Friday, January 30, 2009

Propranolol, amnesia, e le nove felicitate


(Languages of this post: Interlingua, English)


Propranolol forsan devenira le pharmaco le plus philosophicamente controversial desde prozac. Illo aperi questiones sur le significantia del realitate e pare simultaneemente meraviliose e terrificante tanto como le droga soma de "Brave New World," un romance de Aldous Huxley, o un simile droga in "Brain Candy", un film per “the Kids in the Hall” que appareva in 1996.

Comprender propranolol comencia con le comprension del functiones physiologic de adrenalina, specialmente su influentia sur nostre memorias.

Si tu pote memorar le momentos le plus intense de vostre vita (collisiones inter automobiles, incendios de apartamentos, o actos de guerra, pro exemplo), probabilemente tu formara in tu mente le detalios de iste eventos con un claritate intense que manca in tu memorias de eventos plus calme e conventional.

Al minus un parte de iste claritate es le producto del influxo in tu cerebro de adrenalina, que accompania le circumstantias intense que se fixa fortemente in tu memoria.

In le prime epochas de nostre existentia sur iste planeta, iste function de adrenalina offereva un avantage sociobiologic. Si nostre ancestres esseva terrorisate per un attacco de un tigre, pro exemplo, tal memorias nos inseniarea a evitar le presentia de tigres.

Iste dies, nostre adrenalina plus sovente fixa in nostre memorias eventos que nos volerea fortissimemente oblidar, como le violentia del guerra, encontros con tsunamis, o experientias de tortura. Personas afficite per iste tragedias sovente non pote oblidar los, specialmente in lor sonios.

Ma si un excesso de adrenalina fixa iste tragedias in nostre memorias, un deficit de illo nos adjuvarea a oblidar los. E propranolol es un droga que produce iste effecto. Illo inhibi le fluxo de adrenalina que face iste memorias hyperconcrete. Illo non los elimina completemente, ma illo los face plus abstract e minus dolorose.

Si on dava al victimas de un accidente serie un dose de propranolol, probabilemente illo reducerea le impacto de lor memorias de iste experientia. Il anque ha le possibilitate que propranolol functionarea retroactivemente. Il pare possibile que un patiente psychiatric poterea gradualmente oblidar le severitate de traumas del passato distante per memorar iste experientas deliberatemente de novo e reducir lor impacto terrificante per le uso de propranolol.

Il es obvie que propranolol, usate judiciosemente, esserea justificabile. Multes esserea de accordo que il esserea melior si un puero de nove annos qui videva le assassination violente de su parentes oblidava le detalios sanguinari de lor morte. Ma le problema es que nostre societate traditionalmente usa drogas recreational injudiciosemente, e le uso plus extensive de iste droga deveni psychologicamente complicate.

Il es importante notar que le contento de nostre vitas es le contento de nostre memorias, e nostre realitates personal se define per lo que nos cognosce, e obviemente nos non pote cognoscer lo que nos ha oblidate.

Isto significa que il es possibile reducer le contento e le natura de nostre realitates personal. Ben que nostre memorias reducite per doses de propranolol non disapparerea completemente, iste semiamnesia cambiarea le relationes inter illos e modificarea lor contento e significantia.

Assi, si nostre personalitates es simplemente le aggregation del impacto de nostre memorias le unes inter le alteres, on pote concluder que propranolol reducerea artificalmente le contento significante de nostre vitas. E si nos modifica nostre memoricas pharmacologicamente, forsan nos reducera nostre sufferimentos psychologic de un maniera que disrumperea o distorquerea nostre ver identitates.

On poterea usar iste droga pro oblidar le tragedia emotional de un amor perdite, pro exemplo. Ma le uso plus trivial de propranolol suggere un societate confuse que vole eliminar le parve difficultates de nostre vitas que nos insenia multo sur nostre proprie personalitates e illos de nostre vicinos.

