[extropy-chat] Wireheading

[Alex Ramonsky]

Well, dive in anywhere  :  )

http://darwin.nap.edu/books/0309064015/html/193.html

[Go to the actual page snap]
And you'll notice there is a lot going on here; I have the feeling it's 
another area where "scientific opinion" may be strongly in transition 
-actual experiments exploring exactly what you propose are on the 
go...but there's not much funding there, y'know  :  )  The main [funded] 
exploration is still looking at downregulation in the context of 
stopping people becoming addicted to "illegal substances" or sleeping 
tablets [benzodiazepines]. If you're into this idea though, it's a great 
opportunity to go fishing. We've both got labs at our disposal so how 
about let's look for our own answer?  :  )
Best,
AR
***********
PS you play 'Homeworld' at all? :  )

Anders Sandberg wrote:

>Alex Ramonsky wrote:
>  
>
>>>I have the feeling that preventing downregulation or upregulation would
>>>be
>>>pretty pharmacologically useful, anybody know how well we have learned to
>>>control such functions?
>>>      
>>>
>>Well if 'we' means 'the scientific community' I have no idea. If 'we'
>>means the neurohackers community there are various approaches including
>>using biofeedback, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and 'pacing' [you
>>take serotonin on the way up, for a slower takeoff and softer landing].
>>A lot seems to depend on sleep regulation too. Ha! Discipline!  :  )
>>    
>>
>
>Hmm, while sleep and biofeedback likely are healthy it seems more
>efficient to directly try to prevent the receptors from going into the
>cytosol, being proteased and all that happens to them.
>
>This paper suggests that at least in some cases other drugs can prevent
>downregulaton (in this case of adrenergic receptors):
>"Prevention by theophylline of beta-2-receptor down regulation in healthy
>subjects."
>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11420887&dopt=Abstract
>
>
>  
>

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