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Neuroscientists' Open Letter To DIY Brain Hackers

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Re: Neuroscientists' Open Letter To DIY Brain Hackers

#111

Post by AnkhMorporkian »

meowface wrote: post #109
AnkhMorporkian wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I stopped taking them for two reasons. 1. I have an absurdly high tolerance to them (and almost all GABAergics, for that matter.) I always have, and also have an absurd alcohol tolerance. So, while clonazepam worked for me, I was taking roughly the maximum dosage designated for severe seizure disorders (I was taking 18mg/day, which if anyone is familiar with clonazepam, they'll know how absurd that is.) 2. I was star…

Interesting that you're able to take phenibut daily. I only take a low dose once per wee, starting two months ago, and I'm already starting to get issues with tolerance and rebound anxiety.

That is interesting. I've long held a theory that my brain simply doesn't respond to GABA properly. I seem to be able to take any GABAergic in gargantuan amounts and experience very few side effects, and just feel normal. Then, once they wear off, I just go back to my normal anxious self.

Re: Neuroscientists' Open Letter To DIY Brain Hackers

#112

Post by 2close4comfort »

phkahler wrote: post #84
etrautmann wrote: post #59

Neuroscientist here: Just listened to a talk from a reseacher who studied tDCS and tACS in human subjects, and found that IQ scores were actually going down relative to control groups. It's absolutely not clear what the appropriate protocols are, and behavioral outcomes could be incredibly sensitive to factors such as 1) electrode placement, 2) stimulation frequency, 3) amplitude, 4) direct or alternating current, et…

>> Neuroscientist here: Just listened to a talk from a reseacher who studied tDCS and tACS in human subjects, and found that IQ scores were actually going down relative to control groups. So really, someone experimenting on their own could be considered more ethical than researchers doing it to other people ;-) This is really an area where having all the data is critical and that publication bias we keep reading abou…

No I think that medical research can now be preformed by anyone. I think that there are going to be great advances that come from this amateur research in the next 5 years and I think it is the next evolution of hacking. People in general are capable of the kind of science required to achieve reproducible results. Most of this "research" is driven by a personal motivation (personal or some one close) where traditional medicine is unable to help. Research is driven by what can be sold afterwards and not the reward of knowledge gained from the results. And even then if knowledge was captured it often be inaccessible to those whom could turn that into a practical application of that science. So really this comes off as questioning the Doctors' absolute authority as masters in their field, and someone with out credentials coming up with just as meaningful results being tossed aside as amateurs not having a full understanding of what they are doing. I would say that in my personal experience that medicine is largely more art than science you rarely find Doctors that are interested in solving the unusual.

Re: Neuroscientists' Open Letter To DIY Brain Hackers

#114

Post by sbov »

nibs wrote: post #93
amelius wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> IQ scores were actually going down By how much? If someone can trade severe anxiety for perhaps 5-10 IQ points, then in most cases they will probably sign up.

Anxiety and high IQ are linked: http://www.livescience.com/36259-anxiety-linked-high-iq.html so it is possible (I am speculating) that by reducing anxiety, you are reducing IQ. Not everyone wants to be smart, but it is not a decision I would take lightly. I wonder if you could perform the opposite operation, jacking up anxiety and IQ...

Even ignoring the whole "IQ = smart" thing, you can have a lower IQ and still have a high IQ.

Re: Neuroscientists' Open Letter To DIY Brain Hackers

#115

Post by holografix »

gr3yh47 wrote: post #100
kjell wrote: post #89

The first 40 minutes of this week's "Invisibilia" touches on the effects transcranial magnetic stimulation had on a woman who lived with undiagnosed aspergers for most of her life. > ALIX SPIEGEL, BYLINE: Until she was 54 years old, Kim (ph) was totally unaware that there were things in the world that she could not see. > KIM: Everything that was intended in this went completely over my head, and now I saw it - compl…

The linked transcript is fairly short and DEFINITELY worth a read. Very interesting stuff.

