-
Cacao beans as currency
Aztecs circa 1500 AD
-
Preperation of Cacao beans
- grown as an understory plant
- oxidation and fermentation help to make the beans taste like chocolate
- beans are crushed to make a smooth paste and then roasted
-
Chemistry of Cacao
- xanthines (stimulants)
- flavonoids (antioxidant, maybe other)
- anadamide (endogenous NT)
-
-
-
Primary Natural Sources of Caffeine
- Ilex guayusa...Amazon jungle, Schultes, native people make tea
- Ilex vomitoria...Native to N America
- Ilex paraguariensis...Yerba Mate
-
Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguarensis)
- Drinken out of mate gourds and bombillas....pour hot water in gourds, suck out with metal straw
- Active ingredient= mateine which is basically caffeine
-
Amphetamine
- First synthesized in 1887
- Clinical marketing in the 1930s originally for asthma...Benzedrine (brand name) inhalers
-
Effects of Amphetamines on the Brain
- causes the release of norepinephrine and dopamine via post-synaptic reuptake transporters
- leaks out reuptake transporters out of leaky storage vesicles and stimulates postsynaptic NT receptors
-
Brain Norepinephrine Circutry
- Locus Coeruleus
- touches a ton of neurons, but only contains 100,000 neurons
- releases norepinephrine
-
Brain Dopamine Circutry
- Caudate nuclues, substantia nigra
- only 100,000 neurons, sends signals throughout rest of the brain
-
Effects of amphetamine-like drugs
- Increases activity at reward circutry, mostly dopamine
- Sympathiomimetic
- Increased HR
- Increased BP
- dialation
-
CNS effects of dopamine
- increased wakefulness
- focused attention
- decreased fatigue and increased stamina
- positive mood, euphoria
- reduced appetite
-
Medical Use of Amphetamines
- appetite suppression/weightloss
- treatment of narcolepsy
- historically as an inhaler, CNS stimulant
- military as a stimulant
- ADHD
-
Problematic effects of amphetamine
- anxiety
- irratability
- aggresion
- impaired judgement
- stimulant psychosis
- addiction
|
|
