Nicotine & Dyslexia

[HazyShades]

Hey boys and girls, I've notice lately that I'm developing something like dyslexia.
I have no problem reading, don't transpose letters and my cognitive ability doesn't seem impaired.
As a matter of fact, nicotine has been shown to peak intelligence and cognitive ability, so that's not where I'm coming from.
However, I have noticed that when I write I do transpose, like maybe my brain is getting ahead of my fingers.
I don't necessarily look at my keyboard when I type so the problem isn't in how I read the keys.
But I keep finding after reading what I write that not only (did it right now) do I transpose or leave letters out, sometimes I leave whole words out.
My son says it's 'cause I type too fast but (LOL) that's nonsense.

Anyway, I did some quick research and did find that exposure to nicotine does have a prenatal effect on later cognitive ability and development of dyslexia.
Quote: "Scientists from the Yale School of Medicine have published results from their analysis of over 10,000 students born between 1991 and 1992. All of the students' data was collected from the Avon Longitudinal Study (ALSPAC) conducted by researchers at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom. By comparing the incidence of language impairment and dyslexia to genetic variants of the DCDC2 gene, the researchers found that different mutations on different parts of the same gene were responsible for two different conditions. Previously the same research group, headed by Jeffrey R. Gruen, M.D., professor of pediatrics, genetics, and investigative medicine at Yale, found that the DCDC2 gene and a related gene called ANKK1 were involved in the processing of language, and that DCDC2 gene specifically was linked to dyslexia. Both DCDC2 and ANKK1 are related to the signal transduction of dopamine, a neurotransmitter molecule."

So dyslexia has genetic causes, but the article continues:
"It is known that fetal exposure to nicotine can predispose children to language and language processing problems."
That makes me wonder what I started to research in the first place; Can post-natal use of or exposure to nicotine
cause dyslexia in any variation?
Or am I thinking too fast for my pudgy little fingers?
If anybody can point me toward more information or has a similar experience
I would appreciate your input. Thanks in advance

 

[ckquatt]

That giant post with no after posting edits... I'd say No.

Contrary to popular belief vaping/nicotine consumption is not the cause of all the world's problems.


Sent from my Atari 2600 using Tapatalk

 

[HMav]

The problems with many of the "nicotine causes X" studies is that they were not controlled for combustible tobacco, which almost certainly has effects on developing fetus' (feti?), even if it is not a severe as the hype implies.

I personally believe that smoking alters your brain chemistry to a degree where it takes a long time to correct itself once you quit smoking. I too have noticed the same thing with the typing (and to some extent speaking) since I have quit smoking. I noticed that my wife did it as well when she quit, although she quit cold turkey.

 

[HazyShades]

That giant post with no after posting edits... I'd say No.

Contrary to popular belief vaping/nicotine consumption is not the cause of all the world's problems.


Sent from my Atari 2600 using Tapatalk

I corrected (edited) b4 I clicked the post button. I actually screwed up several times. (just left an e and an s out but caught it on time.)
But, I didn't blame nicotine for *all* the world's problems. But to think nicotine has no ill effects is silly and tantamount to hiding your head in the sand.
Nicotine use can cause all kinds of negative physical effects. But I won't bore you with them.
However, that famous search engine every one knows is your friend.

 

[catsitter]

Huh - I spend a lot of the day typing, and in the past few months I had noticed more and more mistakes creeping in. This would make sense to me. I guess I'll just have to wait it out and see if it passes.

 

[HazyShades]

The problems with many of the "nicotine causes X" studies is that they were not controlled for combustible tobacco, which almost certainly has effects on developing fetus' (feti?), even if it is not a severe as the hype implies.

I personally believe that smoking alters your brain chemistry to a degree where it takes a long time to correct itself once you quit smoking. I too have noticed the same thing with the typing (and to some extent speaking) since I have quit smoking. I noticed that my wife did it as well when she quit, although she quit cold turkey.

