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 ...
That right there is a funny post, that is. :o])
Thanks. It was OK. I’ve had worse, but I’ve had better.
Charlie called yesterday. We talked for almost an hour, which is what we did when I lived there. He was in a fairly good mood, but says his BP is up a little. He says they finally finished up on the “renovation” and even put some equipment in the community room for people who want to exercise. They also broke down and bought a TV for the community room (which is locked outside of office hours, meaning most of the time) and a smaller TV in the laundry room, but they only have channels that stream programs, and the residents can’t change the channels.
Good ol’ Charlie. He’s going to make the best of it think, because he doesn’t know any other way to be. He’s one of those people who can adapt to any situation remarkably quickly.
Tiny Morning Kitteh just barely found out he has muscles! What a precious little guy!
Good morning.
I had some disturbing dreams last night and the night before and I feel like I’ve been run over by a 20-mule team. I hope my day improves.
I hope your day improves, too. I was up late, for me, 10:30, but I’ll get through the day anyway. I don’t think I’ve seen Shannon yet. Maybe she’s so excited about the extra stuff in formerly-Tom’s-room that she won’t leave it.
Thanks. Your chances of a nap with a cat are better than my chances of a nap without one.
Did you put clean laundry, fresh from the dryer in formerly-Tom’s-room that would make Shannon want to stay?
The boys cleared out the closet, in which there were various old clothes of Bill’s.
Shannon was outside. She must have gone out when Sally got home from work. It’s not cold or raining, so she was fine.
*tagline*
Ah. Mystery solved. Have the byos decided how to share formerly-Tom’s-room?
I’ve gotten a few things done, including taking some trash out, which sent Gonzo into an absolute fit of screaming that lasted until I got back indoors. He really does need a buddy. This is just so sad. I hope I can afford to get a friend for him on payday, because I don’t think my heart can take too much more of his sadness.
There’s a lack of enthusiasm for change among the byos.
Good tagline.
We also found Bill’s drum set. I’m going to give it to David-from-Venezuela, our young guitarist. He’s interested in learning drums.
And we found some dragon figurines (Kathleen adopted them), some geodes (Frank), and Bill’s magic wand, with which Kathleen attempted to turn several brothers into newts.
That sounds almost like a treasure hunt! Very productive, at any rate, because at least the items aren’t Mathoms.
I worked part of a jigsaw puzzle while listening to an uplifting talk. My days always go better when I’m able to do that. The listening part, anyway. Sharon can’t understand how I can really listen if my hands are busy. Training. One part of my mind listens and the other part is resting.
I can do a lot of things while listening ... but not read or write, unless I’m writing notes about the lecture.
Exactly. I can take notes on what I'm hearing, but I prefer to do something that uses another part of my brain. I'm really sorry that Sharon is so judgmental, but all I can do is forgive her for it.
Also, you can remind yourself that you don’t want to be like that.
Shannon is in one of her boxes, trying to catch her tail! I’m about to take Pat to school and then stop by Walmart.
Kitteh seems to be finding hoomans as confusing as I do.
Good morning. Happy Friday Eve!
True, 'dat, because the other option would be judging her for it and that gets awkward.
I mostly feel bad for her attitudes, but right behind that is always the silent phrase, “Please forgive her.” I don’t know what else to do, just hope that eventually the Lord will take care of it in His own time.
She’s really a caring person and maybe that’s her motivation to openly judge because she doesn’t know how else to show her concern. I love her, anyway!
Back from my errands. I also bought half a tank of gas at $2.05/gal. I hate these evil, racist, low gas prices!
Thank you.
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