Comment · Wed, December 5, 2012
Theory regarding brain zaps:
Original post in this thread
Cannibalsnail · 14 points
The other thread triggered some thinking but it's not really relevant to OPs question so I thought I'd pose it here.
Disclaimer: This is not based on any research papers and is merely educated conjecture.
It is common knowledge that SSRI withdrawal induces an unpleasant "zap" effect, often described as a bolt of electricity. Here's a potential theory for it:
1. SSRI drug blocks the transporter proteins (which would normally bring in Cl- ions to lower the resting potential of the cell).
2. Homeostasis causes more transporter proteins to be produced to counteract the drugs effects.
3. The SSRI is discontinued. Nothing is blocking the excessive transporters now. This causes them to bring an excess of Cl- ions into some cells (or less into others). This causes an irregularity in the resting voltage of the cell.
4. Now when the action potential fires the voltage is potentially to high causing too large an electric discharge, potentially activating surrounding neurones.
I'll need to do more research to apply this to excessive MDMA usage or psychedelics but does it sound plausible?
What they were answering
Cannibalsnail · 2 points
What else would it be?
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb
SSRI's bind to the SERT, so they inhibit the uptake of 5-HT. This causes an acute release of extracellular glutamate, which causes your ion channels to open and allow Ca++ and K+ to enter the neuron. I was unaware that SSRIs directly blocked the VRAC chloride channels. However, after some searching, I found this study. It seems SSRIs do block the chloride channels as well. So your theory does make sense. I also found this study, that showed chronic administration of SSRIs LOWERED the release of glutamate. This is the exact opposite of it's acute effects. So perhaps chronic use of SSRIs starts to affect the regulation of not only your glutamate release, but the uptake of chloride into the neurons. When ceasing administration, your body not only increases it's glutamate release, but also no longer blocks the chloride channels. This causes a cascading "teeter totter" effect in your neurons. Interesting!