Alcohol kills brain cells / Absinthe & Hemingway’s Aunt Roberta / Neuro-Biology

I prepared this summary for facilitating your understanding of this topic 🙂

Ethanol is present in alcoholic beverages as a consequence of the fermentation of carbohydrates with yeast. Alcohols are organic molecules assembled from carbon (C), oxygen (O), and hydrogen (H) atoms. When 2 carbons are present, the alcohol is called ethanol (also known as ethyl alcohol).

The alcohol in drinks is called ethanol (ethyl alcohol). It is made when yeast ferments the sugars in grains, fruits and vegetables. For example, wine is made from the sugar in grapes and vodka is made from the sugar in potatoes.

So, when we drink alcohol most of the ethanol we incorporate in our body is broken down in the liver by an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), which transforms ethanol into a toxic compound called acetaldehyde (CH3CHO), a known carcinogen.

Ethanol can lead to malnutrition, and can exert a direct toxicological effect due to its interference with hepatic metabolism and immunological functions. A causal effect has been observed between alcohol and various cancers.

In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main psychoactive component of alcoholic beverages, other physiological symptoms may arise from the activity of acetaldehyde, a metabolite of alcohol.

Acetaldehyde is a much more potent toxin than ethanol, and at least a part of ethanol toxicity is due to ethanol’s first metabolite acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is toxic and can lead to irreversible DNA damage, which can lead to cancer. The liver converts most of the ethanol in alcoholic beverages we consume into acetaldehyde. Small amounts of ethanol are also broken down in the mouth and stomach.

Acetaldehyde is the first product generated during the metabolism of alcohol (chemically known as ethanol). It is generated primarily in the liver by the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). The acetaldehyde then is converted rapidly to acetate by the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH).

Some of the acetaldehyde enters your blood, damaging your membranes and possibly causing scar tissue. It also leads to a hangover, and can result in a faster heartbeat, a headache or an upset stomach. The brain is most affected by acetaldehyde poisoning. It causes problems with brain activity and can impair memory.

If too much alcohol is consumed the body cannot process the acetaldehyde fast enough. Acetaldehyde then builds up in the body.

Spirits have the highest concentration of alcohol and most contain around 40% ABV. Strength can vary considerably, however. Some vodkas contain 30% ethanol, while some bourbons may be around 60% ABV and certain ‘high proof’ spirits can have up to 95% alcohol content.

*TIP: Whiskey contains more alcohol than vodka which has an average alcohol content of about 35% (vodka has 37-40% of alcohol). Whiskey (40-60% of alcohol) is made of grains (barley, rye, and corn). Whereas vodka is made by potatoes or grains. Whiskey contains more sugar before it ferments.

*TIP: Black tea stimulates the enzyme that breaks down acetaldehyde, while green tea promotes the breakdown of alcohol. Drink water. Drinking water may reduce the rate or how much alcohol is ingested, while carbonated water may encourage the breakdown of acetaldehyde.

*TIP: STOP your DRINKING, if you can’t, make it the most conscious you are able to and reduce your drinking as much as possible ! If you can’t, ask for help !

*TIP: If you think you are a social drinker…well, that thing does NOT exist!

*TIP: If you have not started drinking alcohol yet… never start !

* Spirits

Spirits are distilled alcoholic beverages. Some of the more popular examples of spirits include tequila, rum, gin, vodka, whiskey, and bourbon. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact origin of distilled liquors, but scholars’ best guess puts the first distillation around the thirteenth century. In most cases, spirits are liquor and liquors are alcohol. Wine, beer, and cider are all examples of alcohol, but they are not spirits.

While Hemingway suggests drinking “three to five of these slowly”, we would definitely have to disagree. And last on our list, but certainly not the least (amount of alcohol, that is), we have the Aunt Roberta. This cocktail contains 100% liquor and is widely regarded as THE strongest cocktail in the world.

How do you make an Aunt Roberta cocktail?

1 part of Blackberry liquor, 2 parts of Absinthe, 1.5 parts of Gin, 3 parts of Vodka, and 1 part of Brandy are fused and shaken in a cocktail shaker, filled with ice. The mixture is strained and poured into a glass for a smooth consistency. Voila!

What is absinthe in the Bible?

Absinthe’s popularity grew steadily through the 1840s, when it was given to French troops as a malaria preventive, and the troops brought home their taste for it. Absinthe became so popular in bars, bistros, cafés, and cabarets by the 1860s that the hour of 5 pm was called l’heure verte (“the green hour”).

