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 ...
LOL! I don’t think we’re going to have a statewide lockdown because most residents are obedient to laws. And our governor is sensitive to the messages of the President of the Church.
Since we have no sanctuary cities, and since most towns are widely separated from other towns, I suspect we, as a state, will come through this quickly and well.
Utahns (especially long-time residents) are surprisingly resilient.
Things are pretty mellow here, too, but if they have problems in the Raleigh area, that could affect the whole state.
Bill said he went skateboarding through the nearly-empty streets of Charlotte the other day. I guess he has his nerve back, two years after his Big Injury.
Two dozen organic, free-range, brown eggs. *sigh*
I’ll have to run a blind taste-test on the boys, see if they can tell them apart, like when I did water-testing with the Girl Scouts, and they all liked Mecklenburg County tap water better than any of half-a-dozen brands of “special” bottled water.
I’m glad to know that Bill was able to get back on the board. I knew, after the accident that nearly took my life, that if I didn’t get behind the wheel ASAP, I would probably never do it. So kudos to Bill!
Two dozen organic, free-range, brown eggs... if only! If nothing else, they taste good on baked things!
Having something to look forward to helps you get there. I hope to share with you the majesty of being encompassed by the shadow of a celestial body. (Hmm, that sounds kinda raunchy if you say it right.)
By the way, the stars come out, and usually planet Venus is visible during the moments of totality. It's totally awesome!!
Wow!! The only thing that compares to is like, ... night.
I wouldn’t know: I was asleep.
That’s the good thing about a solar eclipse; it arrives in the middle of the day.
I’m too busy to look at darkness in the middle of the day. Except, like, now.
All McD’s in UK now closed ufn.
They would love our tap water.
If you need to lime wash something ,just use the garden hose.
South Texas was like that. The water came out of a limestone aquifer with big flakes of limestone floating in it.
Good evening. How’s your weather?
Good evening TC,
Today has been wall to wall sunshine.
Disappeared up onto a secluded range of hills buried deep in Private land, and enjoyed the sunshine.
iPad and deckchair. Most relaxing , not soul all day.
Footnote: no church bells today, most disturbing.
All services cancelled but buildings still open for individual use as usual.
How’s your day going?
50s and cloudy. I puttered around in the morning, napped most of the afternoon, and then went outside to check out the animal life. Mostly birds.
Maybe this evening I’ll make potholders for Tom the Son while watching a soothing British murder.
Our church is open, too, but Father Gary said he’ll get in trouble of dozens of people accidentally turn up, so please don’t. The office is open during the week.
“a soothing British murder”
The hedgerows are getting a bit of a break from fresh deliveries at the moment, the backlog was getting a bit smelly to be honest.
celestial bodies ..... yep, goose bumps and dill pickles. Venus on Mercury
We’re watching shows from the 1990s, so the dead are long dead.
In “pandemic” news, DP reports that people in Charlotte are taking their pets to the animal shelter because they’re afraid they will catch coronavirus from their pets.
It is always the pets that suffer, they can’t choose their owners.
You just have to wonder what they’re thinking. “I never should have let Spike go to that conference in Wuhan last month!”
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