Posted by linkadge on February 25, 2006, at 13:44:18
In reply to Re: What exactly is acetylcholine (ACh) ?? » linkadge, posted by rod on February 25, 2006, at 11:34:26
Well, the idea that memory formation is restricted to the actions of acetycholine is false. The noradrenergic and serotonergic systems also play a crutial role in memory retrieval and formation, perhaps especially in the case of memories with emotional content.
So your statement that an antidepressant might bring back memories of previous happiness and good times may not be inacurate at all.
The monoamines are also crutial in learning and the formation of new memories, so it is really complex.
If depression is due to an abundance of cholinergic neurotransmission in comparison to the monoamines, then antidepressants may simply be changing limbic metabolism. Your brain stores the crappy memories in an entirely different location than the good memories.
In some experiments, somtimes the "happier mice" tend to forget being shocked, and so they sometimes do the same thing that gets them shocked again.
I don't have the answers, just trying to raise discussion really.
Linkadge
poster:linkadge
thread:612749
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20060130/msgs/613136.html