Most people seem to become much more confident on this drug. I hear there are other stimulants that increase confidence as well. Does this mean confidence is a biochemical concept and state? What about people who are naturally confident when sober? What kind of biochemstry do their brains have in order to have and maintain that confidence? It's fascinating that a substance could do that.
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Well the entire experience of consciousness is rooted in the brain which is a bioelectrochemical system so yes.
It would be hard to say what causes increased confidence in sober individuals but from looking at what MDMA does you could say higher levels of serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine, perhaps.
It's a little more complex than that though as although these are the primary observable functions of MDMA in the brain, this causes a cascade of other alterations such as oxytocin release and hormonal changes, and if you look at it from an what happens ultimately on MDMA, going by the recent brain imaging work of David Nutt, what's happening is there is a massive reduction in function of the amygdala, or 'lizard brain'.
So it's hard to say where the effects are coming from, from the actual release of neurotransmitters themselves or from the reduction in functioning of the amygdala that happens as a result.
Also, a more confident sober individual may have this altered brain functioning from the environment they have grown up in and the environment they currently spend their lives in, the kind of things they do and people they spend their time with, they weren't necessarily born that way.
It would be hard to say what causes increased confidence in sober individuals but from looking at what MDMA does you could say higher levels of serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine, perhaps.
It's a little more complex than that though as although these are the primary observable functions of MDMA in the brain, this causes a cascade of other alterations such as oxytocin release and hormonal changes, and if you look at it from an what happens ultimately on MDMA, going by the recent brain imaging work of David Nutt, what's happening is there is a massive reduction in function of the amygdala, or 'lizard brain'.
So it's hard to say where the effects are coming from, from the actual release of neurotransmitters themselves or from the reduction in functioning of the amygdala that happens as a result.
Also, a more confident sober individual may have this altered brain functioning from the environment they have grown up in and the environment they currently spend their lives in, the kind of things they do and people they spend their time with, they weren't necessarily born that way.
Don't forget that neurotransmitters go both ways in that they can both excite other neurons therefore stimulating them into action or inhibit other neurons reducing their activity. Like you said MDMA reduces functioning in the amygdala. It's possible that MDMA's specific neurotransmitter release profile inhibits the activity of neurons in the amygdala responsible for processing social fear. So I don't think it's an "either or" situation here but instead two sides of the same coin which probably was what you were getting at anyway? Neurons typically work in large interconnected networks. All it takes is one significant neural change within a network to change how the other neurons in that network are acting to ultimately change how you're thinking and feeling. Drugs serve to cause these significant neural changes.
Yes and no. How confident you're feeling will reflect what's going on in your brain but don't forget that things going on around you and various other external factors can influence what's going on in your brain. So while yes it's probably correct to say 'it's all just a biochemical state' it's somewhat simplifying it. That biochemical state is highly sensitive and not just predetermined. It does however mean that confidence can be temporarily modified through drug usage. I think we've all experienced that.
Yeah but it's a bioelectrochemical system highly interactive and sensitive to the outside world. Like I said, calling everything biochemical is oversimplifying the matter. It's a pretty complex interactive relationship between genes, neurotransmitters and external influences (such as life experiences).
It is possible that confident sober individuals express higher natural concentrations of these transmitters but remember that confidence can be very contextual. I'm sure we can all relate to being confident in one situation and not-so in another. Having confidence in a situation is very often the by-product of experiencing that situation previously and having positive experiences in that situation. These experiences then change how your brain responds to these situations in the future so these experiences effectively shape your future 'biochemical state'. It's also possible that people you think are 'more confident' are simply faking it and are just better at doing activities they're not comfortable nor confident doing. It's hard to know exactly how people are feeling.
Most definitely. It's the developing relationship between your genetic make-up and your upbringing and experiences. This relationship is two-way which makes developmental neuroscience very complex. Certain experiences might cause a change in the way your genes express themselves and therefore a change in how you develop causing you to become a different person which then causes you to engage in different activities which can then serve to change how your genes express themselves again. And so the cycle continues. This is why upbringing is so important because the brain and development is most susceptible to change when you're young and growing up.
Jabberwocky
Frumious Bandersnatch
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Amygdala -- fear center -- should I? what happens if I? == uncertainty with overactive amygdala , uncertainty = low confidence
Wow that was very informative, thanks everyone! So glad there are such knowledgeable people on this forum. The other funny thing I noticed was normally extroverted and boisterous people that can even be abrasive at times become quieter and sweet (even their voices are softer and warmer) while normally introverted people become highly extroverted, loud and display an air of swagger, LOL. It can really change people eh!