Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with brainchemistry

THIS IS MY ANGRY FACE

Rhaomi — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:37:09 -0800

Are "fast zombies" really plausible? I've watched a few "fast zombie" movies over the last few months -- 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later, I Am Legend, etc. I also have a habit of reading up on movies I see afterwards, to find the trivia and background details that help flesh out the storylines. So it was interesting when, in the course of reading various interviews with the filmmakers, I found that they all had the same basic explanations for why their zombies were the way they were.

They're not supernatural or "undead" like in the old movies. They're just regular humans infected with a virus that makes them psychotic. These viruses were also said to leave the victim's adrenal glands open all the time, making them super-strong, ultra-fast, and impervious to pain.

I was also intrigued by this article from Cracked (an outstanding scientific resource, I know) which discussed this concept. At one point they assert, "you are just one brain chemical (serotonin) away from turning into a mindless killing machine" and link to a study showing the effects of serotonin depression in rats.

This all seemed a little fantastical to me, a doomsday scenario made to sound way too easy. It made me think of the ridiculous way radiation was used in comics a few decades back. In the Marvel Universe, gamma rays give you invisibility and the ability to fly. In the real world, it gives you leukemia. Surely the same must be true for the zombie thing. Of course, all the googling I did lead to a bunch of unrelated medical papers.

So I'm wondering: are these ideas plausible? What would be the effects of a constant adrenaline high on the human body? Would it really turn you into a hyperventilating superhuman, or just wreck your nervous system?

And what about that serotonin thing? Could the lack of one brain chemical really turn a person into a murderous psychopath? Or would it cause something much more mundane, like depression or schizophrenia or dissociation?

Lastly, what are the odds of any of these chemical changes being effected by a contagious virus (or a bacterium or injection, for that matter)? Could Rage or KV be created in the real world?

Mean green

Anonymous — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 11:32:43 -0800

I think that marijuana may be giving me headaches, but I'm really not sure. My health history: I never get headaches. I never take any type of medication (Tylenol, Advil, etc.), and I am a vegetarian. I also smoke a lot of marijuana.

I've been using, daily, for maybe 4 or 5 months, and it has never interfered with my life negatively, and in fact has been more of a boon than anything, especially in the creative work that I do (we're talking maybe one joint or less per day).

However...

I started getting headaches about two weeks ago, and they have been prolonged, lasting two, three and four days at a time. Now, I feel like I have intermittent headaches throughout the day, with some lasting for the duration of the day. I tried to connect the headaches to something--change in diet, stress, environment--but was unable to detect anything in particular that had changed. Everything has been steady, for months. Sometimes they disappear for a day, only to return the next.

I have no reason to suspect that my marijuana use is causing these headaches--which are more dull, foggy aches rather than full-blown throbbing migranes--but I have to ask myself, is it a factor?

Everyone I know who uses marijuana at the same frequency as me has said that they have never experienced this kind of side-effect.

So, could it be the marijuana? Anecdotal answers are fine, and so are more scientific answers. Also, natural headache remedies would be welcome, too :)

I'll add one other bit here: about one week ago I found out that I have a small cavity, though my teeth are giving me hardly any pain or discomfort at all, and I hardly notice it. I'm having the cavity filled next week. I suppose it could be that, but something seems to indicate otherwise.

"Richard Cory" syndrome in animals?

needs more cowbell — Thu, 04 May 2006 11:26:42 -0800

Humans sometimes feel depressed or anxious with no apparent environmental cause. Does this happen in animals? Or do humans possibly have brains that are too evolved/sophisticated for our own good, in a way? You might call it the "Richard Cory" syndrome--having everything (or at least having a reasonably okay life), yet being unhappy or anxious to an unhealthy extent. Humans are capable of feeling alone in the middle of a crowd, doubting whether other people's care and concern is genuine, feeling anxious when we know rationally that there's no clear danger, etc.

I know that animals experience some version of anxiety or depression due to circumstances or environmental factors--being abandoned, being in pain, having been abused, etc., but is there any evidence of animals feeling depressed or anxious with no obvious external cause? Or is that unique to us, a side effect of having brains capable of such sophisticated thought? (My logic here is that perhaps having such sophisticated brains allows or leads us to overthink things.)

I'm interested in research but also anecdotes--have you had a dog or cat that seems depressed or anxious despite having had a good, fairly stress-free life since birth?

Why does alcohol overcome my procrastination?

hifimofo — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 19:38:06 -0800

Does anyone have any insights into the neuroscience behind alcohol's success in helping me overcome procrastination? I don't mean a large amount of alcohol. Even a third of a standard drink is enough to make something go "click". This is a recent discovery, so I don't think it's a behavioural response, and under normal conditions I can tell when I have had such a small amount of alcohol, so I don't think it is a placebo effect.

Related to this, the more stimulants I have the more I procrastinate, and I am one of those people who at about 10 or 11 at night can finally sit down and start doing things.

If there is some neurochemistry involved in this, are there any non-alcoholic, non-pharmaceutical things I can use to replicate the effect?