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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by undopaminergic on October 19, 2021, at 8:20:31
Hi all,
I got involved in a thread on another site, and I came to think about ideas, in the sense of beliefs and delusions, possibly including theories and hypotheses.
It seems different drugs and different disorders can make you more or less inclined to believe in different positive and negative ideas.
In a depressed state, you tend to disbelieve in positive things and believe more easily in negative things (eg. "I'm a bad person", "It's never getting better").
In a manic state you tend to believe in positive things and doubt negative things (eg. "I'm the smartest person around", "I have all the time in the world").
Neuroleptics seem to make you less credulous, in that they often help control delusions.
Stimulants seem to make you think more positively.
Memantine can make you manic and very credulous (eg. starting to believe in karma from just watching a short YouTube video).
However, there are also mood-incongruent delusions. I don't have a theory about that.
-undopaminergic
Posted by linkadge on November 28, 2021, at 6:59:52
In reply to Believing or not, posted by undopaminergic on October 19, 2021, at 8:20:31
Mood congruent delusions may be due to natural fluctuations in dopamine (or other neurotransmitters). There is brain circuitry for confidence, and circuitry for doubt. Both are necessary for an accurate appraisal of ones situation. Excessive (unrealistic) confidence is not in anybody's best interest. With a balanced mood, somebody can make the best decisions about their optimal strategies for success. Being overly optimistic or pessimistic distorts this decision making process. With depression, there may be an acetylcholine dominance, leading to 'overthinking' of every possibility and the inability to act.
I have a feeling that improved brain connectivity can buffer (to some extent) the effect of monoamine fluctuations. Healthy people may (say) 'feel' stupid from time to time, but they probably don't believe it to their core. People with depression genuinely believe that they are worthless.
Linkadge
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