Antici....pation But maybe the rain isn't really to blame. It's a weird effect I've noticed, and as I'm starting to search for scholarly literature on the subject, my expectations of obscurity relative to my own perspective are, of course, somewhat validated. After all, when I ramble on about mind and brain, I'm primarily delving into psychology, not psychiatry or neurology; those who actually read my posts treading those latter realms will recognize that I'm a lot more general on the subjects, and try to pull them back toward the realm of the former. The question, on this occasion, has something to do with the relationship between anticipation and placebo, except that's not right, either. That is to say, there must necessarily be some sort of symbolic stimulus involved. • Example 1: First Coffee ― That first cup of coffee in the morning is vital to, well, a very significant portion of the American population, and I am no different. Overall, my coffee consumption is well above the national average I'm finding, which is about 3.1 cups per day, per person. This, of course, is an average that appears to include the seventeen percent of adults and unknown majority of minors who don't drink coffee. To the other, I will drink 15-20 cups of coffee a day. The national average is just over 6.8 lbs (coincidentally, 3.1 kg) annually per capita; even accounting for the non-consumers, that number is untenable when applied to my own life; between me and an average coffee drinker in the house, we put away ... well, a lot more. I'll have to count, but we'll probably hit seven pounds before May. Point being, coffee is even bigger a part of my life than many of my friends who keep reposting cute slogans and sayings about coffee via social media. Coffee is my aqua vitae. Every once in a while, for various reasons, I will awake with a headache; it's not always a hangover or caffeine addiction. And the results are hardly scientific; I just know that the aches and pains last longer if I don't get a cup of coffee straight away after waking. But here's the thing: The smell of brewing coffee has minimal effect, but holding the hot mug full of coffee brings instantaneous results: I need not even start drinking the stuff before the headache ebbs, and holding a mug filled with hot water does not have the same effect. This is or is not significant of something going on in my brain. • Example 2: The Haze Yet to Come ― I have never really made any secret of the fact that I'm a pothead of unusual magnitude. Then again, neither am I a legend of the chronic. Nonetheless, there is a quietly simmering dispute in my family, and the assertion is on record that it would be preferable that I continue to smoke cigarettes, because, well, marijuana is just so bad for me. Now, one might take a moment here to say, "Excuse me, what?" And the answer comes back, "Well, yes, but it's particularly bad particularly for you." And, you know, that means I am allegedly a statistical deviation that universities should be clamoring to get their hands on for further research. It is, of course, all bullshit; nobody ever dared say that before Washington state legalizeed recreational marijuana sale, possession, and consumption. And it's weird in a way because it never really used to bother me to be without the stuff; market instability prescribed two or three market lapses a year, in which it was hard to get unless you personally knew a grower, or hung around in the circles dealing what we refer to as "dirtweed", which in turn really isn't worth the money at any price. But when it gets to the point that other people are starting to invent crises in order to spontaneously alter the course of my day because they suspect that I might be going out to pick up some dope, yes, there is some sort of problem. And please allow me to clarify that for once it isn't my problem. This is genuinely bizarre behavior that deviates from anything resembling what I recognize from, well, you know, a lifetime among my family. I can actually watch a person's eyes glaze over as they slip into some sort of mechanical ego defense. It goes on, over and over again, a true marvel of basic psychology. Nor, however, is this the issue I would choose to discuss as an example. Rather, its effects are important to consider. I have no dope in my stash at present. Big deal. But I can tell you I don't have to smoke the stuff, see it, hold it in my hands, or even simply smell it. As it happens, a short while ago the funds came together and my schedule resolved so that in about an hour I will be heading out to pick up― (Er ... ah ... hold that thought. Schedule change in my favor while I was writing this.) So, anyway ... yeah. The thing is that from the moment I knew when I would be picking up a new stash, any number of frustrations about all manner of bizarre, stress-inducing discussions―including a rising potential for an unrelated legal showdown―ebbed instantly. I could perceive my logical structures adjusting, resulting in a change of approach vectors to said strange frustrations. The mere anticipation, and this time without a physical stimulus such as the hot mug of what is identifiably coffee in my hands, correlated with a perceptible change in the overall chemical state of my brain. It was, indeed, much similar to a proper contact high. Other stimuli don't do this; neither sex nor money nor beloved beer. It is easy enough with a clear addiction like nicotine, that my withdrawal symptoms start abating as I approach acquisition, before I even have the new pack in my hand. But as we're all aware, the line on marijuana has ranged between "habitual dependency, not chemical addiction" and "about as addictive as coffee"; most days I would disagree with the latter, but on this occasion I must necessarily consider it. Yet the question still remains. This is psychiatry and neurochemistry, not behavioral psychology. I have no idea where to begin looking, nor which related phenomena (e.g., "Placebo-induced changes in FMRI in the anticipation and experience of pain"?) will lead me back to this particular macguffin. But it is a fascinating phenomenon to experience; I must learn how to properly observe it.
One aspect has to do with the writing of memory to the cerebral matter. The writing process is assisted by the limbic system which adds an emotional tag to the memory. The excitement connected to anticipation is an emotional reaction that reflects the limbic tags connected to the memory. The value of this limbic tags is it helps to group the memory into layers, where memories with similar emotional valence are grouped. This was/is useful to an animal. If they feel hungry, memories of various foods, food gathering and food eating will become active due the layering. This targets behavior via the layer. If they smell/sense fear in the air, this tag will activate a layer connected to possible predators and countermeasures. Food will not appear because the tag will be different. Because memory is part thought and part feeling, thoughts can induce feelings and feelings can induce thoughts. For example, my stomach might grumble making me feel hungry. This hunger feeling may induce thoughts of food in my mind. Or I can see my favorite food on the countertop and start to get hungry again. One can approach the thought-feeling from either direction to induce the other. Many arguments in these forums begin with insults that induce emotions, which then induce thoughts causing circles of repeating arguments. This is not a criticism but an application. Since emotions are primitive and can be induce via biochemical, subroutines can appear in the brain where certain brain chemicals are discharged on cue. Each morning the animal gets hungry to trigger that memory layer so he can gather and eat. The same can be induced via habits, where the brain triggers the chemicals needed to induce an emotional valence that then triggers the memory layer. This then becomes conscious as anticipation that begins to materialize based on the layer that is induced. The brain has pacer cells which act as the internal time standard from which time can be extrapolated. These cells will pulse analogous to the second ticks of a clock. The brain can count ticks to tell minutes, hours, days, etc. The brain has the morning coffee all cued up with the internal alarm that will generate emotion to trigger thoughts. Since this is done by the unconscious mind, as a habit or subroutine, the ego or conscious mind is carried along and become aware later in the process with the engine already running.