Yup. I definitely noticed glitches in the old head computer when I quit smoking ciggies. Of course, there are many alkaloids and other not so cool chemicals in commercial ciggies besides nicotine which surely have their effects. But after having stopped smoking for a few weeks I slowly regained my senses if you will and once again became as coherent, didn't need a smoke (or coffee) to get my engines running, ETC.
I also quit cold turkey. It was hell for a while but the flames subsided..eventually.

After two years,
I started again when at a friend's visiting I noticed his Marly Blacks which I'd never tried. Curiosity, and the fact that in over 40 years I'd tried most if not all the brands got the best of me and I bummed a smoke. Oops. Off to the store for another week of buying smokes.
The wife then interceded and bought me an e-cig for my b-day-father's day present and I replaced the smokes with vapor.
The problem though, is that now, even though I don't suffer the effects of nicotine deprivation or withdrawal (been vaping for about a year and a half) and my cognitive ability is up to par, I notice this reverse dyslexia. I can read fine and fast as ever but if I don't proof read what I write I come off like a real dummy.
You're here so you're probably vaping and probably have nicotine. Could it be that the nicotine is having some strange effect we've yet not discovered.
I just noticed you're in the Sunshine State also. Could it be the Florida sun? The chemtrails?....
Thanks for kicking the ball back, HMav.

 

[twgbonehead]

Nicotine use can cause all kinds of negative physical effects. But I won't bore you with them.
However, that famous search engine every know is your friend.

Please show me one where the study deals with NICOTINE use, rather than tobacco use.
I used that search engine, didn't find anything that supports your statement.

 

[HazyShades]

Huh - I spend a lot of the day typing, and in the past few months I had noticed more and more mistakes creeping in. This would make sense to me. I guess I'll just have to wait it out and see if it passes.

That makes 3 of us. Exactly. Look, I'm not saying that I never goofed, everybody makes typos.
But they seem to be happening more and more. I'm beginning to think my son may be almost right, the little bugger.
But it isn't that I type too fast. I can type the way you're supposed to with 10 fingers but I'm a journalist type typist. A two or three finger maybe a thumb guy.
We know nicotine enhances cognitive ability. We know it's like speed for the synapses.
I know that I get more nicotine in vape than I would in ciggies because no way could I smoke that much tobacco. My lungs wouldn't stand for it.
But I can vape all day. Might my brain we working so fast that my fingers can't keep up?
I think we should keep track of this. Possibly see if we can find something to help the body catch up..sort of.
While looking around for answers I read something about gingko biloba and the effects of nicotine but dismissed it as irrelevant.. Think I'll try to find it again.
Thanks for your input catsitter. That your kitty? I'm gonna have to post a pix of Flo & Eddy, my kitty cats.

 

[HazyShades]

Please show me one where the study deals with NICOTINE use, rather than tobacco use.
I used that search engine, didn't find anything that supports your statement.

Man. don't make me work. Put some quotes around nicotine and try again.
Most laboratory research on the effects of nicotine are done with straight nicotine, not cigarettes.
You have research into the effects of ciggie smoking done with ciggies so they can take tar, nicotine /etc into account.
Research on nicotine is done with nicotine.
My ex worked at a lab gavaging rats. She wasn't gavaging cigarettes into the little critters.

