Last week's article in Science looked at the effects of the anesthetic/dissociative drug ketamine ("vitamin K" or "Special K" on the street) in brain cell function in rats, concluding "that ketamine might be useful in treating depression because it increases brain activity instantly - so there is no need to wait weeks or months for the drug to take effect."
Another article from Nature Reviews Neuroscience reviewed the state of the art in psychedelic science and found that "countless studies show that hallucinogens promote healthy neural activity in the brain. The researchers also created a chart to show what test subjects' states of mind are, according to studies, when under the influence of various substances."
Go to Lanny-Yap (great site!) for links to the articles.
Look, a Roy post. Write about "Spice"...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2010-08-19/news/high-science-synthetic-marijuana-is-legal-and-it-might-get-you-high-but-is-it-safe/
--Dinah
Roy:
ReplyDeleteLet me know if you would like a copy of Dittrich's rating scale (5-DASC.)
And thanks for the shout-out --
tomB
Well we know that catnip is good for cats, and it makes them hallucinate, so it doesn't seem *entirely* unrealistic that some hallucinogens would do something beneficial.
ReplyDeleteA great deal of American culture in the last 100 years has focused on demonizing any chemically-altered consciousness, but I remember learning in a drugs course that seeking out altered states of consciousness is one of the most natural things that humans doing, from five-year-olds spinning around until they get dizzy, to meditation and prayer, it's an essential part of the human experience.
Dinah, Clink wrote about spice while you were away. It was in the soapmaking post.
Pdoc,
ReplyDeleteI like the Tom Petty song "Free Falling: I want to free fall out in to nothing..... I want to leave this place for a while..." Stevie Nicks does a great cover.
Why can't we leave for a while. What is wrong is with some down time, that does not make you fat, does not fibrose your liver or make you seropositive for anything.
Reality 24 / 7 is totally over rated. Bring on some floatiness that is good for you. When I am busy, I am fine, more than fine. You don't even see me when I am flying high in the day. I am up here near the sun up with the best.
When the lights go out, what is all about.. and every goes home.......I want out too.
I want you to notice.
You put an orange clock in your room.
Clocks Coldplay. The dance goes on.
The writer is totally fair, and there's no doubt.
ReplyDelete