Tiny kitteh gonna git dat bad ol' Monday!
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 ...
You’re welcome.
Tiny kitteh gonna git dat bad ol' Monday!
Dat tiny Floof is out to make Monday a has-been!
Good morning.
The laundry is done, except for hanging the shirts, but I’ll do that in a bit. The body wants a break. I’m still dealing with spasms in my lower back, so I don’t want to push things.
The only other thing on the agenda for today is going to Pet Smart to get a buddy for Gonzo. He didn’t see me leave when I went to do the laundry, but when I opened the door, to come back in, he gave me what-for! I hope it ends today! Poor little guy.
I may meet up with Alexis, but I haven’t checked FB, yet, so that may not happen.
I hope the day works out excellently for you and Gonzo! I’m about to go roust out the Yutes with a loud, happy, Spanish song.
I’m a little leery about the whole thing because he’s 6, and a fledgling may not want to share a cage with him. So when I finally do move them in together, I’ll have to watch them closely.
Lucky Yutes, getting a loud, happy Spanish song to start the day! ;o]
They didn’t appreciate it.
Ingrates!
Yeah.
Our subdivision is having “street cleaning” this week. They said everyone has to get their cars out of the street. We took the truck over to Tom’s house to sit. Then I got the oil changed and the inspection on the Avalon.
While trying to find something to ask the library to reserve for me, I found this:
https://www.ranker.com/list/best-british-detective-series/ranker-tv
Bonanza!!! What a fun place to browse! :o])
Brilliant! Have fun!
Speaking of libraries, we are headed out, and also going by the Post Office because I’m almost out of stamps.
I found out that PetSmart opens at 0900, so I don’t have to wait half the morning to make that trip in. So I can be home by 1000. YAY!
Sounds like the “street cleaning” may be permanent. HMOs have their own Halls of Shame. One of the local stations in Vegas has an on-going segment of the HOA Hall of Shame, which is nothing more than an expose’ of the dirty inner workings of various gated communities. And others that aren’t gated... The depths that some “managers” will sink to is astounding.
Maybe it’ll be temporary.
We live at our cats' forbearance only because we are one hundred times the size of a mouse, and they are one fiftieth the size of a tiger.
And we don’t stay in one place too long.
I feel almost cheated, now. I really need another cat. And gloriosky, there is a rescue shelter just down the street! Oh, be still my heart!!
Cat and birds, not the best thing.
Fur and lungs; not good either.
*sigh*
I never get to have any fun. :o[
Gonzo was so excited when he realized a new bird was in the house, but the poor Newbie is stressed, as I figured s/he would be. Tomorrow, we’ll see how they interact. From behind their own cage wires, of course!
Best wishes to both birdies. I hope New Bird gets more comfortable soon.
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