In the New Testament: Apsinthos is believed to refer to a plant of the genus Artemisia, used metaphorically to mean something with a bitter taste. The English rendering “wormwood” refers to the dark green oil produced by the plant, which was used to kill intestinal worms.

It is spirit with a high alcohol content traditionally produced from wormwood, anise, and other herbs such as fennel. These herbs give absinthe its hallmark green colour. Wormwood contains thujone, which has been identified as the agent rumoured to cause hallucinations and convulsions when consumed in high doses.

NOTE: Beer and wine are NOT safer than spirits. Alcohol is alcohol, toxic and bad for you, regardless of the type.

24 Aug 2022

Dr. Andrew Huberman discusses the impact of alcohol on the brain.

Dr. Andrew Huberman is a tenured professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford University School of Medicine and host of the Huberman Lab Podcast.

What is The Pomodoro Technique?

1. Identify a task or tasks that you need to complete.
2. Set a timer for 25 minutes.
3. Work on a task with no distractions.
4. When the alarm sounds, take a 5-minute break.
5. Repeat the process 3 more times.
6. Take a longer 30-minute break and start again.

Get 5 Free Travel Packs, Free Liquid Vitamin D and more from AG1 at https://drinkag1.com/wisdom (discount automatically applied)

Chris and Andrew Huberman discuss how bad alcohol really is for you. Just how bad is alcohol for your health according to Andrew Huberman?

What does Andrew Huberman prefer to consume rather than drink alcohol? What are the long-term effects of drinking alcohol according to Andrew Huberman?

5 tips for Men to increase Testosterone / More Testosterone or more Estrogens are good for men ? / Neuro-Biology

All males are born females … and die as females… with more estrogens winning over testosterone!

While men and women both create Testosterone and Estrogen, the quantity varies. Testosterone in women is typically between 1/10th and 1/20th of the amount in men. Similarly, men produce a small fraction of the Estrogen women produce, with an average of around 10–40 pg/ml of Estradiol.

Estrogen is one of two sex hormones commonly associated with people assigned female at birth (AFAB), including cisgender women, transgender men and nonbinary people with vaginas. Along with progesterone, estrogen plays a key role in your reproductive health.

Testosterone is an androgen, which is a “male” sex hormone that plays a role in reproduction, growth, and maintenance of a healthy body. In men, testosterone is mainly produced in the testes.

Testosterone levels fall as men age, the decline is steady at about 1% a year from around the age of 30. Such hormone drops are known to dampen male moods. Cisgender men don’t have menstrual periods, but testosterone levels vary from day to day, which may cause some mental and physical effects. Like women, men experience hormonal shifts and changes. Every day, a man’s testosterone levels rise in the morning and fall in the evening which means can actually experience symptoms that can mess with them too. In fact, there is even a male version of PMS called IMS (or, Irritable Man Syndrome).

Testosterone levels affect the skin much like estrogen. The higher your testosterone, the firmer and tighter your skin appears. In men, low testosterone (low-T) is associated with wrinkles, muscle loss and thinning hair.

Your TRT doctor may suggest increased injection frequency to mitigate the conversion of testosterone into estradiol or the use of an aromatase inhibitor. The use of an aromatase inhibitor should be considered when there is a clinical need – i.e. your estradiol levels are high and you have the symptoms of high estrogen.

Aromatase inhibitors decrease the levels of estradiol, which counteract the estradiol’s negative feedback mechanism at the pituitary gland level and consequently increase the levels of gonadotrophins, LH, and FSH, and result in a rise in serum testosterone.

Circulating testosterone activates the androgen receptor (AR) and is also converted into estrogen in the brain via aromatase. This conversion is the primary source of estrogen to the male brain. It is unclear whether testosterone and estrogen signaling interact to masculinize neural circuits.

All humans begin life in the womb as females. If no Y chromosome is present in the foetus, then the embryo will continue to develop as and be born as a female. Specifically, in male fetuses, testosterone from the fetal testis is converted to estradiol in neural tissue of the POA which results in development of the SDN. Furthermore, the production of estradiol increases the expression and activity of the neural aromatase.

During early development the gonads of the fetus remain undifferentiated; that is, all fetal genitalia are the same and are phenotypically female. After approximately 6 to 7 weeks of gestation, however, the expression of a gene on the Y chromosome induces changes that result in the development of the testes.

