Comment · Fri, October 11, 2013 · Ceretropic
what causes feelings to be felt in the head while taking nootropics?
Original post in this thread
thegrumpyhypnotist · 5 points
I'm not referring to changes in mood or focus etc, but rather somatic feelings of pressure or tingling in the head while taking nootropics.
I am curious about this because, from what I understand, there are no pain/"feely" receptors in the brain, but I see reports and also from direct experience have (inconsistently) felt pressure or tingling in specific locations in my head, dependent on the type of compound.
Let's set aside the "placebo" bugaboo for now, which can always be used to explain away any anecdotal report. These sensations are often not pleasant, quite alarming in fact, as it sometimes makes me wonder if I am setting myself up for a "cerebral event", eg. w/ noopept early dosing experiences would cause intense pressure behind/around my left eyeball (where I had cataract surgery a few years ago).
Is this simply a similar type of mechanisim that accounts for headaches? If so, I guess it does demonstrate that nootropics are doing something with my physiology... whether good or bad is underdetermined. But what could explain the "tingly" feeling that is sometimes felt inside my head?
What they were answering
[deleted] · 2 points
I got this for about the first week or two when taking Strattera, and it came back when I had added Ginkgo Biloba for a while. Based on that I would guess it has something to do with norepinephrine.
MDMA releases serotonin I know, but doesn't it also release dopamine/norepinephrine like its amphetamine cousins (although to a much lesser extent)?
Ooh, glutamate. That's probably the common factor here!
I enjoy these feelings.
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · Ceretropic
It has to be glutamate. That is the only common denominator for all the substances that cause it; at least for me anyways.
I too like these feelings! I almost use it as a gauge of euphoria now. It's a physical manifestation of my intangible feelings.