There is a much longer and even more fascinating article here on HN about a similar case. You should search for it, if I was in front of a computer I'd find it for you. In it the man seems to have a lasting effect and is "cured" from Aspergers ends up splitting with his wife of I remember correctly.

Re: Neuroscientists' Open Letter To DIY Brain Hackers

#116

Post by dewarrn1 »

kjell wrote: post #89

The first 40 minutes of this week's "Invisibilia" touches on the effects transcranial magnetic stimulation had on a woman who lived with undiagnosed aspergers for most of her life. > ALIX SPIEGEL, BYLINE: Until she was 54 years old, Kim (ph) was totally unaware that there were things in the world that she could not see. > KIM: Everything that was intended in this went completely over my head, and now I saw it - compl…

Thank you for mentioning this — my podcast app didn't notify me that Season 2 was underway.

Re: Neuroscientists' Open Letter To DIY Brain Hackers

#117

Post by jeffmcnerney »

stared wrote: post #30

Forgive my votum separatum, but: > The biggest risk is that we just don't know what all the risks are. I think that's the biggest risk. I would call it "an opportunity". And as far as it is being done voluntarily, and there is a non-zero entry barrier, I am indebted to all those who (maybe) risk their health and lives for possible progress of science, medicine and technology. Compare it to extreme sports, where there…

It's also very worthwhile to note that groups of well educated, titled experts do horrible things now and then. Take the lobotomy for example, which won it's inventor (Dr. Egas Moniz) the Nobel Peace Prize. It's still around, and has it's place as an incredibly extreme measure, but it was horribly overused at first.

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/a-history-of-the-lobotomy

The same argument goes for electroshock therapy, forced sterilization of 'mongoloids',

http://www.mcgilldaily.com/2014/03/the-science-of-harm/

and a whole bunch of stuff done in World War II. How about lead based paint?

Learning is filled with mistakes but 'Trust us, leave these things to professionals. You could really hurt yourself.' isn't an answer.

What people do with their own brains, ultimately is their own responsibility.

Re: Neuroscientists' Open Letter To DIY Brain Hackers

#118

Post by 1812Overture »

ldehaan wrote: post #51
shas3 wrote: post #11

Hope someone writes a similar letter about nootropics. There's little evidence about their long term effects.

nootropics have been around for a long time and the base agents like aniracetam have been studied for decades. also, you're "messing" with the chemicals in your brain any time you consume something... unless you're aware of studies that have shown negative affects attributed to nootropic use. I use a stack of nootropics and it's better than coffee, but not like some magic wonder drug, it just helps with alertness and…

Out of curiosity what do you take? My only experience is popping a modafinil in the morning when I know I'm going to have a long day of grinding away.

Re: Neuroscientists' Open Letter To DIY Brain Hackers

#119

Post by [deleted] »

qrybam wrote: post #80
srtjstjsj wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a leap to say that suppressing doubt and fear makes people more rational. It could just as well make people more impulsive.

It's also a leap to say the world would be a better place. One person's version of rationality can be quite different to another's. Imagine of someone feels that the only rational thing for them to do is to do something "normally rational" people would find irrational- like kill your neighbour's dog because it's bark is keeping you up at night, but social pressures, anxiety and fear actually keep them in check from t…

[deleted]

Re: Neuroscientists' Open Letter To DIY Brain Hackers

#120

Post by aab0 »

qrybam wrote: post #80
srtjstjsj wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a leap to say that suppressing doubt and fear makes people more rational. It could just as well make people more impulsive.

It's also a leap to say the world would be a better place. One person's version of rationality can be quite different to another's. Imagine of someone feels that the only rational thing for them to do is to do something "normally rational" people would find irrational- like kill your neighbour's dog because it's bark is keeping you up at night, but social pressures, anxiety and fear actually keep them in check from t…

Psychopaths aren't simply a normal person with some morals turned off. They exhibit a number of other differences, including some that you might consider closer to 'brain damage' than 'rational', like an insensitivity to losses or punishment which makes them show worse performance on the Iowa Gambling Task.
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