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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroplasticity

refreshing my memory

Quote:Neuroplasticity, also known as brain plasticity or neural plasticity, is an umbrella term that describes lasting change to the brain throughout an individual's life course. The term gained prominence in the latter half of the 20th century, when new research[1][2] showed that many aspects of the brain can be altered (or are "plastic") even into adulthood.[3] This notion is in contrast with the previous scientific consensus that the brain develops during a critical period in early childhood and then remains relatively unchanged (or "static").[4]
Neuroplasticity can be observed at multiple scales, from microscopic changes in individual neurons to larger-scale changes such as cortical remapping in response to injury.[5] Behavior, environmental stimuli, thought, and emotions may also cause neuroplastic change through activity-dependent plasticity, which has significant implications for healthy development, learning, memory, and recovery from brain damage.[5][6][7]
At the single cell level, synaptic plasticity refers to changes in the connections between neurons, whereas non-synaptic plasticity refers to changes in their intrinsic excitability.

there was a brief trendy vernacular use of the term which was in fact referring to fluid cognition with mental astuteness.

whilst reading it reminded me of mid life crisis, where people suddenly have a change in behaviour and go and do things that are at odds with their functional core life patterns.
thus potentiating the question of does Neuroplasticity change without exterior influence ?
is this maybe more common than we realise ?

(Dec 31, 2017 09:33 PM)RainbowUnicorn Wrote: [ -> ][image] A Wandervogel group on a hike in the 1950s in Germany.

"The list of personal connections between the Wandervogel Nature Boys and the hippies is substantial, and makes for an unbroken line of cultural continuity. But before we turn to the 1960s, it’s important to examine what happened to the Lebensreform and Wandervogel in Germany with the rise of Nazism."

I'm not sure that the genealogical evidence (in a purely ideological slash praxis context and shift of meaning) firmly supports the relationship between Wandervogel and American hipster counterculture in a fully personal, direct and formal way. But there was definitely descent and contributions via a variety of informal channels and imitations.

Due to the lesser pull of LGB in the New World back then, it's contended that Alan Ginsberg was (ironically) influential in replacing the drawing power of homosexuality in the German culture version of the Wandervogel movement with the recruiting enticement of psychedelic drugs in its North American offshoots. But that aspect has been accused of being overblown disinformation with roots in homophobia, historically traced back to 1911, when "Wilhelm Jansen, a wealthy gay who was a leader in the German youth movement, circulated a letter informing parents of Wandervogel members that they needed to become accustomed to the participation of homosexuals in the organization".

Even though its Lebensreform precursor long preceded the rise of the Nazis, and Wandervogel influence migrated to the US before the Third Reich, the idea of German youth being attracted to the movement due to gay appeal might have otherwise still seemed bizarre in light of Nazi hostility towards homosexuality. But National Socialism merely appropriated some of the alternative practices and views for its own purposes, rather than seizing ownership of the lifestyle trend itself.

The German youth movement known as Der Wandervogel grew out of Lebensreform as a countercultural reaction to the organized social and cultural clubs that centered on German folk music. In contrast to these formal clubs, Wandervogel emphasized amateur music and singing, creative dress, and communal outings involving hiking and camping. Inspired by the works of Friedrich Nietzsche, Goethe, Hermann Hesse, and Eduard Baltzer, Wandervogel attracted thousands of young Germans who rejected the rapid trend toward urbanization and yearned for the pagan, back-to-nature spiritual life of their ancestors.

[...] The Wandervogel started with urban teachers taking their students for hikes in the country as part of the Lebensreform (life reform) movement. This social movement emphasized physical fitness and natural health, experimenting with a range of alternative modalities like homeopathy, natural food, herbalism, and meditation. The Lebensreform created its own clinics, schools, and intentional communities, all variations on a theme of reestablishing a connection with nature.

[...] Lebensreform activities like hiking and eating whole-grain bread were seen as strengthening the political body and were promoted by the Nazis. “A racial concept of health was central to National Socialism,” writes Weindling. Meanwhile, Jews, gays and lesbians, the mentally ill, and anarchists were seen as “diseases” that weakened the Germanic race as a whole.

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(Jan 1, 2018 07:52 AM)Magical Realist Wrote: [ -> ]

Quote:Where did I say that? There is evidence of neuroplasticity effects of anti-depressants in rats and hamsters. And if you think depressed humans are akin to rats....

Seven studies right there showing the neuroplastic effects of anti-depressants period. You've been officially debunked. Now slither back under your rock and quit spuing your agenda-driven junk science..Cuz nobody's buying it..

In rats. Are you a rat?

(Jan 1, 2018 10:54 PM)Syne Wrote: [ -> ]

(Jan 1, 2018 07:52 AM)Magical Realist Wrote: [ -> ]

Quote:Where did I say that? There is evidence of neuroplasticity effects of anti-depressants in rats and hamsters. And if you think depressed humans are akin to rats....

Seven studies right there showing the neuroplastic effects of anti-depressants period. You've been officially debunked. Now slither back under your rock and quit spuing your agenda-driven junk science..Cuz nobody's buying it..

In rats. Are you a rat?

No..in humans too. Drugs affect rat brains the same way they affect human brains. Surely you know this..

(Jan 1, 2018 10:58 PM)Magical Realist Wrote: [ -> ]

(Jan 1, 2018 10:54 PM)Syne Wrote: [ -> ]

(Jan 1, 2018 07:52 AM)Magical Realist Wrote: [ -> ]

Quote:Where did I say that? There is evidence of neuroplasticity effects of anti-depressants in rats and hamsters. And if you think depressed humans are akin to rats....

Seven studies right there showing the neuroplastic effects of anti-depressants period. You've been officially debunked. Now slither back under your rock and quit spuing your agenda-driven junk science..Cuz nobody's buying it..