27 Dec 2022

Derek from More Plates More Dates breaks down how to increase your testosterone naturally. What does More Plates More Dates say are the most important tactics for testosterone boosting? How does sleep, diet and supplementation impact testosterone for men?

6 Jul 2022

Dr Andrew Huberman gives his thoughts on Derek from More Plates More Dates. Does Andrew Huberman think that Derek is a good addition to the world of information about health and fitness? Does Huberman Lab agree with Derek’s position on hormones?

@hubermanlab 1 year ago Thank you for hosting me Chris. I misspoke on Nolvadex— it’s not an aromatase inhibitor; apologies. Other aromatase inhibitors were described correctly.

22 Nov 2022

Be sure to check with your doctor before using the following medicines:

Tongkat Ali — https://amzn.to/3gAHQ9g

Fadogia Agrestis — https://amzn.to/3hU6ZvZ

Natural Ways to increase your testosterone ! / Hormones & Neuro-Biology

I prepared a summary to give you context and introduce you to this topic : )

Mouth breathing is often just a habit that was developed at an early age, a pattern that was unconsciously ingrained. Due to respiratory neuroplasticity we now know that we can retrain our breathing patterns, meaning any poor functioning of the respiratory system can be reversed through consistent effort.

Breathing through your mouth can actually be the cause of your cold or sickness. When we breathe through our mouths, the air that we breathe tends to be dry and cold air. This air can irritate our airways, making them more susceptible to infection. This could be why you wake up with a mild sore throat in the morning.

You may notice mouth breathers usually have a recessed or weak chin and little to no jawline. This is because the mouth gapes open all the time, which alters facial and jaw development as a child grows.

Nose breathing is more beneficial than mouth breathing. Breathing through your nose can help filter out dust and allergens, boost your oxygen uptake, and humidify the air you breathe in. Mouth breathing, on the other hand, can dry out your mouth.

Nose Breathing is sometimes called the art of breath control. Alternate-nostril breathing is one type of pranayama or breathing practice, also known as nadi shodhana. Alternate-nostril breathing doesn’t just belong to yoga, though.

Nasal breathing (as opposed to mouth breathing) increases circulating blood oxygen and (a reduced offload of) carbon dioxide levels, slows the breathing rate and improves overall lung volumes. Contrary to popular belief, carbon dioxide is not just a waste gas because it performs a number of essential functions in the body. In other words, it is a more effective breathing which makes you a better sleeper reducing the levels of apnea. When sleep apnea is reduced or eliminated during sleep, significant increases in testosterone can be observed.

The chronic shortness of breath and low oxygen levels characteristic of COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) usually contribute to fatigue, a resistance to exercise, and deterioration of muscle tissue. Increased fatigue, loss of lean muscle mass, and an early onset of frailty are common symptoms of low testosterone.

High testosterone during development is linked to facial features such as a chiselled jaw, broad face, narrow eyes and rugged cheekbones. But normal adult testosterone levels are not required for normal erections to occur and that when this threshold of testosterone is reached, additional amounts do not further increase the frequency, amplitude, or rigidity of erections. Contrary to common belief, it’s not the amount of testosterone or DHT that causes baldness; it’s the sensitivity of your hair follicles. That sensitivity is determined by genetics. The AR gene makes the receptor on hair follicles that interact with testosterone and DHT.

Men’s testosterone levels are highest in the morning, after they’ve spent the night recharging, meaning that they’re at their horniest in the morning but also at their best in terms of stamina. In consequence, morning erections are a great measure of testosterone health. Men who do not wake up with a morning erection are probably suffering from Low T, and TRT for ED may help. Interestingly, morning erections are usually the first positive report we get from our patients after starting TRT for erectile dysfunction.

Zinc deficiency reduces testosterone levels and zinc supplementation improves testosterone levels. Some studies have shown that magnesium supplementation can increase testosterone levels in men. It is recommended that men have at least 400–420 mg per day of magnesium, which can come from food or a combination of food and supplements. Having too much or too little can be dangerous for your health. To provide a large amount of omega-3s in the body will benefit men on increasing testosterone levels in the body.

During a documented experiment, the men who received ashwagandha showed a greater increase in testosterone levels. Their testosterone levels increased by 96.2 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL). Comparatively, the men in the placebo group experienced an increase of 18.0 ng/dL.

*TIP: apnea is a condition in which your breathing stops and restarts many times while you sleep. This can prevent your body from getting enough oxygen.

*TIP: Include foods rich in the natural testosterone boosters: zinc (oysters, beef, oats), magnesium (nuts, seeds, spinach, beans), and vitamin D (fatty fish, fortified milk).

