Comment · Fri, April 12, 2013 · Ceretropic
Hey r/Nootropics, we are two neuroscience grad students looking for your suggestions on an upcoming project.
Original post in this thread
Cerebrosaur · 45 points
As the title says, we are two neuroscientists looking for some advice on a project we are undertaking. We find drugs fascinating, so we are starting a blog about drugs for people that love drugs too.
We will be scouring journals and reporting on any interesting research we come across. We hope to break down papers so they're easy to understand while still keeping it intellectually stimulating.
We're curious what topics you would like to hear about, and if you have any suggestions for us we would love to hear them!
Edit: Thanks everyone for all the great ideas and suggestions. We are moving ahead with the blog, and once we have it up and running we'll be back here to let you all know. We'll be continuing to check on this thread, so feel free to continue discussing! If I get some free time (trying to wrap up thesis ATM, reddit is not conducive to that) I'll try and come back to address some questions people had.
What they were answering
frawk_yew · 4 points
I second the histamine one. **Mainly because I was wondering how this would apply to taking something like benadryl for an allergy? Does it produce an opposite effect with cognition and such?
I am surrounded by much smarter people here. I am Legitimately learning something.
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · Ceretropic
This is one of the main reasons I got into neurochemistry. I have a histamine disorder that causes my mast cells to release it for no reason. Some environmental factors exacerbate it, but it happens all on it's own. I have had to take antihistamines every day for the past 12 years. I am currently taking at least 3 cetirizine (Zyrtec) pills a day. If I miss a dose, I start itching, my eyes turn red, and my airway closes. The odd thing is, since my disorder started, my cognitive ability has advanced. I thought maybe my long term H1 receptor inverse agonist usage has up-regulated my receptors, leading to enhanced cognition. H3 inverse agonists have been shown to increase wakefulness and cognitive ability. Perhaps there is an H1 mechanism that we are unaware of.
Take a look at my post on Pitolisant:
http://www.reddit.com/r/Nootropics/comments/19nhxv/pitolisant_an_inverse_agonist_of_the_h3_receptor/
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This study showed that cetirizine impaired working memory. However, that does not mean that long term administration of cetirizine couldn't cause some sort of rebound effect. I can assure you that my working memory is not impaired, but is actually getting better as time goes on. If anyone would be impaired by it, it would be me, since I take 3-4 pills per day every day. About the time I started taking it is when my depression started. I think there is some correlation there, but I have never proven anything.