Brain Stuffs: Laughing to Death, Hyperstimulation
Ahnimus
Posts: 10,560
I always practice talking about what I want to remember, it helps me to learn. So please don't take this as me trying to be "deep". I thought some of you might find this interesting.
Lauging to Death
I always wondered how this happened. Apparently a tumor (Hypothalamic Hamartoma) or hemmorhage near the Pituitary gland (Infundibulum) can exert pressure on that part of the brain. When this happens a person begins laughing and can not stop, not even to take a breath. While this is happening a person does not feel like they are laughing, they feel like they are choking to death. This is also known as a Gelastic Seizure.
Hyperstimulation
I found this very interesting. The amygdala is responsible for most emotion, including love and fear. If a person repeatedly experiences a traumatic experience the amygdala becomes hyperstimulated with Norepinephrine (Adrenaline) and Cortisol. Cortisol can damage the brain, but is resisted by the Norepinephrine. However, through prolonged hyperstimulation the norepinephrine levels gradually decrease and cortisol takes it's toll on the amygdala. Meanwhile the brain may become acustomed to strees through neural plasticity. The result is a person with hypersensitivity to stress, chronic stress, vivid hallucinations or significant damage to the amygdala, so that they have little or no emotional response. PTSD.
Scary stuff.
Lauging to Death
I always wondered how this happened. Apparently a tumor (Hypothalamic Hamartoma) or hemmorhage near the Pituitary gland (Infundibulum) can exert pressure on that part of the brain. When this happens a person begins laughing and can not stop, not even to take a breath. While this is happening a person does not feel like they are laughing, they feel like they are choking to death. This is also known as a Gelastic Seizure.
Hyperstimulation
I found this very interesting. The amygdala is responsible for most emotion, including love and fear. If a person repeatedly experiences a traumatic experience the amygdala becomes hyperstimulated with Norepinephrine (Adrenaline) and Cortisol. Cortisol can damage the brain, but is resisted by the Norepinephrine. However, through prolonged hyperstimulation the norepinephrine levels gradually decrease and cortisol takes it's toll on the amygdala. Meanwhile the brain may become acustomed to strees through neural plasticity. The result is a person with hypersensitivity to stress, chronic stress, vivid hallucinations or significant damage to the amygdala, so that they have little or no emotional response. PTSD.
Scary stuff.
I necessarily have the passion for writing this, and you have the passion for condemning me; both of us are equally fools, equally the toys of destiny. Your nature is to do harm, mine is to love truth, and to make it public in spite of you. - Voltaire
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Lateral Hypothalamic Area
Apparently they implanted an electrode in this region of rat brains. They set up a bar trigger for the electrode. Whenever the rats pushed the par the lateral hypothalamic area was stimulated. This gave the rats a very pleasurable feeling. The rats would continue to push the bar until they passed out from exhaustion.
Oh what the future will bring
Yea? That stuff is dangerous, all psychoactive drugs are. Pot has even been linked to psychosis. Though I think the link with THC is debatable. Still I can't deny that all drugs affect the brain in some way.