*TIP: Although you might have heard that using tape to block mouth breathing can help your nose-breathing at many social media platforms, this is NOT true nor beneficial. Mouth taping not only doesn’t help you to breathe through your nose, it’s also highly dangerous. It can cause obstructed breathing and create other more serious sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea and sleep disruption.

1 Mar 2024

In this video, Andrew Huberman discusses the fastest natural way to increase testosterone levels and improve overall health — nasal breathing.

00:00 Intro
00:28 Apnea
02:52 Mouth Breathing
04:35 Sleep and Testosterone
07:48 Nasal Breathing

Andrew D. Huberman is an American neuroscientist and tenured associate professor in the department of neurobiology and psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine.

23 Oct 2023

Delve into the science behind naturally boosting testosterone levels. If you’re looking to optimize your hormonal balance and overall health, this is a must-watch!

Andrew D. Huberman is an American neuroscientist and tenured associate professor in the department of neurobiology and psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine.

00:24 – Benefits of Testosterone
03:03 – Sleep & Testosterone
04:08 – Light Exposure & Testosterone
05:14 – Weight Training & Testosterone
05:41 – Testosterone-Enhancing Supplements

2023’s breakthroughs in: Microbiomes, Mithocondria & Biology, Consciousness: Neuroscience & Psychology

I prepared a summary to introduce you to this topic:

Models of consciousness aim to inspire new experimental protocols and aid interpretation of empirical evidence to reveal the structure of conscious experience. Nevertheless, no current model is univocally accepted on either theoretical or empirical grounds.

The four current and major neuroscientific theories of conscious experience are: global neuronal workspace (GNW) theory, re-entrant processing theory, predictive coding, and integrated information theory (IIT).

A fantasy is an idea with no basis in reality and is basically your imagination unrestricted by reality. Reality is the state of things as they exist. It’s what you see, hear, and experience.

Imagery and perception are the same? A large body of evidence has shown that imagery and perception can behave in strikingly similar ways. For most of us, both can produce the subjective feeling (or qualia) of ‘seeing’; however, imagery is often a weaker and fuzzier version of visual perception.

The Perky Effect describes the relationship between real visual information (perception) and mental imagery. Discovered by C. W. Perky in 1910, her experiments were able to show that visualization of images can depress the sensitivity of perception of real visual targets.

What did Perky find about projecting a faint image of a banana while participants created a mental image of a banana? Their descriptions of the mental image matched the real image.

*Definition & Explanation of the Perky Effect https://plato.stanford.edu/archIves/sum2020/entries/mental-imagery/perky-experiment.html

19 Dec 2023

Quanta Magazine’s coverage of biology in 2023, including important research progress into the nature of consciousness, the origins of our microbiomes and the timekeeping mechanisms that govern our lives and development. Read about more breakthroughs from 2023 at Quanta Magazine: https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-bi…

00:05 The Research of Consciousness: Our minds are constantly taking in new external information while also creating their own internal imagery and narratives. How do we distinguish reality from fantasy? This year, researchers discovered that the brain has a “reality threshold” against which it constantly evaluates processed signals. – Original story with links to research papers can be found here: https://www.quantamagazine.org/is-it-…

04:30 Microbiomes Evolve With Us: This year, scientists provided clear evidence that the organisms in our microbiome —the collection of bacteria and other cells that live in our guts and elsewhere on our body — spread between people, especially those with whom we spend the most time. This raises the intriguing possibility that some illnesses that aren’t usually considered communicable might be. — Original story with links to research papers can be found here: https://www.quantamagazine.org/global…

08:43 How Life Keeps Time: The rate at which an embryo develops and the timing of when its tissues mature vary dramatically between species. What controls the ticking of this developmental clock that determines an animal’s final form? This year, a series of careful experiments suggest that mitochondria may very well serve dual roles as both the timekeeper and power source for complex cells. – Original story with links to research papers can be found here: https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-m…

Why do addictions happen? / Dopamine Ups & Downs, Cravings, Neurobiology & Neuroscience

I prepared a summary to introduce you to this topic:

The crucial brain reward neurotransmitter activated by addictive drugs is dopamine, specifically in the “second-stage” ventral tegmental area to nucleus accumbens link in the brain’s reward circuitry. This has been learned over many decades of research, and is based upon many congruent findings.

