Comment by shabble
12 years ago
I believe they can be used in isolation, because by suppressing/slowing the oxidative metabolism of synaptic neurotransmitters, they can be used to compensate for low baseline levels by extending their active lifespan.
The main reason they're not used is that better & more selective releasing agent/reuptake inhibitors exist, and MAOIs have potentially fatal interactions with a huge variety of different substances (including some cheeses, if memory serves)
We're definitely in agreement that MAOIs have a strong effect on the (heightened) levels of synaptic neurotransmitters (released by some nicotinic upstream signalling), giving a synergistic effect.
Right. I suppose I took it for granted that brains are big ol' drug factories and assumed everyone was on the same page. The point is the MAOI isn't a used as neurotransmitter, but to affect the metabolism of monoamine transmitters—now matter how they got there.