from ncbi: The effects of nicotine have been evaluated using animals models for studying the reinforcing effects of drug injections (intravenous drug self-administration and conditioned place preference (CPP) procedures), the subjective responses to administered drugs (drug discrimination), the withdrawal states, including behavioral disturbances, that are associated with abrupt termination of chronic drug exposure (smoking cessation or administration of selective antagonists after chronic exposure) and relapse phenomena (reinstatement of extinguished drug-seeking behavior induced by stress, drug-associated cues or drug priming). Most of these experimental studies have used rodents (rats and mice) as subjects, but results are available from studies using other animal species (monkeys and dogs) and human volunteers as subjects. We will first summarize the main experimental procedures used to assess these effects of nicotine and then review the preclinical and clinical findings obtained with nicotine using these procedures.
----
Measurement of withdrawal disturbances: Abrupt cessation of exposure to most drugs of abuse leads to withdrawal signs and symptoms in humans (American Psychiatric Association 2000) and these can be measured in humans by reports by subjects using standardized rating scales and by reports of trained observers (Hughes et al. 1991). Animal models have been developed to evaluate the physical signs, as well as the behavioral consequences of inferred emotional disturbances following cessation of exposure to drugs of abuse. In these procedures, the animals are frequently implanted chronically with minipumps which deliver the drug continuously and cessation is produced either by the removal of the pump or by injection of specific antagonist (
---
Active choice of intravenous nicotine in experimentally naive squirrel monkeys

Once responding was initiated, nicotine clearly maintained self-administration behavior at high levels in squirrel monkeys (Fig. 2), compared to saline vehicle. The reinforcing effects of nicotine appear to be particularly pronounced in squirrel monkeys (Le Foll et al. 2007) allowing persistent maintenance of nicotine self-administration behavior under fixed-interval (Spealman et al. 1981), second-order (Goldberg et al. 1981), fixed-ratio (Le Foll et al. 2007; Sannerud et al. 1994) and progressive-ratio (Le Foll et al. 2007) schedules of intravenous drug injection. In the second-order and progressive-ratio experiments, the monkeys pressed up to 600 times on a lever to obtain a single injection of nicotine (Goldberg et al. 1981; Le Foll et al. 2007) demonstrating the high motivational value of nicotine that had developed in those experienced animals. In contrast, rates of responding maintained by intravenous nicotine injections in rhesus monkeys and baboons have usually been quite low (Ator and Griffiths 1983; Deneau and Inoki 1967; Goldberg et al. 1981; Slifer and Balster 1985; Wakasa et al. 1995). These results suggest that there may be species differences, although other interpretations are possible since the experimental conditions were not strictly comparable (see (Le Foll et al. 2007) for a summary)
----------
from jneurosci org

Materials and Methods
Animals and their preparation. Three-month-old male Fischer-344 rats
were obtained from Charles River Breeding Laboratories (Wilmington,
MA). They were housed, 2 per cage, in a temperature-controlled vivarium
(23 + 1°C) with alternating light-dark cvcles (lights on. 0600:
lights off; 1800) and were allowed G acclimate td this kn\ironment fo;
2-4 weeks before experimentation. Food and water were available ad
libitum until the evening prior to each ‘YZ-DG experiment.
Rats had free access to water but were deprived of food for about 15
hr before surgery. Under halothane anesthesia, they were prepared with
indwelling catheters in the left femoral artery and vein. They were
partially immobilized in plaster casts that covered their hindquarters
and were allowed to recover from anesthesia for 3 hr before drug treatments
in a temperature-controlled, sound-insulated wooden box (London
et al., 198 1).
Blood pressure was monitored by connecting the arterial catheter to
a strain gauge transducer (Statham Instruments Co., Hatorey, PR), and
the output was displayed on a chart recorder (Gould Recorder 2200,
Gould Inc., Cleveland, OH).
Behavioral effects of nicotine were assessed in the partially immobilized
rats at three time intervals after nicotine injection: O-10 min,
lo-25 min, and 25-90 min. The presence of the following effects was
recorded: Straub tail, increased restlessness (manifested as head swinging,
forelimb grasping, paddling, tail wagging, and struggling against the
restraint of the cast), tremor, and convulsive movements, consisting of
facial fasciculations and forelimb clonus.
Drug treatments. /-Nicotine bitartrate (BDH Chemicals Ltd., Poole,
England) was dissolved in 0.9% NaCl, and the pH of the solution was
adjusted to 7.0 with 1 N NaOH. Animals were given S.C. injections of
nicotine (1 ml/kg) or an equal volume of 0.9% NaCl. Nicotine effects
were tested at doses of 0.1, 0.3, 1.0, and 1.75 mg/kg. The treatments
were administered at 2, 15, 30, 60, or 120 min before the radiotracer.
In one group of rats, 2.5 mg/kg mecamylamine HCl (Merck, Rahway,
NJ) was injected S.C. 20 min before 1 .O mg/kg nicotine. Hexamethoni
-------------
Nicotine causes or exacerbates hypertension, over taxes the kidneys and liver, interferes with glucose metabolism,
messes up your pancreas, and on and on.
Just because we like it (I say this as I'm vaping 24 mg juice) doesn't mean that it can't hurt us,
and just because the studies you're familiar with involve the effects of ciggies does not mean
that the specific active ingredients of ciggies haven't been studied on their own.

