Dopamine, Liking vs Wanting

Neuro

Great article on the comparison between liking and wanting and the effects they have on neurotransmitters.

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/experimental-study-group/es-s10-drugs-and-the-brain-spring-2013/handouts/MITES_S10S13_addictionwk4.pdf

Galaxyshock

Good article indeed. It should get more attention so people would stop obsessing about dopamine as the pleasure chemical which it is not.

Naltrexone has significant anti-addiction potential by blocking rewarding effects of drugs.

Galaxyshock

Neuro

Nice table, where did you find that? Nice to see that they found endocannabinoids to play a role in consummatory hedonia. You know I think that consummatory anhedonia alone can cause the other reward deficits. Not to say that they can't occur separately but it seems that a lack of liking renders the anticipation and motivation useless. This is probably the reason why depression co-occurs with anhedonia. But of course psychiatry has yet to establish anhedonia as its own mental disorder. Antidepressants simply don't treat anhedonia, with the exception of bupropion, but even that doesn't work for everyone. SSRIs just worsen things and caused further reward deficits, not to mention emotional blunting.

Galaxyshock

Somebody posted the table on the anhedonia discord. Yeah the current treatments for anhedonia leave much to be improved. Though I think nickname Jaiho (from longecity and the discord) recommended some polydrug treament for anhedonia. Can't remember which they were but he said it was recommended by a doctor who has gotten people into remission from anhedonia.

On the discord some have resorted to Parnate, Pramipexole, TMS and ECT treatments.

nootropicgurus

Nice article. I think the interesting application is related to certain nootropics and their ability to aid in the healing of dopamine receptors. For example some people say Citicoline can help.