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 ...
Next time I get Sally’s insurance money, I’ll order it, and we will drool over them (carefully NOT on the pages), and then I’ll send it to you.
Used books are awesome! Most of my library is used books. They read just as well the 10th time as the first time. And I especially like books about cars!
Thanks!
(By the time the book gets to me, the drool will have dried.)
Pretty Floof.
Good morning.
I broke a light bulb in the hallways two or three days ago, and thought I had swept up all the shards, using water to help catch them all. I didn’t get them all. I stepped on one this morning and its in a place on my left heel that I can’t even see, let alone get to with a pair of tweezers.
I thought I had some Epsom salts but I don’t. So its on my list and I’m out the door to Walmart.
Thanks for the link!
And to whomever recommended the Catwings books, thanks and you rule! Those books are awesome!
I recommended “Catwings,” and ‘Face pointed us to the Clive Cussler car museum.
One of the great things about pictures of cars is that you don’t have to pay insurance ;-).
The guys in my family were/are gearheads.
Thanks to them I’ve been in or driven everything from a Model T to a Porsche Carrera.
My favorite car is a 30’s Ford one of them owned. I loved that thing.
Thank God we don’t own a garage :-)
I have a pretty picture of Zion National Park on my computer screen this morning. Yesterday I had a view of New Zealand.
We’re fond of cars more in the abstract, due to a powerful strain of cheap practicality.
I have a brother in Loveland and my daughter is in Longment, and until the end of next month, I have a sister and nephew in Denver. The sis will be moving on. The nephew, not so much!
I’ve been wanting to make a trip to visit all of them but I will have car repairs for at least the next four months, so the trip to the museum will have to wait. All of us that can will go see it!
This morning, mine was a frozen lake in Banff National Park. I love pretty photos!
And, we’ve made it to Friday again.
Happy Friday!
Happy Friday to you, too. The sun is shining here. I need to put up the blinds for Jake.
Happy Friday to you, as well! Reaching a Friday intact is always a bonus for me!
Greetings.
I’m usually asleep right now.
But in 45 minutes I will be in a doc appointment having *drumroll* more tests! Yaaaay!
I have a problem with looking at things I can’t or don’t need to buy. I remember my wife had a friend who loved to go into stores and try on furs. I’ve even stopped wandering through Best Buy and Home Depot. When I need something from one of those stores I go directly to the correct place, pick out my item, and check out.
I hope you are studied up and ace them.
Best wishes.
Good luck to you! {{{Darks}}}
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