There's a good chance you hallucinated this week without ever knowing it

Inverse ^ | October 11, 2019 | By Jack Barton on

[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.

[ArGee]

I'm sitting in the worst possible kind of meeting - the kind where the client wanted us to give details because they thought we had none, and the details are.

BORING

[ArGee]

w00t!

I was actually about to manufacture a grab for that.

[Monkey Face]

I figured, but I had such an ugly wet morning, driving and stopping and getting wet and not being able to dry before I had to go out in it again that I just wanted it!

[Tax-chick]

Did someone say boring? I know where that is!

[NoCmpromiz]

Has long tail. Looks very much like Tipton T. Longcat. Can’t tell if the very tip of his tail is white though.

[NoCmpromiz]

Can I declare today a bust and start again tomorrow?

Sure.

But it won't uncrack your screen..

[Tax-chick]

Nope.

[NoCmpromiz]

I know where that is!

In Oregon.

But it doesn't hold a candle to Dull, OH. (That's about 10 miles southwest of Van Wert on Dull-Robinson Road if you want to visit.)

[NoCmpromiz]

If the tip of his tail isn’t white than he can’t be a Tipton.. ;-)

[Tax-chick]

One must have standards.

[Darksheare]

Hmm, that’s bad.
The depredations of fingers can lead to terrible things

[Tax-chick]

I have all my fingers.

[ArGee]

No, but UBreakFix did a nice job. Probably not the cheapest, but I had my phone back in 45 min good as new. So I guess I’ll take it.

[Darksheare]

You might be imagining them.

[Tax-chick]

[Monkey Face]

Pensive pussy cat! So sweet! Makes me want to take it and go back to bed and cuddle for a nap.

Good morning.

The rain has finally stopped, but the forecast is for more rain today. Funny how none of the weather apps agree with each other!

My desk is finally “normal” and some things are still waiting to be “found” where I filed them.

[Tax-chick]

Good morning. I wouldn’t mind falling down with a cat and coming back in a few hours, but instead, it’s time to stir up the Wasted Youth.

[Monkey Face]

And I’m going to go to Walmart in a bit. It’s 42° and the wind is from the east at 5 mph, making the wind chill 39°. Ick. At least the heater in the truck works this year!!

[Tax-chick]

It’s cold here, too. Muscles in my back are forming knots. It’s annoying.

[Monkey Face]

Those muscles need a hot shower. Or the removal of a Certain Person into a Place Of Her Own.