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 ...
He’ll pounce your shoelaces.
Hobby Lobby (need of more Pinewood Derby car weights) opens at 9:00, so I guess we’ll get on the road soon.
Then we can go to the library. I haz an annoyd: there’s an e-book shown in the online catalog, but it doesn’t turn up when I search the e-book reader on my phone.
Kitteh looks like he wants to get away from the Unrest in Sunny Malta.
I’ve had my shower, took a Nielsen survey, and still have to write to Charlie, so I think I need to do that before I do anything else!
Good luck on your Errands Outing!
Firewall. The firewall in your phone is probably the culprit. I don't know how to play with the newer phones to get to the innards and make changes. On thing is sure: When I get the car repairs and the vet's bill paid off, I will buy a new phone!
And here I am with a “pet” that doesn’t want to be petted. I am so having withdrawals of furry critter lumps.
Howyaz. We’re back from our trip out. It’s wet out there.
I’m also back. I went to the library and picked up “Victoria,” and may start to watch it tomorrow. For now, I’m going to watch another Harry Potter movie until the cows come home. Or something.
This morning is “Prisoner of Azkaban.” I didn’t think I was going to get through yesterday’s movie, “Chamber of Secrets.” For some reason, I seem to be more sensitive to closed in spaces, like tunnels. The claustrophobia had a front seat, yesterday, watching on a small screen. *whew*
Rough! Anyway, I noticed that only the first three movies were PG. The rest are PG-13. Somewhere between the third and fifth volumes, the producers decided they could make more money ramping up the rating code.
So that was my morning.
I sent my Favorite Daughter a calendar of crossstitch designs for her Christmas present. I was going to give it to her when she came out, but she changed her mind, so i had to mail it to her. I have no idea what Rob’t likes, so I didn’t include anything for him. She got the calendar on Wednesday, and I had to look up the thread company and email a conversion chart to her so she can buy the DMC threads she normally uses.
My Favorite Son got a small canvas painting of a VW convertible, and my Favorite DiL got a little clay lamp, like mine. You know, as in, “The Ten Virgins?”
IF my Favorite Daughter comes out for our birthdays, I’ll give her one, as well. There is a company called “Shofar from So Far,” that makes them and I really do like the way they look. So I will keep the company in mind.
I was actually just checking in, honest. I wasn’t going to go into an epistle....
Afternoon. I had a nap with Jake. He’s still having it.
Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite.
After a cup of tea, I’ll work on supper. I think I’m making a sausage and bean soup with kale. Keeps the digestion regular!
Maybe tomorrow, I’ll feel like constructing the corn chowder recipe into real soup, now that I think I have the ingredients ready. I need to take something for the achy stuff that’s been hounding me. And some more cold-easing tea that arrived on Monday. It sure has been a big help for me.
Now though, back to the movie. I suspect I won’t get it finished today. :o|
It is a long movie, but Gary Oldman.
Gary Oldman, indeed! As my late mother would say with a twinge of “southern” in her speech, “Now I’m all twitter-pated!”
She had a very good eye for art! ;o]
Ah, my tea is ready. I’m off to track down a recipe and cut up things or something.
And I’m off to bed. I’m really looking forward to the heat of the mattress pad, now. And tomorrow is another day. I think. :o]
So have a good evening and I’ll see ya then!
To the best of my knowledge, tomorrow will be another day.
Thank you.
You’re welcome.
Have a great weekend, y'all.
Thank you, the same to you!
Wow!
*snorkle*
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