Pharmakatopia and the Human Mind

Most people see pharmaceuticals as evil, but as usual, the truth is always a lot more grey (though on closer inspection, yields tiny squares that are either black or white).

True greyness doesn't exist, but from an unsophisticated, ignoramus position (something we all experience relative to whatever field of inquiry we're uneducated in) 'grey' as a genuinely real category can seem real. But I digress - I only went in this direction because too many people interpret the metaphor of greyness as "moral relativism", which I certainly do not mean.

Rather, grey means "look deeper".

With pharmaceuticals, I find myself genuinely impressed by a new generation of antidepressants which, unlike the serotonin directed drugs, actually work upon the molecular system which underlies positive feelings: the endo-opioid systems of the brain.

One such drug is buprenorphine, which acts upon a section of the periaqueductal grey that is now to be involved in the production of feelings of sadness (the dorsomedial rostral PAG). This is a fairly profound finding, and so it is telling that the FDA did not permit longitudinal studies of this drug for human depression, but as usual, the ambitious Israeli's did. and the results of 2014, and later on, a larger 2016 study, show that this drug is more effective than serotonin inhibitors as relaxing what the neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp's collective body of work called the PANIC system.

Of course, one may well wonder whether the monstrously cynical and exploitative pharmaceutical industry - and the other powerful people which enable them - want a drug that can actually help people get out of depression - but alas, this is the sort of world we live in. The Israeli's seem far more ambitious - and desirous - to prove how "ahead" they are of everyone else in everything (the Jews have a lot of self-esteem). This clearly goes too far in some areas (Netanyahu, the IDF, etc), but when it comes to academia, any lover of science should appreciate the openness of the Israeli academic community in investigating substances, drugs and other novel techniques which existing powerful interests strive with all their might to suppress.

Anyways, the ingenious research of Jaak Panksepp into the subcortical roots of emotions has provided the key that is needed to understand human psychopathology:

“Specifically, an affective neuroscience approach to depression, has proposed “that sustained over activity of the PANIC and under activity of the SEEKING and PLAY networks substantially contribute to depression.” When these emotional systems are out of balance, depression is likely to occur.” – Kenneth L. Davis, Jaak Panksepp, The Emotional Foundations of Personality: A Neurobiological and Evolutionary Approach; pg. 263, Norton, 2018

Another very interesting approach to treating depression - and again, this applies to those souls who are so far beyond being regulated by cognitions that they really do need a more heavy-duty approach - is deep brain stimulation.

One study implanted electrodes into a deep brain nuclei called the nucleus accumbens which is involved in the 'desire' circuit, and after being stimulated, suffers of major depression who DO NOT RESPOND TO ANY PHARMACOLOGICAL TREATMENT immediately began expressing desires to "do things" (one person wished to go bowling again). This is a wonderful thing - especially given the vacuous and careless approaches of earlier psychiatric efforts at stimulating the brain, this is an explicit targeting of cells in an area of the brain that is known to be distinctly involved in the affect of "wanting".

Now, of course, this does not mean that one should become dependent on deep brain stimulation or pharmaceuticals, but it does offer tremendous potential for those millions of people, and particularly those vulnerable to suicide (around 40,000 plus Americans commit suicide every year), who feel that it is "impossible" to feel good again.

Not true. As science grows, its knowledge becomes more and more specific. As the brain begins to reveal more and more of its workings to the prying eyes of human scientists, the possibilities for extinguishing suffering from the human species becomes more and more apparent.

The work of Panksepp will truly stand out, because now we know that perceptual states are dependent on affective states, which we know to be rooted in specific brainstem nuclei where the relevant neuro-modulators are produced.

PLAY, SEEKING, and CARE constitute different pathways, and indeed, are basic mammalian modes of behaving in the world - hence its generalization as an ACTION TENDENCY. That every mammal uses the same brain nuclei to mediate the same feeling states is an incredible finding, which not only helps us recognize how much like other animals we are, but also helps do away with the lie that animals don't feel, and thus, aren't really PANICKING when the are FEARFUL; or depressed because, as the quote above suggests, they are not being given any opportunity to develop their SEEKING circuitry, or their PLAY circuitry, and instead are getting swamped by a PANIC system which, fundamentally suffers from being disconnected from others (of their species; this applies to social mammals in particular).

a reply to: Astrocyte

Oh, Suboxone® (buprenorphine) will be up in the mix with Opioid Epidemic. Buy stock in the parent company and your depression will subside...

Wouldn't it be wiser to eradicate the source of pain rather than vegetating ourselves into never feeling zombies. A great many of our pains stem from the ego. That is seduced by advertisements to accept that materialism is the be-all and end-all of life. Enslaving us to a life time of debt for a reward that is empty.

Aim for a more simple life. Enjoy riding a bike instead of lusting over a tesla.

a reply to: Astrocyte

Bupe is so horribly physically addictive.

I was on that medication for a year and went through nearly a month of intense withdrawals when I stopped taking it.

It seemed to only numb my emotions and make me feel depressed eventually.

The scary thought is once one commits to this medicine you'll absolutely have to have it every day or your screwed.

Post cessation, anything it was numbing will come roaring back like a great flood on top of the severe detox symptoms.

I'm not so fond of this drug. It may help some people but is bad for others. I didn't think this was approved for use as an antidepressant. It can be very addicting like any opioid. If a person has reduced P450 enzyme activity, as many do, it can be a very bad medicine to take. I suspect that this medication is very related to negative effects when grapefruits are eaten.

I do not think Pharma is evil, some big companies are very pushy and distort the facts to promote their meds. They play down the side effects, making them seem rarer than they are because people do not understand how to evaluate the literature and warnings. People often feel they are defective because they have side effects, that their genetic traits are rare. That is not the case most times.

I do not know if Buprenophine is better than the opioids that they are replacing with it, I actually doubt it. It may work better for some people but may be worse for others. Either way, the opioid crisis was created by the medical and Pharma companies pushing these meds. In order to make a medicine to treat something, they need to kind of understand what causes the condition. They could advise people how to neutralize the condition by altering the diet but they choose to profit by it instead. Some people will not change anything they are doing and this is a problem. They will need to take the antidote for the toxic condition they are having because of their environmental factors which includes what we eat.

originally posted by: glend
Wouldn't it be wiser to eradicate the source of pain rather than vegetating ourselves into never feeling zombies. A great many of our pains stem from the ego. That is seduced by advertisements to accept that materialism is the be-all and end-all of life. Enslaving us to a life time of debt for a reward that is empty.

Aim for a more simple life. Enjoy riding a bike instead of lusting over a tesla.

Reading this post caused quite a bit of pain. Next time you are injured I hope you will take your own advice. This attitude is insensitive, patronizing, inane, and harmful.

a reply to: Astrocyte


I think I'll stick to my Smirnoff, thanks.

a reply to: Astrocyte

You make me feel scared.


I actually enjoy rolling in the floor with my head spinning around like in the exorcist thank you very much.

Now if ye will excuse me, got a ceiling to climb on.