In rats. Are you a rat?

No..in humans too. Drugs affect rat brains the same way they affect human brains. Surely you know this..

Quote:Drugs affect rat brains the same way they affect human brains. Surely you know this..

There is some debate about the effect on the higher mind in how it effects the personality.
interestingly enough when using that as an example it pays to note what people are arguing about as some^ suggest personality is not a treatable aspect of psychiatry. lol
note use of words like "happy pills" etc suggesting personality is untreatable and then suggesting the physiology should dominate the arguement on drug efficacy lol

what is interesting is 2 or 3 simple things
1 how many people are on the medication thus is it actually doing anything...
how old are the studys ?
if it is treating something, and there are people advocating it should not be used, are they offering up an alternate option with vastly superior quantitative data to replace it ?

Depresion as a social condition is episodic so it appears.
rates and severity being motivation enough to commit murder, suicide infanticide, mass murder, domestic violence, and on the list goes....
this is somewhat different to clinicaly diagnosed depresion which many laypeople will claim they have expereinced as they go through a periodic depresion episode in their life.

causatively we see things like crimes of passion and staggering levels of domestic murder in the usa from people who are not diagnosed as being anything other than functionally normal.

while the ivory tower seated insular narcissists declare psychiatric medication as a trending whim of corporate marketing statergy...
they seem to be conviniently looking the other way as thousands of women are murdered by their own partner and suggesting that there is no mental illnes there.

(Jan 1, 2018 10:58 PM)Magical Realist Wrote: [ -> ]

(Jan 1, 2018 10:54 PM)Syne Wrote: [ -> ]

(Jan 1, 2018 07:52 AM)Magical Realist Wrote: [ -> ]Seven studies right there showing the neuroplastic effects of anti-depressants period. You've been officially debunked. Now slither back under your rock and quit spuing your agenda-driven junk science..Cuz nobody's buying it..

In rats. Are you a rat?

No..in humans too. Drugs affect rat brains the same way they affect human brains. Surely you know this..

You're buying into things not empirically demonstrated.

(Jan 1, 2018 11:21 PM)Syne Wrote: [ -> ]

(Jan 1, 2018 10:58 PM)Magical Realist Wrote: [ -> ]

(Jan 1, 2018 10:54 PM)Syne Wrote: [ -> ]

(Jan 1, 2018 07:52 AM)Magical Realist Wrote: [ -> ]Seven studies right there showing the neuroplastic effects of anti-depressants period. You've been officially debunked. Now slither back under your rock and quit spuing your agenda-driven junk science..Cuz nobody's buying it..

In rats. Are you a rat?

No..in humans too. Drugs affect rat brains the same way they affect human brains. Surely you know this..

You're buying into things not empirically demonstrated.

And you're arguing like a scientologist. You seriously doubt the longstanding practice of scientists experimenting on rats to prove drug effects and model theories of operation.

https://www.livescience.com/32860-why-do...-mice.html

"Using animals in research is critical to scientific understanding of biomedical systems leading to useful drugs, therapies and cures," Haliski told Life's Little Mysteries.

(Jan 1, 2018 11:26 PM)Magical Realist Wrote: [ -> ]

(Jan 1, 2018 11:21 PM)Syne Wrote: [ -> ]

(Jan 1, 2018 10:58 PM)Magical Realist Wrote: [ -> ]No..in humans too. Drugs affect rat brains the same way they affect human brains. Surely you know this..

You're buying into things not empirically demonstrated.

And you're arguing like a scientologist. You seriously doubt the longstanding practice of scientists experimenting on rats to prove drug effects and model theories of operation.

https://www.livescience.com/32860-why-do...-mice.html

"Using animals in research is critical to scientific understanding of biomedical systems leading to useful drugs, therapies and cures," Haliski told Life's Little Mysteries.

Funny, that doesn't mention anything about animal/human brains. If anywhere physiologically, it is the brain that is the most different between humans and animals. Or are you claiming you have a rat brain?

And we all know your little "scientologist" crack is just another in your very long list of unprovoked insults...typical of you feeling defensive.

Quote:Funny, that doesn't mention anything about animal/human brains.

That's what experimenting on rats means. Experimenting on their bodies and brains. Educate yourself.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news...story.html

http://www.browndailyherald.com/2013/10/...nctioning/

https://science.howstuffworks.com/innova...humans.htm

Since you don't usually understand evidence, I doubt you'd understand the difference between qualitative and quantitative similarities.

"A major reason for these failures is that most new drugs are first tested out in mice, rats or other animals. Often those animal studies show great promise.

But mice aren't simply furry little people, so these studies often lead science astray. Some scientists are now rethinking animal studies to make them more effective for human health." - https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shot...-in-people

"Nonhuman animal (“animal”) experimentation is typically defended by arguments that it is reliable, that animals provide sufficiently good models of human biology and diseases to yield relevant information, and that, consequently, its use provides major human health benefits. I demonstrate that a growing body of scientific literature critically assessing the validity of animal experimentation generally (and animal modeling specifically) raises important concerns about its reliability and predictive value for human outcomes and for understanding human physiology. The unreliability of animal experimentation across a wide range of areas undermines scientific arguments in favor of the practice. Additionally, I show how animal experimentation often significantly harms humans through misleading safety studies, potential abandonment of effective therapeutics, and direction of resources away from more effective testing methods. The resulting evidence suggests that the collective harms and costs to humans from animal experimentation outweigh potential benefits and that resources would be better invested in developing human-based testing methods." - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4594046/

"Most drugs that undergo preclinical (animal) testing never even make it to human testing and review by the FDA." - https://www.fda.gov/drugs/resourcesforyo...143534.htm