[thetradingdoctor]

Hi Pyenner,

There appears to be enhancement of both alpha and gamma brain waves during meditation. The gamma waves are more difficult to see, but experients on experienced meditators ( primarily Buddhist monks- many of whom do little else but meditate) have shown a clear preponderance of gamma brain wave activity.

Re: antidepressant medication: The three main brain chemicals which are affected by antidepressant medications ( such as Prozac) are serotonin, epinehprine and monoamine oxidase. There is no antidepressant to my knowledge that affects dopamine selectively. Prozac and most of the newer antidepressant drugs are called selective serotonin uptake inhibitors. This means that they provide excess serotonin by blocking the normal serotonin reuptake at the connection between two nerve cells ( this connection is called a synapse and there are something like 10 quadrillion synapses in the human brain--lots of synapses!). Serotonin is known to be depleted in suicidal and depressive states, thus the use of Prozac-like drugs to treat depression. There are likely thousands of brain chemicals and our knowledge ( despite the decade of the brain and the logarithmic acceleration of technology) is still primitive in this area.

Hope this helps!

Thanks!

Janice