Disinformation in the Interpretation of Everyday Stimuli. Ying-Yang of Cannabis
What is the qualitatively selected information and proper communication in the 21st century? Article by Anna Kaszyńska, Ph.D. Candidate, ICT & Psychology interdisciplinary programme.
In the face of the multitude of stimuli that bombard a person from almost every side, sometimes causing chaos inside him, it is difficult to clearly recognise this vastness of stimuli. This internalised chaos, which is sometimes frightening and irritating subcutaneously, especially when combined with the rush of everyday life, sometimes affects the internal state of the organism. Regarding also the brain activity as well as brain waves distribution or consequently neurocognitive functioning.
DATA BOMBING — ATTENTION OVERLOAD
Referring to the 21st-century vision of the chaos of disinformation and, at the same time, the enormity of data, which seem to overload human cognitive functions affecting the cognitive functioning (especially since data (both actively / consciously obtained, and those independent of us — such as text alerts) are occupying a place in the field of perception). There can be made a symbolic connection between the situation of addiction as well as tauopathies (the condition of beta-amyloid and tau protein aggregations causing a cognitive and functioning impairment).
For example, in the neural aspects of addiction and during the development of neurodegenerative diseases desynchronization of functioning, memory impairment, attention overload, desynchronization of brain activity, as well as difficulty both in emotional control and in making a qualitative selection of information seems to be something shared in common.
I will focus on both aspects of marijuana — for recreational purposes and for therapeutical ones — as the same substance in different doses can have opposite properties as well as the impact on functioning and cognitive performance).
I will start with the description of the endocannabinoid system that serves a similar role to the proper coordinator of data selection which could provide, in a social field by sustaining a qualitative data selection, a proper communication leading to the normalisation in the chaos of disinformation.
ENDOCANNABINOID SYSTEM
The Endocannabinoid system plays the symbolic role of being the interpreter and coordinator of physiological processes. (The example of it may be presented in the situation of releasing the anandamide during massaging stimulation. Anandamide plays the role of being the endogenous cannabinoid having properties similar to the exogenous THC. The name of the endocannabinoid system refers to the prefix “endo-”, which indicates the occurrence and origin of cannabinoids also from within the body. Endocannabinoids are long chains of polyunsaturated fatty acids composed of cell membrane phospholipids, in particular arachidonic acid. The two major endocannabinoids are anandamide and 2-arachidonic glycerol (2-AG).
Endocannabinoid system as a network
The endocannabinoid system corresponds directly to the idea of a network — due to the fact of its being the organic set of receptors scattered through the nervous system (showing that communication can be considered as a dynamic network of data/memory traces transfer).
The endocannabinoid system is also involved in physiological processes (e.g. modulating the release of neurotransmitters, regulating the perception of pain, as well as the cardiovascular system, gastrointestinal tract, and liver).
BRAIN ACTIVITY — ALPHA — THETA — GAMMA
The proper communication process seems to be also strongly dependent on the brain waves distribution, especially, due to its inner power of affecting the quality of the cognitive processes. That quality can be regarded as a result of “the neural dynamic constellation” of alpha, theta, and gamma bands.
The constant interplay between these three bands (but they are not the only important bands in the brain even if they seem to me to make a fluent connection between memory and attention regarding both fields — social and everyday life as well as neurodegenerative one such as properties of the functioning in Alzheimer’s disease).
ALPHA — THETA — GAMMA
Theta and gamma bands are directly connected to the process of memory formation — both with information processing and information maintenance. Alpha, on the other hand, as well as gamma in a way, is linked to the attention performance. Moreover, alpha is considered to be responsible for the process of stimuli selection that will be participating in attentional functioning which will have a direct impact on the communication quality.
BRAIN WAVES — MARIJUANA
According to scientific studies, that contradict some assumptions regarding marijuana’s impact, and highlight the ambiguity of the marijuana usage regarding the quality of functioning, there is visible a direct division between recreational usage and medical consumption.
YING-YANG OF CANNABIS
The results of the research among marijuana users regarding memory performance revealed that moderate usage does not have as huge an impact on memory performance as poly-drug usage.
YING — NEGATIVE PERSPECTIVE OF MARIJUANA
However, there are studies highlighting the great devastating impact on the cognitive functioning of heavy use of cannabis.
There exists significant knowledge providing that the cannabis use disorder among cannabis users can be approximately 30% (based on clinical diagnostic criteria. This number is similar to drugs such as heroin (25%) and cocaine (36.5%)).
The consumption of cannabis directly targets the body’s natural endogenous endocannabinoid system, which comprises the receptors that mediate the actions of cannabinoids, as well as anandamide and 2-AG and the associated enzymes responsible for their synthesis and degradation. The stimulation of cannabinoid receptors by THC initiates a cascade of broad biological events due to their abundant expression throughout the brain and body.
NEUROBIOLOGY
The significant remarks among cannabis users associated with a great risk of psychotic symptoms and the possibility of the development of psychoses support the noxious and harmful effects of cannabis. That particular and harmful significance can be also highlighted by the complexity of the hippocampus and this region’s role in the regulation of dopamine, participating also in the motivation. It can be pointed out due to the fact that psychoactive drugs are showing a negative neurobiological impact regarding hippocampal structures — cannabis affects excitatory neurotransmission known to regulate hippocampal neural activity and output. It can be also observed that cannabis has an impact on memory alterations, attentional disorders, or motor functioning disturbances regarding the quality of executive functions.
YANG — IMPROVEMENT OF (ORGANIC) DATA SELECTION
Despite the observation of negative consequences/impact of marijuana, there are numerous studies highlighting the beneficial impact of marijuana in case of treatment. Showing that the same substance in different health conditions (in case of disease and not during healthy development) can provide the result analogical to “the turning back time” with the direct improvement of (organic)data selection. There can be observed a reduction in numerous symptoms and (as in the case of drug-resistant epilepsy) normalization of brain wave activity, accompanied by a significant reduction in epileptic seizures. The normalization of the distribution of connexin 43 and beta-amyloid protein shows significant therapeutic potential in Alzheimer’s disease — and in diseases accompanied by the neuroinflammatory process or brain waves abnormalities.
About the Author
Anna Kaszyńska — I am a graduate of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Warsaw, the Faculty of Artes Liberales of the University of Warsaw — implemented as part of the Interdisciplinary Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities, and at the same time a graduate of Clinical Psychology.