When we crave something, it signals our brain’s demand for a substance or action linked to pleasure or alleviation of discomfort. This demand triggers the release of neurotransmitters like dopamine, which stimulates the brain’s reward pathways, creating a compelling urge for the craved item or activity.

Animal studies have shown that when cortisol is released with chronic stress, changes in the brain’s response can lead to lower dopamine levels and increased cravings. Stress has also been associated with increased levels of the hormone ghrelin, again causing stronger cravings.

Today, Crystal meth releases more dopamine in the brain compared to any other drug. Dopamine is a brain neurotransmitter that serves a number of functions, including the feeling of pleasure. When crystal meth leads to a powerful surge of dopamine in the brain, people feel motivated to seek it out again and again.

Additionally, the intensified dopamine response in the brain that mood-altering drugs produce does not naturally stop once the behaviour is initiated or completed (as is the case with natural reward behaviours such as eating or having sex); as a result, cravings for the rewards associated with the drug continue to occur.

Dopamine affects movement, emotion, learning, reward, and executive functions. High levels may result in impulsiveness and aggression, while low levels may lead to tiredness and a lack of motivation.

High dopamine symptoms include anxiety, excessive energy, insomnia, and hallucinations. Low dopamine levels are associated with brain fog, mood swings, and muscle spasms.

When we constantly overstimulate ourselves with things like excessive screen time, gaming, and unhealthy eating, it can lead to issues like addiction and poor mental health. During a dopamine detox, you have to avoid activities like social media, gaming, junk food, and even work.

Engage in Natural Dopamine-Boosting Activities: Physical exercise, meditation, exposure to sunlight, engaging in hobbies, and listening to music can naturally increase dopamine levels. These activities not only help in elevating mood but also in reducing cravings.

*Seeking for more info & help? Visit https://www.uk-rehab.com/addiction/psychology/reward-system/

1 Nov 2023

Dr. Andrew Huberman discusses the science of addiction, focusing on the role of dopamine to understand why quick rewards make addiction so hard to combat. Dr. Andrew Huberman is a tenured professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford University School of Medicine and host of the Huberman Lab podcast.

2 Nov 2023

Dr. Andrew Huberman discusses the dopamine-driven cycle of craving and motivation.

*Seeking for more info & help? Visit https://www.uk-rehab.com/addiction/psychology/reward-system/

What causes an addictive brain? / Addictions, The Reward System & Neuroscience

* dedicated to our dearest Li, who is an expert professional on the treatment of addictions 🙂

I prepared this summary to introduce you to the topic:

Addiction, or substance use disorder, is a primary and chronic disease of the brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry. This is characterized by compulsive drug craving, seeking and use that persist even in the face of extremely negative consequences.

The term reward system describes a group of structures that are activated by rewarding or reinforcing stimuli, such as addictive drugs or alcohol. When the brain is exposed to a rewarding stimulus, it reacts by increasing levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine.

Instead of a simple, pleasurable surge of dopamine, many drugs of abuse—such as opioids, cocaine, or nicotine—cause dopamine to flood the reward pathway, 10 times more than a natural reward. The brain remembers this surge and associates it with the addictive substance.

When rewarding stimuli are experienced, the dopaminergic mesolimbic system is activated which causes the release of dopamine to the targeted nuclei (Small et al. 2003; Cameron et al. 2014). The ventral striatum, including the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), is a major substrate involved in reward.

Dopamine (DA) is the neurotransmitter that has been classically associated with the reinforcing effects of drugs of abuse and may have a key role in triggering the neurobiological changes associated with addiction.

Research has shown that the drugs most commonly abused by humans (including opiates, alcohol, nicotine, amphetamines, and cocaine) create a neurochemical reaction that significantly increases the amount of dopamine that is released by neurons in the brain’s reward centre.

Midbrain dopamine neurons are well known for their strong responses to rewards and their critical role in positive motivation. It has become increasingly clear, however, that dopamine neurons also transmit signals related to salient but non-rewarding experiences such as aversive and alerting events.

Seeking for more info & help? Visit https://www.uk-rehab.com/addiction/psychology/reward-system/

23 May 2022

For more information on addiction services at #YaleMedicine, visit: https://www.yalemedicine.org/departme…. Written and produced by Yale Neuroscience PhD student Clara Liao.

Addiction is now understood to be a brain disease. Whether it’s alcohol, prescription pain pills, nicotine, gambling, or something else, overcoming an addiction isn’t as simple as just stopping or exercising greater control over impulses. That’s because addiction develops when the pleasure circuits in the brain get overwhelmed, in a way that can become chronic and sometimes even permanent. This is what’s at play when you hear about reward “systems” or “pathways” and the role of dopamine when it comes to addiction.

