O RLY?
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 ...
The surgery was a success! My g-niece is the proud owner of a titanium plate in her head!
Mom and dad should be able to go in to see her soon, and then mom says she’ll take a nap in the family area, since home is 45 minutes away.
I can only imagine the relief the families feel!!
And as a side note, they went in through the eyebrow, but how she got a titanium plate is beyond me to figure out. I’ll ask Clever Kara privately, when she’s had time to absorb all of this.
I think I could describe the procedure, but I am quite sure you would not be pleased to even hear the description. The squick factor is quite impressive.
I don’t mind reading about that stuff, but I don’t think I could watch it! So if you feel like it, go ahead...
There’s a good chance that any titanium plate will be there to replace a section of excised skull bone. And the best way to ensure that an incision is invisible is to do it through the hair of the scalp, (particularly for girls).
What this may have to do with the eyebrow is a matter of conjecture, but I would say in reassurance that this will not be this surgeon’s first rodeo.
The recovery procedure may include black eyes. Don’t let that throw you off. It should all clear up.
I’ll tell my niece! Thanks, though. I suspect she will have asked the surgeons all about it.
Pleased to hear it. (Ew.)
I received a letter today, although I think it was delivered yesterday. Sometimes everyone thinks everyone else went to the mail box.
I caught her before she could panic and flail.
She purred loudly over it too.
I hope it was the one with the bookmarks in it! :o])
No wonder she purred in gratefulness. You saved her little fluffy self!
It was. Nice bookmarks!
O RLY?
Lovely mew!
In light of the scary medical news of late, I think we need a visit from Dr. Tinycat!
My cats suggest going to bed for the duration.
With the cats!
Of course. Speaking of cats, I just spotted a spew. At least it’s on the tile for a change instead of the carpet.
Our guy is a barfer. The plastic bag ban here in NYS is a PITA. They’re very handy for bagging barf cleanup.
Also cleaning the box. My mother uses the plastic slip that her Wall Street Journal comes in, but I like a bigger bag.
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