Posted on 10/14/2019 10:45:03 AM PDT by BenLurkin
In the 1950s, researchers stumbled upon a new class of drugs that provided relief for those suffering from schizophrenia. These drugs were known as antipsychotics and, as the name suggests, they reduced symptoms like hallucinations and delusions — primarily by reducing the levels of dopamine in the brain. This led clinicians and scientists to argue that dopamine was linked to the experiences of psychotic symptoms, and a concerted research effort ensued, seeking to solve the puzzle of why excess dopamine might produce hallucinations.
Although it was later shown that increasing dopamine could produce hallucinations, establishing a consistent link between them, it has not been clear why.
They achieved this by taking advantage of a simple fact: Your brain is lazy. It makes shortcuts to understand the deluge of information that bombards it daily. If you’re presented with consistent information, consistently, your brain adjust its expectations of reality in turn. This is the basis of Bayesian theories of how we perceive the world – that is, the brain makes inferences about the world around us based on statistics and probabilities on what is likely to occur.
[I]ncreasing dopamine made it more difficult for participants to adjust their perception — an effect comparable to how the hallucinators had struggled. Moreover, the extent to which participants struggled was strongly associated with the severity of hallucinations — but not with any diagnosis of schizophrenia. In other words, the difficulty appeared to be associated with a symptom, not a diagnosis.
Using brain imaging, the researchers also showed that an increased capacity for dopamine release, from a part of the brain known as the striatum (an area involved in schizophrenia), was associated with the severity of hallucinations. Together, these experiments showed that excess dopamine was associated with difficulty in accurately predicting reality.
(Excerpt) Read more at inverse.com ...
Cats - the original millennials.
w00t!
Took long enough. We were sitting at 397 for, like, forEVer.
Thanks! Well, yah, but I didn’t want to be selfish, dontchaknow?
For some reason, my left wrist is causing some serious pain when I type, so Ima head for bed. It’s that time of day! See you tomorrow!
“You shall be sat upon and glaaaared at!”
Yeah, what’s new.
I am actually confused. My daughter keeps showing pictures of her cat and the cute face she’s making. To me, all the cat’s faces look the same depending on whether the mouth is open (look 1) or closed (look 2). Without the mouth thing, I really can’t tell that the cat looks any different at all.
So, can I just not tell the difference between a cat glaring and a cat looking disinterestedly or is there really no difference but owners pretend there is?
Cats usually show expression with their ears, not their faces. Sometimes they change the position of their whiskers.
Eyelid and whisker position.
Whiskers at low mast are a sure sign that kitty is upset about something.
If it’s something they think you can fix, they’ll run up tell you about it.
My cat will have her ears forward, purr loudly, roll on me, and yell “yii yii yerk!” and other noises when she’s happy to see me.
Pretty much my cat.
My cat does watch movies.
I have hallucinated in my life
It was induced courtesy Nick Sand and his famed Orange Sunshine
I didn’t mimd
Nick passed away two years ago...RIP
Good morning, wardaddy. Typical morning here: my cat just threw up.
What a precious Floof!
Good morning.
The shower has been had and the bed is next, and then a trip down the road to Wally’s. At least its not too cold out. And no wind!
The furniture has been donated, and my living room is empty. So to speak. I was in so much pain yesterday, it wasn’t funny! For some reason, the “minor” aches and pains incident with the aging process have become major, and they’re extremely distracting! I hope its only temporary because I have things to DO!!
:o])
He shows you his claw ...
Take care. Since going to the mountains with Tom the Son behind the wheel, the concept of mountain driving makes me woozy.
Then you would not like the driver from here to St George on the Old Road — Highway 91. I like it because I remember it! But if you were my passenger, I would drive very carefully so you could enjoy the scenery!
That would be very considerate of you. You’re nicer than Tom the Son, though not as tall.
And I don’t have quite the same amount of hair as Tom, though it’s longer than his. I think. ;o]
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