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 ...
Just had to comment on how cute those kitties are...
I’m very glad your mother is OK, even if she is disgruntled by the turn of events that have thinking people questioning the panic.
However, it’s always nice to know that someone else is watching out for us and our loved ones.
Thank you for noticing. Yes, they are adorable.
“Word got around” that the church was open at 1:00, so some of the choir showed up, including me, against my better judgment: I was imagining someone more important showing up and kicking us all out of the parish!
However, it turned out Father was there and held Mass. “What else was I going to do on a Sunday?” he said. “Not my fault if other people are here, too.” There were 50 or 60 Spanish-speaking attendees.
I guess we’ll plan regular choir next week, barring illness, and just “accidentally” be going by the church when Father happens to be there celebrating Mass for own amusement. David-from-Venezuela has the willies and says he’s not going anywhere until the epidemic is over. Everyone has to do what they think is best!
Thank you.
Thank you.
Happy Monday, everyone. I’m on a train waiting to head to NYC.
I’m not sure if anyone will be out and about when I get there. I may be heading back early. It all depends on how far NYC goes in following the madness of the rest of the country.
Good morning, ArGee. Best wishes on the day and the week! I hope you don’t find the Army Corps of Engineers patrolling the streets.
Imposing! I hope they wash their hands, though.
The morning Floof looks like a pastel painting!
Good morning all. The washing has been done and the clothes are just waiting for me to hang them up. One thing at a time. The weather is clear for now, but rain is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. *sigh* I want some sunshine for longer than a day!
I haven’t been anywhere since early Saturday morning, except to the library, and since the latter is only three blocks from here, I haven’t gotten a good picture of what’s going on in the ‘hood.
I’m glad this is only temporary. I really missed church, yesterday.
One of my nephews in northern Utah spent a month posting things he was thankful for each day. I thought it was such a good idea, I started to do it as well.
I’m happy to see you this morning! I think our libraries are closed, but we have plenty of other reading opportunities.
The youth participants have received their cheery wakeup call. They are not happy.
Thank you.
Hey, y’all.
It is also very soggy here in TN.
I’m always happy to see you!
I don’t know what I’d do if this library closed. Or the county libraries in remote villages, like the one at the entrance to Zion Park. Lots of places depend on their libraries because that’s all there is.
While working on a doily for my niece, to send to her and her hubby when I send the ones for the married daughters, I realized I had made a mistake about half-way through (I had four more rounds to make) and had to rip it all out. I hate when that happens.
So I worked on another project until I felt like I couldn’t see straight, and here I am. My brain often hurts when I make mistakes in a project. Especially one that I’m giving away.
You’re probably getting the storm we had last week. I’m so sorry! It was one of those constant rains that just never let up or eased in any way until it had no more water to dump on us. I suppose it built up again over the Rockies.
That’s a drag, especially with the dark mornings.
Maybe I’ll work on a project during our activity-free time frame. Tom the Son said he wants potholders, but I don’t know if I have enough loops. I hope they won’t be sold out!
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