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 ...
We have kudzu and morning glories.
Gorgeous—thank you.
You’re welcome.
I’d really like to vacuum in my bedroom, but the Sunbeam has arrived on Jake’s bed, and I just can’t.
We still have enough toilet paper-for the time being-and food. Haven't been out since going to Pastosa on Monday-when I thought the quarantine was imminent-and the stores on Staten Island don't seem to be that crowded.
Have at least gotten a lot of laundry done.
Hey, y’all.
I got a Sicilian slice 3 days ago at a pizzeria near a local gas station. Might be the last one for a while.
Beautiful—thank you.
:-)
We got a piece of mail from Virginia addressed to Elen, USMC. I took a photo and texted it to her, “Should I open this? Trash it?”
“I don’t know what it is,” she said. “Oh, wait, it must be from a lawyer: I got a ticket in Virginia last week.”
“Of course you did. You’re Anoreth’s sister.”
I told her to pay the ticket, and I will throw away any further legal advertisements.
We have JW’s in the neighborhood. They’ve been stopping by every month for about 15 years. I take their stuff and chat with them, because why not: they’re neighbors.
Buongiorno, OL.
Isn’t seeing relaxed, elderly animals peaceful? It’s especially wonderful if they were spastic when you adopted them.
Nice!
Requires some loud classical music to go with it.
:)
I was supposed to attend training for elections inspectors yesterday, but it was cancelled. It'll be interesting to see whether they cancel the primary here.
Fairly restful, except I’m still working. Mrs. ArGee has decided I was in Wuhan, China, not NYC. I’m in a mini-quarantine while I’m in the apartment.
So, I’m curious. How did the thumb get the pins in it in the first place without you knowing? And how did you put it in the dryer?
I get the New Yawk Style foldable kind.
I haven’t been in Staten Island sine I helped with some Sandy clean-up. But I assume the pizza is at least as good there as in lower Manhattan.
Tax-chick recommends a liberal application of goats.
We have cattle, sheep and horses at hand. Goats are difficult to manage and they keep getting their little heads stuck in the fences.
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