As a consequence of natural analgesic actions or as a result of the administration of drugs that interfere with body signaling (painkillers, anesthetics), the brain receives a distorted view of what the body state really is at the moment. We know that in situations of fear in which the brain chooses the running option rather than freezing, the brain stem disengages the part of the pain-transmission circuitry, a bit like pulling the plug. The periqueductal gray, which controls these responses, can also command the secretion of natural opioids and achieve precisely what taking an analgesic would achieve -- elimination of pain signals. In the strict sense, we are dealing here with a hallucination of the body because what the brain registers in its maps and the conscious mind feels do not correspond to the reality that might be perceived. Whenever we ingest molecules the have the power to modify the transmission or mapping of body signals, we play on this mechanism. Alcohol does it; so do analgesics and anesthetics, as well as countless drugs of abuse. It is patently clear that, other than out of curiousity, humans are drawn to such molecules because of their desire to generate feelings of well-being, feelings in which pain signals are obliterated and pleasure signals induced. .Anonymous
About This Quote
A hallucination is a perception of something that does not exist. The brain creates an image, usually of a person or thing, that does not exist. The brain then produces the belief that this image is real, although it is not. A hallucination can be frightening or comforting depending on the context.
If you see your dead grandmother in your house, it is comforting. But if you see someone threatening you with an ax, it is terrifying. From the time we are young children, our minds are filled with images all throughout our lives.
These images are created by things around us and people around us. Some images are created by the media that we watch on television or on the computer screen on our computer everyday. Other images that are created are from people that we meet on our everyday lives.
These images changes each day depending on what is happening at the time in our lives.
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