But what does any of that really mean?

One of the most primitive parts of the brain, the reward system, developed as a way to reinforce behaviours we need to survive—such as eating. When we eat foods, the reward pathways activate a chemical called dopamine, which, in turn, releases a jolt of satisfaction. This encourages you to eat again in the future. When a person develops an addiction to a substance, it’s because the brain has started to change. This happens because addictive substances trigger an outsized response when they reach the brain. Instead of a simple, pleasurable surge of dopamine, many drugs of abuse—such as opioids, cocaine, or nicotine—cause dopamine to flood the reward pathway, 10 times more than a natural reward.

The brain remembers this surge and associates it with the addictive substance. However, with chronic use of the substance, over time the brain’s circuits adapt and become less sensitive to dopamine. Achieving that pleasurable sensation becomes increasingly important, but at the same time, you build tolerance and need more and more of that substance to generate the level of high you crave.

Addiction can also cause problems with focus, memory, and learning, not to mention decision-making and judgement. Seeking drugs, therefore, is driven by habit—and not conscious, rational decisions. Unfortunately, the belief that people with addictions are simply making bad choices pervades. Furthermore, the use of stigmatizing language, such as “junkie” and “addict” and getting “clean,” often creates barriers when it comes to accessing treatment. There’s also stigma that surrounds treatment methods, creating additional challenges.

Though treatment modalities differ based on an individual’s history and the particular addiction he or she has developed, medications can make all the difference. “A lot of people think that the goal of treatment for opioid use disorder, for example, is not taking any medication at all,” says David A. Fiellin, MD, a Yale Medicine primary care and addiction medicine specialist.

“Research shows that medication-based treatments are the most effective treatment. Opioid use disorder is a medical condition just like depression, diabetes or hypertension, and as with those conditions, it is most effectively treated with a combination of medication and counselling.”

Seeking for more info & help? Visit https://www.uk-rehab.com/addiction/psychology/reward-system/

Are neurotransmitters the cause for depression? / Psychiatry & Neuro-biology

26 May 2021

For more information on mental health or #YaleMedicine, visit: https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditio….

For many people, depression turns out to be one of the most disabling illnesses that we have in society. Despite the treatments that we have available, many people are not responding that well. It’s a disorder that can be very disabling in society. It’s also a disorder that has medical consequences. By understand the neurobiology of depression we hope to be able more to find the right treatment for the patient suffering from this disease.

The current standard of care for the treatment of depression is based on what we call the monoamine deficiency hypothesis. Essentially, presuming that one of three neurotransmitters in the brain is deficient or underactive. But the reality is, there are more than 100 neurotransmitters in the brain. And billions of connections between neurons. So we know that that’s a limited hypothesis.

Neurotransmitters can be thought of as the chemical messengers within the brain, it’s what helps one cell in the brain communicate with another, to pass that message along from one brain region to another. For decades, we thought that the primary pathology, the primary cause of depression was some abnormality in these neurotransmitters, specifically serotonin or norepinephrine. However, norepinephrine and serotonin did not seem to be able to account for this cause, or to cause the symptoms of depression in people who had major depression. Instead, the chemical messengers between the nerve cells in the higher centres of the brain, which include glutamate and GABA, were possibilities as alternative causes for the symptoms of depression.

When you’re exposed to severe and chronic stress like people experience when they have depression, you lose some of the connections between the nerve cells. The communication in these circuits becomes inefficient and noisy, we think that the loss of these synaptic connections contributes to the biology of depression.

There are clear differences between a healthy brain and a depressed brain. And the exciting thing is, when you treat that depression effectively, the brain goes back to looking like a healthy brain, both at the cellular level and at a global scale. It’s critical to understand the neurobiology of depression and how the brain plays a role in that for two main reasons. One, it helps us understand how the disease develops and progresses, and we can start to target treatments based on that.

We are in a new era of psychiatry. This is a paradigm shift, away from a model of monoaminergic deficiency to a fuller understanding of the brain as a complex neurochemical organ. All of the research is driven by the imperative to alleviate human suffering. Depression is one of the most substantial contributors to human suffering. The opportunity to make even a tiny dent in that is an incredible opportunity.