E il es possibile imaginar grande abusos in nostre uso de propranolol. Pro exemplo, nostre governamentos poterea usar iste droga pro intensificar le brutalitate de nostre guerras e reducer postea le violentia psychic que illos inflige sur nostre soldatos.

Nos jam usa manieras assatis inefficace pro reducer le severitate del memorias que nos volerea oblidar, como le uso de bibitas alcoholic. Ma nos nunc ha le possibilitate de perder nostre memorias infelice multo plus efficacemente con propranolol. E il pare que isto es exactemente lo que multe personas volerea facer con lor vitas.

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Propranolol, Amnesia, and the New Happiness

Propranolol will perhaps become the most controversial medication since prozac. It opens questions about the meaning of reality and seems both marvelous and terrifying at the same time just like the drug soma in Huxley's "Brave New World" or a similar drug in "Brain Candy," a movie made by the Kids in the Hall that came out in 1996.

Understanding propranolol starts with understanding the physiological functions of adrenalin, especially its influence on our memories.

If you can remember the most intense moments of your life (automobile collisions, apartment-house fires, or acts of war, for example), probably you will form in your mind the details of these events with an intense clarity that is lacking in your memories of calmer, more conventional events.

At least a part of this clarity is the product of the influx into your brain of adrenalin, which accompanies the intense circumstances that become firmly fixed in your memory.

In the early periods of our existence on this planet, this adrenaline function offered a sociobiological advantage. If our ancesters were terrorized by a tiger attack, for example, such memories would teach us to keep away from tigers.

These days, our adrenaline more often fixes in our memories events that we would very strongly like to forget, such as the violence of war, encounters with tsunamis, or experiences of torture. People afflicted by these tragedies often cannot forget them, especially in their dreams.

But if an excess of adrenaline fixes these tragedies in our memories, its deficit would help us forget them. And propranolol is a drug that produces this effect. It inhibits the flow of adrenaline that makes these memories hyperconcrete. It does not eliminate them completely, but it makes them more abstract and less painful.

If a person gave to the victims of a serious accident a dose of propranolol, probably this would reduce the impact of this experience on their memories. There is also the possibility that propranolol could work retroactively. It seems possible that a psychiatric patient could gradually forget the severity of traumas in the distant past by remembering these experiences deliberately once again and reducing their terrifying impact through the use of propranolol.

It is obvious that propranolol, used judiciously, would be justifiable. Many would agree that it would be better if a nine-year-old boy who witnessed the violent murder of his parents forgot the bloody details of their death. But the problem is that our society traditionally uses recreational drugs carelessly, and the more extensive use of this drug becomes psychologically complicated.

It is important to note that the content of our lives is the content of our memories, and our personal realities are defined by what we know, and obviously we cannot know what we have forgotten.

This means that it is possible to reduce the content and the nature of our personal realities. Though our memories, when reduced by doses of propranolol, would not disappear completely, this semiamnesia would change the relationship among them and modify their content and significance.

And so, if our personalities are simply the aggregation of the impact of our memories among themselves, it is possible to conclude that propranolol would artifically reduce the significant content of our lives. And if we modify our memories pharmacologically, perhaps we will reduce our psychological suffering in a way that would disrupt or distort our true identities.

It would be possible to use this drug to forget the emotional tragedy of a lost love, for example. But the more trivial use of propranolol suggests a confused society that wants to eliminate the small difficulties of our lives that teach us a lot about our own personalities and those of our neighbors.

And it is possible to imagine great abuses in our use of propranolol. For example, our governments could use this drug to intensify the brutality of our wars and reduce afterwards the psychic violence that they inflict on our soldiers.

We already use rather ineffective ways of reducing the severity of the memories that we would like to forget, such as the use of alcoholic beverages. But we now have the possibility of losing our unhappy memories much more effectively with propranolol. And it seems that this is exactly what many people would like to do with their lives.

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