So again, you didn't look hard enough. Keep looking.

 

[SupplyDaddy]

I don't know what's going on in your adult life, but if you didn't have dyslexia as a child, you don't have it now.
My mother was a non-smoker until after I was born, smoked with all 3 of my sisters after me. They are not dyslexic, I am.

I've spent years being forced to learn as other do, pfft.. I had to develop my own ways and I did have professional assistance in those endeavors.

Listen to your kids, stop trying to type so fast!

 

[HazyShades]

I don't know what's going on in your adult life, but if you didn't have dyslexia as a child, you don't have it now.
My mother was a non-smoker until after I was born, smoked with all 3 of my sisters after me. They are not dyslexic, I am.

I've spent years being forced to learn as other do, pfft.. I had to develop my own ways and I did have professional assistance in those endeavors.

Listen to your kids, stop trying to type so fast!

Yup, I do believe you have dyslexia, mate. I'm sorry about that because evidently you didn't grasp the gist of the OP,
the premise posited,or the question asked.
BTW, that's only one kid. Did your dyslexia cause you to see more than one?

Here:
brainfacts:
Dyslexia is a brain-based type of learning disability that specifically impairs a person's ability to read. These individuals typically read at levels significantly lower than expected despite having normal intelligence. Although the disorder varies from person to person, common characteristics among people with dyslexia are difficulty with phonological processing (the manipulation of sounds), spelling, and/or rapid visual-verbal responding. In individuals with adult onset of dyslexia, it usually occurs as a result of brain injury or in the context of dementia; this contrasts with individuals with dyslexia who simply were never identified as children or adolescents. Dyslexia can be inherited in some families, and recent studies have identified a number of genes that may predispose an individual to developing dyslexia.

Here:
LD Hope;
ACQUIRED DYSLEXIA

Acquired Dyslexia is a disorder in reading that occurs in adults who once knew how to read well, usually due to clear damage to the nervous system (as in a stroke, for example) (Rosenhan, et. al.,1989).

Here:
Oshu dot edu
Adult onset of dyslexia can also occur after a brain injury or in the context of dementia.

Here:
pitt dot edu
Acquired dyslexia in previously literate adu
lts is most commonly the outcome of one of a
variety of neuropathologies including dementia, stroke, neoplasm, multiple sclerosis, and
migraine (Greenwald, 2000). Rarely is the diso
rder ascribed to a psychological basis. A
psychological explanation for acquired dyslexia
attributes the disorder to a physiologic
conversion reaction causing loss or distortion
of reading abilities for subconscious
personal gain.

Look up the pdf it goes on,,,

So...adult onset dyslexia can be caused by brain tumors, nerve damage,stroke, multiple sclerosis, migraine, brain injury, dementia., ETC.
Now, since bonehead..is gonna ask me..
Nicotine can cause nerve damage:
pharm rev;
In general, small doses of nicotine have a stimulating action on the central nervous system whereas large doses depress

news med net:
Once within the bloodstream, nicotine may circulate around the body until it reaches the brain. This can occur in as little as 7 seconds.
Once in the brain, it binds to and activates receptors called the cholinergic receptors. These cholinergic receptors are also abundant in other areas of the body such as the muscles, heart, adrenal glands and other vital organs. Normally, these receptors are activated when they bind to a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine which is produced at nerve endings in the brain and in the nerves of the peripheral nervous system. Stimulation of the receptors by acetylcholine is important in maintaining healthy respiration, heart function and muscle movement, as well as cognitive function.