Is the Higgs Boson (the god particle) a discovery to be lamented ? / Has CERN created a quantum black hole ? / Quantum Physics

I prepared this summary to introduce you to the topic:

The Higgs boson is the fundamental particle associated with the Higgs field, a field that gives mass to other fundamental particles such as electrons and quarks. A particle’s mass determines how much it resists changing its speed or position when it encounters a force.

https://brainperks4u.wordpress.com/2019/03/16/higgs-boson-theory-explained-in-a-simply-way-elt-esl-activities/

In the Higgs boson’s case, the field came first. The Higgs field was proposed in 1964 as a new kind of field that fills the entire Universe
and gives mass to all elementary particles. The Higgs boson is a wave in that field. Its discovery confirms the existence of the Higgs field.

The Higgs boson underpins the whole Standard Model like a jigsaw piece, spurring on our curiosity and creating a more accurate picture of the universe around us. Since the beginning of humanity, curiosity has fuelled the advancement of science.

https://brainperks4u.wordpress.com/2014/01/28/higgs-boson-the-sparticle-dark-matter/

The key distinguishing feature of Higgs’s contribution was that, as an afterthought, he predicted the existence of a new massive particle left over from the process he had worked out in the Highlands. This particle would later bear his name: the Higgs boson.

The Higgs boson is the only fundamental particle known to be scalar, meaning it has no quantum spin. This fact answers questions about our universe, but it also raises new ones.

The Brout-Englert-Higgs mechanism introduced a new quantum field that today we call the Higgs field, whose quantum manifestation is the Higgs boson. Only particles that interact with the Higgs field acquire mass. “It is exactly this mechanism,” Cerutti adds, “that creates all the complexity of the Standard Model.”

There was not yet any direct evidence that the Higgs field existed, but even without direct proof, the accuracy of its predictions led scientists to believe the theory might be true.

What did Stephen Hawking say about Higgs boson?

Quote/What Hawking said in 2013 when the discovery of the Higgs boson was confirmed: “physics would be far more interesting if [the Higgs boson] had not been found”.

When Stephen Hawking and I visited the Large Hadron Collider, he hoped for an unexpected physics breakthrough. His dreams may not be impossible. “I hope you’ll make black holes,” Stephen said with a broad smile.

The elusive ‘God particle’ discovered by scientists in 2012 has the potential to destroy the universe, famed British physicist Stephen Hawking has warned. According to Hawking, at very high energy levels the Higgs boson, which gives shape and size to everything that exists, could become unstable. This, he said, could cause a “catastrophic vacuum decay” that would lead space and time to collapse.

Hawking was the first to set out a theory of cosmology explained by a union of the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. He was a vigorous supporter of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics.

7 Apr 2024

In this shocking video, a CERN scientist claims they have opened a portal to another dimension. Watch now for the mind-blowing details!

To learn more about the Higgs Boson visit:

Higgs boson & the sparticle & dark matter. ESL activity: listening and writing

Higgs Boson theory explained in a simply way | ELT & ESL activities

Relationship Researches have studied couples for 40 years: Talking about sex makes your sex life better / Psychology

*Dedicated to our dearest ‘Li’ 🙂

Our society is becoming more sexless

The 7 Principles of a successful marriage

69% of our problems are not solvable

How to become a master at conflict resolution

Non-Cuddlers Have an Awful Sex Life!

Men struggling to figure out where they fit into society

What do women really want in a man?

28 Mar 2024

Drs. John and Julie Gottman are world leading relationship researchers that have been studying couples for over 40 years, publishing over 200 academic journal articles and 46 books. They are the co-founders of The Gottman Institute and Love Lab.

World-renowned researchers and clinical psychologists, Drs. John and Julie Gottman have conducted 40 years of breakthrough research with thousands of couples. They have published over 200 academic journal articles and written 46 books that have sold over a million copies in more than a dozen languages.

John Gottman and Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman are the co-founders of The Gottman Institute and Love Lab. Married for over 35 years, the two psychologists are world-renowned for their work on relationship stability and divorce prediction.

What are the 4 predictors of divorce?

Criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling are all key predictors of divorce. All relationships have some degree of these characteristics. However, if more than one is present or one is unyielding, there will be doubts about the viability of your marriage.

What are the 4 pillars of unhappy marriage?

The Four Horsemen
Usually, these four horsemen clip-clop into the heart of a marriage in the following order: criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling.

What is the biggest divorce predictor?

Contempt. Of all the predictive factors, contempt is the most prominent one. Based on extensive research, Dr Gottman names the ‘Four Horsemen’ or four communication habits that are the best predictors of divorce.

