Serotonin Creates Obedient Zombies - The Ultimate Government Wet Dream

[Travis]

Interestingly, tennis, NCAA basketball (and of course soccer) are my favorite too, but I don't seek them actively. If I watch it is usually when I am at a bar or travelling so I see it on the TV at airports.

I think the NCAA basketball is the best because after about the final 16 teams, in the tournament, most players know that they will never in their lives be in such a position (except sophomores and juniors who are good enough to get court-time). So in this situation, the players put every ounce of effort into every single thought and action; an entire life's effort—starting from when they'd originally starting playing as kids—is boiled down, distilled, and concentrated into the span of a few hours. So it's a very electrified atmosphere, especially in close games which come down to last-second shots. But the NBA is far different, absolutely stupid, because ever single player is an overfed millionaire and many don't really care whether they win or lose; they are mainly just going through the motions for the team manager and fans.

 

[haidut]

I think the NCAA basketball is the best because after about the final 16 teams, in the tournament, most players know that they will never in their lives be in such a position (except sophomores and juniors who are good enough to get court-time). So in this situation, the players put every ounce of effort into every single thought and action; an entire life's effort—starting from when they'd originally starting playing as kids—is boiled down, distilled, and concentrated into the span of a few hours. So it's a very electrified atmosphere, especially in close games which come down to last-second shots. But the NBA is far different, absolutely stupid, because ever single player is an overfed millionaire and many don't really care whether they win or lose; they are mainly just going through the motions for the team manager and fans (who they probably despise anyways, but also know they wouldn't be millionaires without them).

So, basically, NCAA is a bunch of kids giving their best, at the peak of their lives, in something they love. You are right, nothing they'll ever do afterwards will come close to this combination. I am not surprised former NCAA athletes have such high post-career depression rates.

 

[Mito]

The only think I can watch without getting bored after a few seconds is tennis and NCAA basketball (tournament).

I thought everyone in Wisconsin watched the Packers

 

[Travis]

I thought everyone in Wisconsin watched the Packers

Not me, and I don't eat cheese either.

 

[Mito]

Not me, and I don't eat cheese either.

Maybe you drink beer (or at least some form of alcohol)? Otherwise you’ll completely shatter my image of Wisconsinites

 

[Travis]

Maybe you drink beer (or at least some form of alcohol)? Otherwise you’ll completely shatter my image of Wisconsinites

I don't drink—but if I did!, it would be London Dry Gin (with plain Topo-Chico™ carbonated water).

 

[Amazigh]

Reminds me of something I saw a while back about toxoplasmosis:

Parasite uses the power of sexual attraction to trick rats into becoming cat food
https://news.stanford.edu/news/2011/august/catrat-081711.html


This tiny brain parasite seems to make rodents braver—and it likes humans, too
This tiny brain parasite seems to make rodents braver—and it likes humans, too

 

[haidut]

Reminds me of something I saw a while back about toxoplasmosis:

Parasite uses the power of sexual attraction to trick rats into becoming cat food
https://news.stanford.edu/news/2011/august/catrat-081711.html


This tiny brain parasite seems to make rodents braver—and it likes humans, too
This tiny brain parasite seems to make rodents braver—and it likes humans, too

Thanks. The toxoplasma also affects humans and it is known that once infected they seem to tolerate cats better. Even ardent cat haters become tolerant once infected, which makes sense - i.e. the cat parasite helps the cat, juts like it helps it by bringing tasty, demented rodents willing to be eaten. Interestingly, infection with Toxoplasma in humans have been shown to cause schizophrenia, which is known to be driven by serotonin.

 

[johnwester130]

Maybe I was being a snob by saying football and shopping are useless - the most important thing is to be around fellow human beings and social interaction, I agree.

 

[ilikecats]

@sladerunner69 @haidut lol that comparison I made was a little odd but it felt right at the time so I went with it. But yeah hiaduts got his fair share of haters over at the .org forum

 

[sladerunner69]

Not me, and I don't eat cheese either.

A wisonsonian who doesn't eat cheese? Pinch me, I must have dementia.