umich edu:
The effects of nicotine,like those of other drugs with potential for abuse and dependence,are centrally mediated. The impact of nicotine on the central nervous system is neuroregulatory in nature, affecting biochemical and physiological functions in a manner
that reinforces drug-taking behavior. Dose-dependent neurotransmitter and neuroendocrine effects occur as plasma nicotine levels rise..

I could go on. I'm sure if you keep vaping it'll work out for you...
Again, I'm sorry about your condition.
Tell me, does your dyslexia make you have an ill temper or question people in a manner that implies
that something is wrong with their adult life?

BTW, thanks. Your challenge just helped me find a clue to my OP.
Apparently, nicotine use can indeed cause adult onset dyslexia...or I'm going nuts along
with thousands of other people who have discovered in their adult years that they're having trouble reading and writing.

@bonehead: If I quoted everything I just read I'd probably violate the TOS.
So again, that search engine is your friend...

 

[Rickajho]

Self diagnosis is usually a really bad idea.

 

[QU1T]

You tell 'em!

ps. Interesting stuff!

 

[Train2]

ALso, just a thought.
Perhaps the typing/transposing errors were always there, but you've only begun to NOTICE them, now that your brain is in improved condition from vaping. Effect/Cause, you-know...

 

[HazyShades]

Self diagnosis is usually a really bad idea.

Depends on your illness and point of view. Did your doctor tell you to quit smoking or start vaping?
If I suspect a problem should I investigate it first or run to the MD? An educated consumer (or patient) is the best customer.
I'll give you an example;
I'd been working out in the hot sun, sweating like a pig, but I needed to finish what I was doing.
So I was drinking a lot of soda 'cause I don't drink beer.
It was time for a check up so I went, had a bloodwork, and when the tests came back my doctor called me and told me to come in at once
because I had diabetes.
Now, I know I don't have diabetes. So I told him that and he screamed bloody hell.
I went back two weeks later, had another test..no diabetes. Had I believed the doctor in the first place I'd be on insulin.

Another. Years ago I had a girlfriend who got a kidney infection. I took her to hospital and they prescribed a sulfa based antibiotic
that caused her to lose 40 pounds in a week and she had agonizing shooting pain. Took her back doctor said,
it's the infection keep taking the antibiotic. A week later she was emaciated, almost died.
She self diagnosed that the antibiotic was causing the problem. I grabbed my PDR.
Sure enough, all the new symptoms were a sign of sulfa based antibiotic allergic reaction.
Took her back and slammed the PDR on doctor's desk. He took her off the drug.
A week later she was fine.
Another? I stepped on a small piece of glass. Didn't notice, skin grew over.
Couple of months later I was limping. Went to MD. He sent me to podiatrist.
Podiatrist said I had a spur wanted to cut it out. Nope. Went home. Shaved callus off, found little piece of glass.

So.I would agree with you if medicine wasn't a business, but it is.
Are you an MD?....

 

[AndriaD]

I smoked while I was pregnant, 27 yrs ago. My son's language skills and cognitive abilities are off the charts, 99th percentile -- and I had consumed a great many things far worse than nicotine, in great abundance, in my late teens and early 20s.

So I'd say, no. But, jitteriness is a common side effect of nicotine, and jitteriness could seriously impair both handwriting and typing; it could also be along the lines of what your son said; your brain is going much faster than your fingers, and perhaps a case of jitters is further tripping up the fingers -- the spirit is willing but the flesh is always weak.

Andria

 

[HazyShades]

ALso, just a thought.
Perhaps the typing/transposing errors were always there, but you've only begun to NOTICE them, now that your brain is in improved condition from vaping. Effect/Cause, you-know...

