[HighlandSpring]

Selegiline is also known as Emsam, the patches reportedly Sam Bankman-Fried was on, alongside ADHD meds. I recall reading how this may have been a large driver of his compulsive risk it all decision making that eventually brought it all down.

[mickelsen]

Delivery through transdermal patch (Emsam) is different than other presentations of Selegiline, and we don't know the doses he was on. I've heard a low dose of Emsam (6mg) gives a better, more stable dopamine baseline, without getting into MAO-A inhibition that happens at upper doses.

[Aurornis]

> I've heard a low dose of Emsam (6mg) gives a better, more stable dopamine baseline, without getting into MAO-A inhibition that happens at upper doses.

This is the broscience theory that you find on Internet forums, but it didn’t play out positively in the actual clinical trials. Getting into full MAOI inhibition was necessary for positive effects.

The “more dopamine” theory appeals to people who treat the brain as a simple machine where you’re adjusting levels of different chemicals, but doesn’t really work out in practice. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter du jour in these circles, but mood and mental health are more than one chemical.

[mickelsen]

Thanks for the info, I was missing an update on this space. If there's no solid, reproducible evidence of cognitive or energy benefits at this level -and full MAO‑A engagement seems necessary for those effects, then that doesn't look good.

About your second paragraph, I agree and I wasn't validating the bro part, just that I read about Emsam once. I guess it's mostly influenced by the popularity of performance enhancers in general, be it wakefulness enhancers, stimulants, etc. People are always trying to find "the edge", without the tradeoff, basically chasing a mirage.

Maybe a neglected topic in this theme has been the acetylcholine pathway. Cobenfy, for example, has been approved for treating negative symptoms of schizophrenia and it's not a classical drug in that space.