I'm not very educated. But this question is aimed at those who are and think they have a good intuition about how the world really works.

As so far as I've been taught, the drug E or ectasy works by dumping a reservior of saratonin into the brain causing a person to feel very happy. The problem with the drug is that the saratonin isn't reabsorbed and that causes the person to "crash". Then they feel like shit. The gist I get is that it's not worth it because it makes you feel as shitty as much as it makes you feel like shit.

my grandfather is at a hospital, I'll finish this later.

It's all good, he was just constipated.

I was a little drunk when I wrote this.. What I meant in the last line was that it makes you feel as shitty as much as it makes you eurphoric. Plus it's just not healthy.

Other drugs have a similar effect on a person at a smaller scale. They're called reuptake inhibitors. They aren't as powerful as E, but they don't make you crash.

What I'm getting at is that there's something these drugs do to brain cells that elicit a feeling in a person and there are limits to what these drugs can do. They can't make you feel good permanently.

What if during the nanotechnologic revolution a drug was invented that would manage chemical processes in brain cells that you result in you feeling exactly how you wanted to feel (ecstatic). All the time. If how you feel is a direct result of an electrochemical event in your head, why they hell can't it work?

The general intuition is that light cannot exist without dark. Yen cannot be without yang. You can't be jubuliant without an occasional malaise. It makes sense, however everyone reading this knows someone that's always energetic and happy and ready to face the world. Maybe constant eternal happiness is achievable. Maybe it's just around the decade.

It might make us like robots, but at least we'll be happy robots. :)

Sounds like it would eventually lead to some sort of mental or physical breakdown of the brain. Human minds aren't really structured to handle that sort of thing.

Interesting concept however.

apendrapew,

What happens is that these drugs mimic neurotransmitters (or sometimes cause the release of neurotransmitters). They flood the synapses in the brain thus stimulating them. The more a brain cell is activated, the more likely it is to be activated. It's called potentiation. Neurons must be pushed over a threshold before they pass the signal on down the line. And when they become potentiated, just a nudge will do it.

However, a side effect of being overwhelmed with neurotransmitters is that the dendritic receptor surface (axons give, dendrites receive) grows larger to accomodate the large supply of neurotransmitter. Thus, more and more drug is required to activate the neuron.

So, in the short term, the neuron is easily excited, but over time the excitement becomes harder and harder to stimulate.

Also, I don't have a reference for this, but I believe that the more your brain gets flooded with foreign induced neurotransmitters, the less it produces its own. Therefore, with E especially, you lose the ability to feel good without taking E to make you feel good. This may just have to do with the increased receptor surface of the dendrite. Not entirely sure.

Don't suppose you were looking for a lesson though, were you. :p Screw it though, it's already typed up and I'm not deleting it.

What if during the nanotechnologic revolution a drug was invented that would manage chemical processes in brain cells that you result in you feeling exactly how you wanted to feel (ecstatic). All the time. If how you feel is a direct result of an electrochemical event in your head, why they hell can't it work?

It wouldn't work, I don't think. The neurotransmitters would constantly have to be increased unless a different method is used to fire neurons.

There is new research in glial cells that might prove interesting. It turns out that glial cells might very well be the masters of the synapse. Deciding which connections to allow and how strong the signals are allowed to be.

But, even with glial cells, I imagine that the level of neurotransmitter would have to constantly be increased as the receptive surface grows.

I suppose if there were some way of inhibiting the additional inputs... However, it is thought probable that this potentiation and inhibitive response is critical in memory. Mess with this and you might lose long-term memory skills. Perhaps the nanotech could replace your memory as well?

however everyone reading this knows someone that's always energetic and happy and ready to face the world.

No, I don't. I know people that are often energetic and happy. But, there is always an accompanying time of depression and sadness. Except for those who only pretend to be happy all the time. I suppose you could ask whats the difference between really being happy and only pretending.

There's an experiment you can do. Look at an image with a grin on your face. Supposedly, you should see it as comical. Now look at the same image with a scrunched up nose and curled up lip (look of disgust) supposedly, you should now see it as disgusting. It's possible that some limbic activities are stimulated through feedback of the body that one would think is only expressing the inner truth.

Here's an example of this sort of thing that is not entirely on topic but relates the same general idea. I gave up cigarettes a couple of months back. And the worst time I'd jones was when I'd reach for my cigarettes unconsciously and then realize that they weren't there. This is normal right? But, what I didn't expect was that reaching for anything also stimulated the craving response. I'd reach for a glass of water and feel a craving for a cigarette. Reach for the remote control and feel craving. The conditioning works both ways. The same can be said for other limbic functions such as disgust and comedy.

So, if one is able to pretend to be happy effectively, one might be happy in truth.
Self-hypnosis.

Vidd,

Human minds aren't really structured to handle that sort of thing.

As a matter of fact, the human brain, especially within the limbic system, has receptors specifically tuned to opiates and other intoxicants. Some of which don't have an analogous naturally occuring neurotransmitter if I remember right. Almost as if we are designed to get high.

But, you're right about the constant level of excitation. That'd likely drive you mental in short order.

Don't suppose you were looking for a lesson though, were you. Screw it though, it's already typed up and I'm not deleting it.

It was good, I enjoyed it.

It wouldn't work, I don't think. The neurotransmitters would constantly have to be increased unless a different method is used to fire neurons.

A different method of firing neurons is precisely what I'm talking about. When it comes down to it, drugs work in a very crude way. Dumping huge amounts of chemicals onto the brain. Cause ultimately, it's not the neurotransmitters that make you feel happy. All they do is provide a bridge for information to be conveyed.

But what if neurotransmitters weren't needed though. What if, and don't laugh, we created nano-bots that would comfortably fit within the cytoplasma of each any every brain cell. And you could program them via remote-control.

Say manipulating cells like this puts a lot of strain on them and causes it to oxidize a lot more glucose or glycogen or whatever. And that creates a lot free radicals which ultimately damages DNA causing the cell to age and weaken. And so the robot fires up the welder begins repair work on the DNA. And that's its job everyday. All 100,000,000,000 of them.

All I'm asking is, is it theoretically possible.

There's an experiment you can do. Look at an image with a grin on your face. Supposedly, you should see it as comical. Now look at the same image with a scrunched up nose and curled up lip (look of disgust) supposedly, you should now see it as disgusting. It's possible that some limbic activities are stimulated through feedback of the body that one would think is only expressing the inner truth.

Yah, read about that in the emotions chapter in my Psychology book. You see that kind of reversibility in a lot of things. Seems to be the only truly universal language. Facial expressions.

But thanks, I didn't know that the dendrite receptor surface increases as a result of potentiation.

Even if it did work, the only time you would be able to tell you ARE happy is related to when you are off the drug/machine because then you can tell the difference. Then you're back to where you started with life.

So, unless you could live your entire life hooked up to a machine, your no better off. I think it's better to find happiness outside of the sad/happy continuum, if that's possible.

I was gonna post but Invert Nexus has it covered and than some. But if you want to find out about any drug in particular go back to the source. Many drugs, espcially synthetic ones started out with a medical purpose or medical goal. Find it original medical purpose and you probably will have enough to start with and a good sense of direction.

I believe there have been a pretty good number of overdose deaths from ecstasy though and to justify using it realize you must weight it against the chance of your death.