Comment · Wed, March 20, 2013
Coffee and serotonin
Original post in this thread
Pedrovsky · 33 points
Today I was taking a look at the relation between coffee consumption and serotonin levels. Apparently coffee increases your serotonin receptors and their sensibility, but it also seems to decrease serotonin release.
So the question I want to ask is: On the long term, will coffee be benefitial or detrimental to my serotonin system?
What they were answering
Direct reply to the original post — see the thread post above.
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0024320584900948
The results suggest that the elevations in brain 5HT and 5HIAA levels produced by caffeine do NOT enhanced 5HT synthesis, despite significant elevations in brain TRP level. Some other mechanism(s) must therefore be responsible for these elevations in brain 5-hydroxyindole levels.
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http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF00733753?LI=true#page-1
Chronic ingestion of caffeine by male NIH strain mice alters the density of a variety of central receptors. The densities of cortical 5 HT1 and 5 HT2 serotonergic receptors are increased by 26–30%.
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http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/016501739290012B
Caffeine reduces serotonin availability at postsynaptic receptor sites; this elicits a reduction
in the sedative effect of the amine on activity, and has re- percussions on sleep mechanisms,
motor function, and functional regulation of cerebral blood vessels
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So these studies suggest that caffeine prevent the release of 5-HT, causing up-regulation of 5-HT receptors, while still maintaining constant production. This would lead me to believe that it would be good for preconditioning before an MDMA dose. Think 5-HTP without the down-regulation. Your 5-HT stores go up and your receptor densities go up.