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 ...
Vincent Van Kitteh.
Hi, y’all.
Musk has the capability of providing power along the journey, since he has proven that a single Falcon 9 can easily launch sixty Starlink satellites, each with a large solar array.
Using similar arrays arranged along whatever configuration of Starship convoys they come up with would surely suffice. But I suspect that he may be quietly considering that the Project Mars idea of using compact nuclear reactors would also be a good idea, especially after they get situated on Mars.
Back? I thought it was a one way trip.
And the consequences for the removal of consequences "metastatic stupid."
Hawaii? (Howareya?)
In one piece, thanks to Him. Hawau?
Very good!
For some, I'm sure it will be.
Being away from the protections of Earth is not recommended for long periods, and even the shortest trip to Mars, its layover, and the return opportunity back to Earth exceeds three years or more.
The radiation penalty alone for this amount of time is pretty much a lifetime dose.
Musk speaks of our becoming a multiplanet species, but things will have to change before that can become a reality. Maybe just something as simple as heading for Venus instead of, (or as well as), Mars.
I had a longish post about my rotten morning so far, and when I went to preview it, the screen gave me a message that I wasn’t connected. *sigh*
I obviously have been connected for quite a few years...
So I’ll tell about it tomorrow. :o[
Still kicking. But I really should just learn to accept my lot in life.
Yeah, fat chance.
I hear people who drop off the grid are happier and healthier.
But we would miss you.
Then you would just have to improve your aim, wouldn't you? ;o]
Gree Tings
Have heat?
I do.
I had to work on the furnace a few days ago, but I do have heat now, thank you.
You might want to do some consulting work for Dark’s place of employment. Seems they don’t have any qualified ‘fix-the-heat-thing’ personnel...
Hmm.
I know a guy ...
No.
Nor are they capable of NOT plugging an amp hog hot water heater into a GFCI outlet that trips every time the water heater turns on.
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