What is stonewalling and Gaslighting?

Stonewalling and gaslighting are both tactics to prevent healthy conversations and can cause a lot of pain, but the intent behind them is quite different. “Stonewalling is actually a learned defense mechanism that might stem from an unpleasant emotional or physical reaction someone has experienced in the past.

Is oxytocin released when in love?

Once the baby is born, oxytocin helps to move milk from the ducts in the breast to the nipple, and to foster a bond between mom and baby. Our bodies also produce oxytocin when we’re excited by our sexual partner, and when we fall in love. That’s why it has earned the nicknames “love hormone” and “cuddle hormone.”

Vasopressin or antidiuretic hormone (ADH) or arginine vasopressin (AVP) is a nonapeptide synthesized in the hypothalamus. Science has known it to play essential roles in the control of the body’s osmotic balance, blood pressure regulation, sodium homeostasis, and kidney functioning.

Vasopressin is known to regulate blood pressure, blood osmolality, and blood volume. The effects of V1a and V2 receptors can be amplified when vasopressin is secreted in excessive amounts, and this condition may be experienced by patients undergoing a disease or stress.

How does vasopressin work in love?

Oxytocin acting within the brain is essential for mother-infant bonding, pair bonding, empathy and sexual behaviour in females; whereas vasopressin acting centrally reinforces territorial aggression, mate guarding and pair bonding in males.

Vasopressin is a hormone that is involved in social behaviour, including bonding and aggression. In men, vasopressin levels increase during sexual arousal and bonding, and may play a role in mate selection and pair bonding.

Does vasopressin cause monogamy?

Interestingly, comparisons of vasopressin receptors in other species of mammals reveal that monogamous behavior is associated with elevated vasopressin receptors in the ventral striato-pallidum.

Meet the Gottmans at: https://www.gottman.com/author/drs-john-julie-gottman/

0:00 Intro
02:43 What mission are you on & Why study love?
07:06 Studying traits of successful couples
09:03 Link between relationships & our health
12:51 What is the love lab?
15:41 The misconceptions about relationships
17:52 How to connect with your partner
27:44 What is the ‘attuned’ framework?
32:46 Why does typical couples therapy often fail?
35:17 The 7 Principles of a successful marriage
38:45 Do partners’ dreams need to be aligned?
40:45 69% of our problems are not solvable
48:41 What to do when your partner wants to change you
51:19 The four horsemen
58:21 What is flooding?
01:03:31 What’s a ‘caretaker’ in a relationship
01:06:31 Conflict misunderstandings
01:08:34 How to become a master at conflict resolution
01:11:41 How to repair/fix relationship issues
01:19:22 What have you learnt about the role of kissing
01:22:25 The role of sex in a relationship
01:29:58 Our society is becoming more sexless
01:32:18 Men struggling to figure out where they fit into society
01:37:50 What do women really want in a man?
01:39:59 Talking about sex makes your sex life better
01:44:30 Betrayal in a relationship
01:45:14 The traits that show a failing relationship
01:49:20 Asking your partner their dreams
01:51:28 Advice to give a relationship its best shot
01:53:21 The most interesting conclusions from the love lab
01:55:39 What does Julie mean to you, John
01:56:36 What does John mean to you, Julie
01:58:38 Why did you write this book
01:59:54 The Last Guest’s question

The 4 ways of Thinking … What type are you? / Better ways of Reasoning, Social psychology and segregation in society

How we can better understand the world around us?

4 Oct 2023

Mathematics is about finding better ways of reasoning. But for many applied mathematicians, the primary mission is to shape their minds in a way that gets them closer to the truth. The calculations are secondary, the real question is: how we can better understand the world around us?

In this Oxford Mathematics Public Lecture, David takes us on a journey through applied mathematics from statistics all the way to complexity theory, lifting examples from his work with football clubs – signing the best players (statistical thinking) or organising an attack (complex thinking) – and from every day life – bickering less with our partners (interactive thinking) and learning to let go (chaotic thinking). David reimagines applied mathematics as a set of tools for life, from big work decisions to how we treat our friends, family and work colleagues. No problem is too big or too small for a mathematical solution.

Professor David Sumpter is author of five books including Soccermatics (2016), Outnumbered (2018) and Four Ways of Thinking (2023). His research covers everything from the inner workings of fish schools and ant colonies, through social psychology and segregation in society, to machine learning and artificial intelligence.