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 ...
I don’t have cat spews; I have bird screams. *sigh*
But the shower has been had, and I was warm for that little bit. The space heater isn’t working as well as it used to, but I don’t have enough to get another one, just yet. The size of the last utility bill tells me I don’t want to turn up the baseboard heaters.
(Yes, there is a tiny bit of Scots and Vik in with the Irish!)
I’ve decided that when the weather turns warmer, I want to refinish my kitchen table. I have a crocheted square “table topper” on it, and it really shows up the flaws. So I’m going to read up on it because I forgot how. ;o]
Be very careful with refinishing chemicals!
Jake says everyone should go back to bed.
Jake is such a smart cat!
Yes, my dad taught me when I was a very short person to always work in a well-ventilated area when playing with wood-stripping chemicals. I can’t do it outside because of the wind/dust factor, but fortunately, here, I have a front and back door and also a kitchen window. The problem will be the resident Screamer. If nothing else, I’ll move the Screamer into the living room for the duration.
But the weather will have to improve before I get to work on that. The top can just be sanded, because the finish is so worn, but the rest will need the chemical stripper. The big decision is what color to stain it.
The thing I need to remedy post haste is the top of the front door. There is no weather stripping and there is a half-inch gap. I don’t want to go out in the cold, but I need to stop the cold in here.
My mother refinished a lot of furniture back in the day.
Happy Wednesday, everyone.
Kitteh, you’re too late to start in a Star Trek TOS episode, but your ancestors may have inspired it.
She is a striking kitten.
Happy Wednesday, ArGee. Best wishes for a peaceful day.
I’ve done my share of it, but its been so long I’ve forgotten the basics. So I’ll brush up on it before I start. I will also need to decide on the stain I want for it.
It seems every piece I’ve ever re-done has been sold later.
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I got side-tracked. It’s 14°. Did I sign up for this?
Happy Wednesday to you, you busy creature you!
They must be finding all kinds of jobs for you to do because you’re scarce as frog hair, here. You’re missed. :o]
I thought I’d go check my yarn stash and the projects I have, and got side-tracked sorting them into types and various stages of progress. I’ll start with the most nearly finished and work my way through. I WILL get them finished!
And wonder of wonders, in this next to last storage tub, I found the baggie that had sewing/craft notions I had been looking for since I moved in. It was on the bottom, of course, which explains why I didn’t see it when I went through the tubs on moving in. My favorite seam ripper, my adjustable thimble, and the crochet hook I bought in Germany 50 years ago! Bonanza!!
Of course, they’ve all been replaced since I moved, as well as row counters and stitch markers and point protectors, but it was so good to find them!! And there was also a bone crochet hook that came in the first afghan kit I ever bought, 40 some years ago, so that last tub was a gold mine for me. :o])
I was just notified by one of my nephews who is on FB that he is ready to send me a painting done by my dad when we lived in Alaska, before it was a state. Wow! When it comes, I’ll take a photo of it and maybe one of you can tell me how to post it.
Maybe. :o]
How exciting!
I have no idea where the rest of his work is. I think my Real Brother has some of his tempera paintings, as do I, and possibly some unframed oils. I need to get to CO before he dies, though. The urge to go is getting stronger with each passing week which means I really need to do it soon.
The treadmill assembler is supposed to come at 2:00. He tried to get me to agree to an earlier time, but I had already made plans based on his coming between 2 and 5.
I get really agitated when I have the schedule set and then people want to change things.
I rush in, I rush out. I’m in for a while now. Finally got my lunch eaten. Maybe I’ll clean the shoe closet next. That hasn’t been done in a long while.
I keep all my shoes upstairs in my own closet!
I feel the same way when people try to change my plans, but then, people with disabilities always have a hard time with change of any kind. Which is why I get so upset when people make plans for me and don’t tell me until the last possible minute. Or I have to change my schedule for a day.
All I can say is, stick to your guns!!!
I did. That reminds me, I need to try to schedule a choir practice. Maybe Friday would work.
Ah. I see I wasn’t the only person with an agenda today. I’ve needed to do this for quite some time, just to try and make some order out of the chaos that is around me. There is a connected job I have to do as well, but it will wait.
I guess part of it is in preparation for my eventual move to St George. I’ll be sorting off and on until that time gets here, for sure!
It will happen when it does.
I sent an email.
Maybe if the treadmill assembler is fast, we can go to the library afterward. The kids are nagging. Pat is at a meeting at CP, and we could go to the library before picking him up.
It wouldn’t be as good as a nap with Jake, but not bad, either.
I love my library! I’m still waiting for those Valentine book marks they keep promising, but still... ;o]
Thank you.
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