Comment · Thu, April 12, 2018 · Ceretropic & Nootropics Depot
Need some help interpreting a paper on Kratom.
Original post in this thread
Aikinator · 6 points
The paper.
>Physiological study further supported the effects of M. speciosa on the cognition. The methanolic extract of M. speciosa was found to produce an irreversible reduction of field excitatory post-synaptic potentials (fEPSP) amplitude with an IC50 of 0.008% in the hippocampal slices of rats. The methanolic extract of M. speciosa at 0.008% also inhibited long term potentiation (LTP) induction but induced a short-term potentiation. LTP is considered to underlie the learning and memory processes in the brain (Hansen andManahanVaughan, 2015, Shapiro, 2001; Martin and Morris, 2002). Therefore, the finding may elucidate one of the mechanisms underlying the memory-impairing effects of M. speciosa (Senik et al., 2012a).
What does the irreversible part mean?
What they were answering
Direct reply to the original post — see the thread post above.
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · Ceretropic & Nootropics Depot
That's an in-vitro test using slices of rat brain. They used a methanolic extract of kratom and added it to hippocampal slices of rat brain, and they found an irreversible reduction in the amplitude of firing potential for the neurons. The irreversible part in this case just means that the reduction in the amplitude of firing potential did not return to normal after exposure. Be careful not to try and apply that directly to in-vivo human results. It does not mean that kratom irreversibly lowers long-term potential in human brains. They were merely citing it as a possible explanation for the memory deficits seen in other rat studies. If you read the rest of the study, you can see the memory effects from kratom are complex, and very dose-dependent.