[extropy-chat] H+, autism, selection effects, biases

[Martin Striz]

On 6/30/06, Eugen Leitl <eugen at leitl.org> wrote:

> I've found that empathogens (MDMA/MDA) can extract enjoyable
> experiences from encounters that otherwise wouldn't be worthwhile.
> Unfortunately, this isn't something you can do very often in
> life, without fearing consequences.
>
> Apropos of nothing, do we have any deprenyl (selegiline) users here?
> Any cautionary tales of low (5 mg/week or so, for 40 yo) regimes,
> long-term?

I've tried 5 mg/d for several weeks without much effect, although
there may have been confounds.  I'm always a little worried about the
possibility of a link between dopaminergics and parkinsonism or
shizophrenism, although that's probably only true for hardcore
pharmacons like amphetamines which enter the axon terminal.
Parkinson's results from a reduction in dopaminergic neurons, and
amphetamines have measurable toxicity on these fibers, but
paradoxically some claim that selegiline is neuroprotective on
dopaminergic neurons.

MDMA/MDA are ring-substituted amphetamines with a completely different
pharmacological profile and more potent neurotoxicity, although it's
unclear whether that toxicity translates to longterm cognitive
deficits (probably not for anyone who keeps their dosage below 200
mg/month).  Significant re-arborization of the axon terminals occurs
by the fourth administration of MDx compounds, although lots of people
use it hundreds of times without noticeable longterm effects
(inversely proportional to age).

Then there's this guy: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4874938.stm

It's unlikely that he actually took 40,000 hits.  That would be an
average of 12 a day (~1200 mg), every day, for the entire 9 year
period.  Since he has poor memory by his own admission, his report is
questionable.  But even if he only took 10,000 that should be a
lesson.  Don't take 10,000 of anything.  Not that we need to be told
that.

Martin