Nah. I've been paying close attention to my brain most of my life.
I won't mention where my mind has been...but I've been around.
But sure, cause and effect works. That's precisely why I suspect
nicotine might be doing something. Having an effect beyond the known tweaking of cognitive ability.
Like I said, I have no trouble reading or digesting information
but it seems I'm having trouble coordinating my brain with my fingers.
That's why I said "reverse dyslexia"
It's like my train is moving too fast for the passengers or something. Maybe the other way around.
But I might just be going nuts, have had a stroke, or a tumor.
That's why I raised the issue here and asked if anybody else has had a similar experience after starting to or vaping for a while.
I'm gathering data for a hypothesis.

I've been writing a long time. Was the editor of my college paper, in the paper in HS.
I would have noticed.

 

[HazyShades]

I smoked while I was pregnant, 27 yrs ago. My son's language skills and cognitive abilities are off the charts, 99th percentile -- and I had consumed a great many things far worse than nicotine, in great abundance, in my late teens and early 20s.

So I'd say, no. But, jitteriness is a common side effect of nicotine, and jitteriness could seriously impair both handwriting and typing; it could also be along the lines of what your son said; your brain is going much faster than your fingers, and perhaps a case of jitters is further tripping up the fingers -- the spirit is willing but the flesh is always weak.

Andria[/QUOTE

Hi Andrea! I'm glad your son is above average. So is mine, honor roll and all that.
But read again. There has to be a genetic predisposition for prenatal dyslexia whether caused by exposure to nicotine or not.
I'm talking about adult onset dyslexia for lack of a better word.

OK, maybe this is apple and oranges. But think diabetes again. Some people have it because they were born with a genetic predisposition to it.
That's something that worries you, no? But some people get it when they're older for myriad reasons not necessarily having anything to do with a genetic predisposition.
Diet, injury (you get shot in the pancreas) who knows?

Thanks for jumping in, Andrea. It's always a pleasure to read what a thinking person has to say.

 

[AndriaD]

I smoked while I was pregnant, 27 yrs ago. My son's language skills and cognitive abilities are off the charts, 99th percentile -- and I had consumed a great many things far worse than nicotine, in great abundance, in my late teens and early 20s.

So I'd say, no. But, jitteriness is a common side effect of nicotine, and jitteriness could seriously impair both handwriting and typing; it could also be along the lines of what your son said; your brain is going much faster than your fingers, and perhaps a case of jitters is further tripping up the fingers -- the spirit is willing but the flesh is always weak.

Andria[/QUOTE

Hi Andrea! I'm glad your son is above average. So is mine, honor roll and all that.
But read again. There has to be a genetic predisposition for prenatal dyslexia whether caused by exposure to nicotine or not.
I'm talking about adult onset dyslexia for lack of a better word.

OK, maybe this is apple and oranges. But think diabetes again. Some people have it because they were born with a genetic predisposition to it.
That's something that worries you, no? But some people get it when they're older for myriad reasons not necessarily having anything to do with a genetic predisposition.
Diet, injury (you get shot in the pancreas) who knows?

Thanks for jumping in, Andrea. It's always a pleasure to read what a thinking person has to say.

I have my own weird typing manifestations. I'm one of those tiresome people always harping about homonyms, and how so many don't use the correct "there/their/they're" and suchlike... "to, too, and two"... etc... But, many times I'll be typing along, mean to type two, but what rolls off my fingers is "too" -- mainly, I think, because those words were among the earliest typing drills, being words commonly encountered; somehow they get confused in the "typing circuits" when one is typing very fast. It's very weird.

Andria (your spell-checker keeps butchering that!)

 

[Nermal]

ALso, just a thought.
Perhaps the typing/transposing errors were always there, but you've only begun to NOTICE them, now that your brain is in improved condition from vaping. Effect/Cause, you-know...

Double likes. I was going to say the same thing.