Via GrrlScientist, here's a fun little demo of what drugs do to your brain. Drag the stoned mice to the special chair, and you get to peek in at what marijuana and ecstasy and cocaine and etc. do to the synapses.
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
Search
Profile
PZ Myers is a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris.
…and this is a pharyngula stage embryo.
• a longer profile of yours truly
• my calendar
• Nature Network
• RichardDawkins Network
• facebook
• MySpace
• Twitter
• Atheist Nexus
• the Pharyngula chat room
(#pharyngula on irc.synirc.net)
• Quick link to the latest endless thread
I reserve the right to publicly post, with full identifying information about the source, any email sent to me that contains threats of violence.
Random Quote
Natural selection may lead to benefits for species, but these `higher' advantages can only arise as sequelae, or side consequences, of natural selection's causal mechanism: differential reproductive success of individuals.
Stephen Jay Gould
Recent Posts
- Uh-oh…we aren't being nice and respectful of the faithful
- Episode XXXVIII: Distracted in Oz
- Friday Cephalopod: Behold the shadow of your doooooom!
- Vegemite!
- Tricked by the sweet perfume of another
- The Global Atheist Convention has not begun yet; the Global Atheists have already begun
- Small Town America and institutionalize hatred
- A fine example of apologizing oneself right into a defense of the indefensible
- Mr Deity needs a lot more Jesus
- I have landed!
A Taste of Pharyngula
Recent Comments
- Aquaria on Uh-oh…we aren't being nice and respectful of the faithful
- 'Tis Himself, OM on Uh-oh…we aren't being nice and respectful of the faithful
- Walton on Episode XXXVIII: Distracted in Oz
- phi1ip on Episode XXXVIII: Distracted in Oz
- Walton on Episode XXXVIII: Distracted in Oz
- 'Tis Himself, OM on Uh-oh…we aren't being nice and respectful of the faithful
- Antiochus Epiphanes on Episode XXXVIII: Distracted in Oz
- Paul W., OM on Episode XXXVIII: Distracted in Oz
- Nerd of Redhead, OM on That incompatibility problem
- 'Tis Himself, OM on Vegemite!
Archives
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
Blogroll
Other Information
« Scientists contributing to the moral decline of the universe, again | Main | I was hoping for Magneto »
It's quite a party
Category: Neurobiology
Posted on: February 10, 2007 9:18 AM, by PZ Myers
Share this: Facebook Twitter Stumbleupon Reddit Email + More
TrackBacks
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://scienceblogs.com/mt/pings/32967
Comments
Posted by: Abbie | February 10, 2007 9:29 AM
Man, I could use a good dopamine squirt this morning.
Posted by: saltatory | February 10, 2007 10:18 AM
admittedly simplistic, but it's all correct.
p.s. anandamide is derived from the sanskrit word for "bliss".
I guess this is also the first post I've ever commented on here. I'd like to see some more neuropharm posts PZ :)
Posted by: vika | February 10, 2007 10:26 AM
Meh, I already commented on GrrlScientist's post about the insidious WarOnDrugz overtones and lack of a nicotine mouse and lack of rigor as regards completeness. One thing I didn't mention, that struck me, is about the "ecstasy" mouse: it looks like they're describing MDMA, but they don't tell the whole story! It's not just that it makes you dump all your serotonin; there's also the period of recovery when "coming down" off the drug, during which the user is serotonin-depleted and thus likely to experience symptoms of a distinctly un-fun depression.
Come to think of it, the aftereffects of each drug would have been good to see, since they are so instrumental in the drug's potential for abuse.
Posted by: August Pamplona | February 10, 2007 12:23 PM
As I've already commented at GrrlScientist, I believe that the contention that dopamine plays a major role in the mode of action of THC is probably incorrect. In fact, going to the parent page (see learn.genetics.utah.edu/units/addiction/drugs/ ), the author's bias seems to be that all "drugs of abuse" work by increasing the action of dopamine in some way. This might make for good "drug war" propaganda but it probably does not make for good science (I suppose this content should not come as a surprise given the NIDA funding involved).
Posted by: jamie | February 10, 2007 4:37 PM
at a real mouse party, the cocaine mouse would be inhaling nicotine (oddly absent from the simulation, as one of Hedwig's commenters noted) faster than you can drag him to the analyzer, the meth mouse would be in the bedroom watching nudie movies, and i don't the the ecstasy mouse would be in the corner all by itself.
Posted by: Dana | February 10, 2007 6:58 PM
I squealed in delight seeing the animated mice - reminding me of my own little boys, a couple of brothers I photoshopped a few months back.
http://www.danamania.com/temp/thats_not_hay.jpg
No, it's not entirely relevant to the discussion, but I do love how the pic came out.
Dana
Posted by: DominEditrix | February 11, 2007 2:34 AM
The mouse running the program was evidently chemically enhanced, as well, as it hung in the middle of the marijuana mouse and just sat there, for, like, man, forever.
Then the mouse went off and raided my fridge.
Posted by: dbt | February 12, 2007 1:39 PM
the LSD mouse kept trying to tell the other mice that they were all just trapped in a machine, man, where strange oversized creatures watched them on bright screens driven by tiny elements that were both crystalline and liquid, like, at the same time.
Then the meth mouse beat the snot out of him and he shut up.