 

[Terma]

Here was the interpretation that made sense to me:
Serotonin and brain function: a tale of two receptors

Previous attempts to identify a unified theory of brain serotonin function have largely failed to achieve consensus. In this present synthesis, we integrate previous perspectives with new and older data to create a novel bipartite model centred on the view that serotonin neurotransmission enhances two distinct adaptive responses to adversity, mediated in large part by its two most prevalent and researched brain receptors: the 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptors. We propose that passive coping (i.e. tolerating a source of stress) is mediated by postsynaptic 5-HT1AR signalling and characterised by stress moderation. Conversely, we argue that active coping (i.e. actively addressing a source of stress) is mediated by 5-HT2AR signalling and characterised by enhanced plasticity (defined as capacity for change). We propose that 5-HT1AR-mediated stress moderation may be the brain’s default response to adversity but that an improved ability to change one’s situation and/or relationship to it via 5-HT2AR-mediated plasticity may also be important – and increasingly so as the level of adversity reaches a critical point. We propose that the 5-HT1AR pathway is enhanced by conventional 5-HT reuptake blocking antidepressants such as the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), whereas the 5-HT2AR pathway is enhanced by 5-HT2AR-agonist psychedelics. This bipartite model purports to explain how different drugs (SSRIs and psychedelics) that modulate the serotonergic system in different ways, can achieve complementary adaptive and potentially therapeutic outcomes.

 

[lollipop]

Here was the interpretation that made sense to me:
Serotonin and brain function: a tale of two receptors

Interesting. Thank you for sharing.

 

[johnwester130]

a few problems I have with this :

1) ssris can increase pregnenolone and progesterone

2) ssris can decrease some serotonin receptors

3) ssris can reduce inflammation

 

[haidut]

a few problems I have with this :

1) ssris can increase pregnenolone and progesterone

2) ssris can decrease some serotonin receptors

3) ssris can reduce inflammation

All of these effects are due to one of more of the following:

1. All successful antidepressants increase 3a-HSD and thus increase allopregnanolone synthesis.
2. Most successful SSRI are antagonist on 5-HT2C and more recent versions are antagonists on 5-HT4, 5-HT7, 5-HT3, etc so they become more and more antiserotonergic and the SSRI name loses much of its meaning.
3. A few SSRI are known antihistamines, so that would tend to lower inflammation.

The sad thing is that the medical industry uses these successes of the drugs to argue that serotonin is good for us because the assumption is that these drugs are exclusively serotonergic. In reality, they are partially anti-serotonin but the myth of serotonin being a "happy hormone" keeps getting reinforced and more fake studies get published based on that assumption. The good news is that in a few years, the SSRI will probably become exclusively anti-serotonin and antihistamine so their hopefully their anti-serotonin effect will take over and these bad side effects will disappear. Big Pharma knows quite well how evil serotonin is but will not kill its golden egg hen unless it absolutely has to. It prefer to slowly phase it out instead.

 

[johnwester130]

Culture and society is also to blame

Lack of stimulation, exploration and and repetitive jobs can zombify you, including the architecture of modern buildings can depress the mind

Maybe they don't need any drugs. just traveling the world could cure people of many problems

 

[johnwester130]

I feel like peat-ing has disconnected me from everyone in society and turned me into the zombie.

 

[lollipop]

I feel like peat-ing has disconnected me from everyone in society and turned me into the zombie.

Joking right?!?! It has made me come more alive, aware, strong etc...

 

[Travis]

Joking right?!?! It has made me come more alive, aware, strong etc...

My favourite think about Ray Peat has been his wit and writing style, but I owe him a debt of gratitude for calling attention to ω−6 fatty acids. However, I do feel that he concentrates a bit too much on polyunsaturated fatty acids in general instead of the more dangerous prostaglandin E₂/E₁ precursors. Although lipofuscin is interesting, and a good reason to avoid iron, I am still convinced that we need either DHA or α-linolenic acid (18∶3ω−3). I don't think a mammalian brain has even been found with-
out high levels of DHA, and the instances in which it's found deficient are always accompanied by pathology. Nonetheless, coconut oil is still the best oil and the only polyunsaturated fatty acid we do need are small amounts of α-linolenic acid (or DHA)—unless someone discovers that we actually can make this de novo from stearate or something. The term 'essential fatty acid' when applied to linoleic acid (18∶2ω−6) is still a misonomer, and Mead acid is of course preferred instead of arachidonate.

 

[DaveFoster]

I feel like peat-ing has disconnected me from everyone in society and turned me into the zombie.

It could be coincidental. Disgust and humor are different responses to the same phenomena, and our society can provoke either.

Analytically, the most rational solution to the current system would be civil war or suicide, and you see both: the growth of radical domestic politics (nationalism, particularly ethnic nationalism, as well as populism) and the skyrocketing rates of depression and suicide, particularly for white males:

Alternatively, one could drug themselves to resist the anomic environment, itself a common phenomenon as well, namely opioids to numb the pain: