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 ...
*gasp* That’s just WRONG!! LOL!
Hi, Covenantor! I’m glad you have surfaced again. I miss your humor!
yeah...but very well done...
not really surfaced, just sending the snorkel up for some fresh air...
Like Jake.
Awwww, cute!
Yes indeed, it was very well done! We all need to send the snorkel up for fresh air on occasion!
New bookmarks!!!
Super exciting!
Really cute ones, too! :o])
Oh, good!
We’ve learned that the girls are supposed to be home tomorrow. Sally says she’ll start a new job on Monday at the Goodwill Store.
A job in low-end retail motivated young Bill to get his education in gear. Maybe it will work again.
Hope springs eternal. Perhaps a new environment will make a lot of impressions on Sally.
And now, I’m off to bed.
Did you find out if Mass was cancelled?
The Bishop says churches can hold Mass, but the congregation doesn’t have to go. “Use caution,” they said. In effect, “Think of the old people!”
Awwww...Two tiny little Floofs for morning coffees!
Good morning.
I slept in. Or not, depending on if we’re going by MST or MDT. Anyway, the bathroom is heating up and I will go get warm in just a few minutes.
It seems weird not having church to look forward to, but I’m sure it will be a temporary thing, maybe for the next three weeks. Dressing in something besides warm slacks and thermal tops is something to look forward to!
My Favorite Daughter called yesterday. I asked her if the call was to replace her letter and she said, “Probably.” Lazy little thing! She’s all excited about making sourdough somethings now.
Anyway, I’m headed for the shower.
Enjoy the shower!
The tiny kittens live in Istanbul.
The shower was very nice. Warm. Of course with all the rain we’ve had, I had to turn the vent on because of the moisture already in the air from the rains.
When I go over tomorrow to wash, I’m going to stick a note in Chuck’s mail drop about the suspected mold in this place. I don’t want to do anything without giving him a head’s up, but I think 10 days to respond is enough time, and then I’ll have to check with the county health office, and let the ball start to roll.
I think that’s fair. On the one hand, the condition of the apartments isn’t Chuck’s fault, but on the other, if it’s his job to do something, then he should do it.
Chuck is the manager, and as such, he’s responsible in some ways for the welfare of his tenants, all of whom are disabled and/or elderly. Ten days gives him time to notify the owners and come up with a plan. If nothing else, they need to see that all buildings are tested and that if any are “sick,” the residents of those buildings need to be relocated. At least, that’s the way its supposed to work.
Meantime, I’m still not drinking the water, and the local store that has it sold it for $1.99 on Monday and on Friday it was $5.99. There is no excuse for that, but the reason is greed, no matter what they say.
Can you boil the water?
I can, but because it is so hard, it still needs to be filtered before I can drink it. Calcium and lime are the culprits here, worse than in Vegas. So it’s bottled water for now.
However, I’m going to call a water service tomorrow and see what they charge. They only come to Hurricane once a month, so I need more information that what I already have before I decide to use them. At best, it will be a temporary thing until such time as I move into St George.
However, the water won’t change much if there is mold in the walls, which I suspect, so a lot is riding on what Chuck and the owners decide to do.
I just phoned my mother, since she hadn’t replied to my email. Sometimes Interwebs go down in her building.
She’s fine, but mad that her church and many other places are closing. She thinks the concern is foolish. Regardless of that, she’ll be more secure because everyone else is taking the precautions!
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