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 ...
What strange markings, on that Floof!
Good morning.
I survived the night, coughing and wondering why. Thanks to coconut oil capsules, the gunk in my lungs doesn’t stay there like it does with most chest colds. I’m sure, if I had been taking them two years ago when I had pneumonia, that I wouldn’t have been as sick for as long.
If only my son would realize I take supplements because my body doesn’t like prescription drugs... And being my son, he will have good results with them as well. *sigh*
The kitten lives in Venezuela. I guess some people there can still get cat food (or it’s an older picture).
Your son is my age. What’s he need prescription drugs for?
He’s diabetic and at the moment has acute bronchitis. He also has a history of a heart murmur, though he may have outgrown that.
I suggested he speak with his doctor about the Keto diet to control the diabetes, but he’s “not interested in that healthy stuff.” It breaks my heart to think he is “cutting off his nose to spite his face,” as his Gran would say.
Of all things he could have inherited from his dad, he got the stubbornness. *sigh*
Good afternoon from Jerusalem! There are stray kittehs all over the place here, and they are very friendly!
Morning, T-c. My radar map tells me you’re about to receive some weather.
I would ask what you’re doing in Jerusalem, but I think you’d have to kill me. ;o]
Did you arrive in time to experience the snow?
And nosy me, will you be there long?
Oh, my, I’m so happy for you! There is great birdwatching in Jerusalem, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s magazine.
I would so like to receive some weather, as long as it shuts down everything I’m supposed to do. If it’s just bad enough to make everything dangerous and miserable, but we have to keep going out in it, I may cry.
We got a little wintery mix the other day, but mostly just rain. I’m traveling with my best friend’s church group. Tomorrow we head to Jordan, then home next week.
Yes, there are flocks of wild parrots here.
The Eurasian Hoopoe is the national bird of Israel.
Hard to tell from this distance, but it looks as if it may be a mostly rain event. Do be carefull if you have to venture out.
Weather is unpredictable.
Weather.com says rain. Unnngh.
Beautiful orange markings on kittah
Thank you. Good morning! Try to stay warm and dry!
How exciting!!
I’m officially envious, now!
Please be safe in your travels.
Thanks! So far no problems. Of course we have Putin, Pence, and Prince Charles in town, so we were dodging police cars and blocked streets yesterday. I’m glad we already toured the holocaust museum; we wouldn’t be able to get near it today.
Coconut oil? I’ll have try that. The crud is going through the group and it’s my turn.
Yep. Coconut oil capsules. My sister turned me on to them about a year ago, and my lungs are clear, now. No more COPD!
It sure has made this whatever-I-have a lot easier to deal with. I cough a couple of times after each dose (4 a day) and that’s it. It works wonders!!
Where do you find them?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.