OK, WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH SMOKING.

I've been smoking for around 12 years, and am pushing on thirty. So this stuff interests me. I'm also a smoking guinea pig - by choice. Addictions are crazy, I'm close to addicted - if not addicted to the Weed Supreme.

Anyway, along my studeous travels, I have learned about things like Neurophysiology- and most of it is understandable if you break it down slowly.

So here goes...

The THC in Marijuana is a specific SHAPE,... that 'locks' into certain neurotransmitters..much like a lock and key. (Enzymes work in the same way).
Once the THC latches on, it can block other processes CONNECTED directly to the neurotransmitter like - THOUGHT PROCESS. There's about 21 neuro's fired with each specific memory...I read things 21 times if I have to. Sounds crazy, but it works.
:rolleyes:
Maybe I'll continue my lesson in the future...I dont know what do you think?

basicly your saying it blocks off your thinking makes sense

Yeah, thats right. So the key is Moderation - so you can have sufficient time to detox.

Here's a double chamber for your reply....lol. Ahhhhhh, better.

makes perfect sense really not that hard to grasp i would have to read up on it more

Okay.. from a budding Psychologist's point of view.. *raisehand*

Dopamine is a neurochemical that basically makes you feel good. The neurochemical activates Dopamine receptors (duh) in the brain. Dopamine is commonly associated with the 'pleasure system' of the brain, providing feelings of enjoyment and reinforcement to motivate us to do, or continue doing, certain activities. Certainly dopamine is released (particularly in areas such as the nucleus accumbens and striatum) by naturally rewarding experiences such as food, sex, use of certain drugs and neutral stimuli that become associated with them. This theory is often discussed in terms of drugs (such as cocaine, amphetamines, and Marijuana) which seem to be directly or indirectly related to the increase of dopamine in these areas, and in relation to neurobiological theories of addiction, which argue that these dopamine pathways are pathologically altered in addicted persons. The mechanisms of cocaine and amphetamine are different, however. Cocaine acts as a dopamine transporter blocker, competively inhibiting dopamine uptake to increase the lifetime of dopamine. On the other hand, amphetamines act as dopamine transporter substrates to competitively inhibit dopamine uptake and increase the dopamine efflux via a dopamine transporter. Still on the other hand (if you have three hands, then you're a freak) THC (and other cannibinoids) are very structurally similar to Dopamine.

So, you smoke Marijuana, and you're brain's like "ooh! Dopamine!" And then it takes the THC as it would Dopamine, activating the same receptors and making you feel damn good.

Hope that helps. If you need anymore explanation of drugs and the brain, let me know.

Thought of more..

Basically, it goes like this.

Your nerve cells have tiny spaces between them called synapses (singular is synapse) The stimulus goes from one nerve cell, the nerve cell transfers the signal to a neurochemical (like Dopamine, for instance), and then dumps the neurochemical into the "Synaptic Cleft", so that another nerve cell can pick up the signal and send it onward. After the receiving Neuron sees what the neurochemical is, it drops it back into the synapse so the sending neuron can pick it back up (called "re-uptake"). Cocaine keeps it from being "re-uptaken" for a while, so it stays in the synapse for longer. Amphetamines work by keeping the dopamine from being re-uptaken at all, so you get more "speedy".

Okay, really done now. hehe

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hempamasta

Certainly dopamine is released (particularly in areas such as the nucleus accumbens and striatum) by naturally rewarding experiences such as food, sex, use of certain drugs and neutral stimuli that become associated with them. This theory is often discussed in terms of drugs (such as cocaine, amphetamines, and Marijuana)

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Sorry to say, I just started reading this thread so I don't know if this is further down the line or not, but, it has been recently proven that pot doesn't affect dopamine receptors.

Oh - I didn't realize we were only here.

It doesn't do anything to the receptors themselves, it mimics dopamine's chemical structure.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hempamasta

It doesn't do anything to the receptors themselves, it mimics dopamine's chemical structure.

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You are stupid. What a joke.

Nobody know's how marijuana affects the brain.