In <82pvzf491t.fsf at zip.eecs.umich.edu> Michael Hucka
<hucka at eecs.umich.edu> wrote...
>>>>>> On 9 Jan 1997, mbrisbane at netcom.com (Martin Brisbane) wrote:
>> mbrisbane> Isn't it amazingly fortunate that every way that the brain can
> mbrisbane> be influenced aperceptually, IE without going through the five
> mbrisbane> senses, is either impossible or unsubtle? Unsubtle meaning, for
> mbrisbane> example, surgically implanting electrodes. Just think if that
> mbrisbane> weren't the case! Surely we'd be a planet of zombies by now!
>>I won't argue with the last sentence, but as to "subtle" manipulations of the
>brain, I think there are many ways to do it without going through the 5
>senses. Chemical means are probably the most obvious; foods and drugs can
>cause subtle changes in various aspects of brain and behavior, and most
>people probably wouldn't consider such manipulations "perceptual".
This is extremely interesting. Can you give some examples of changes
in brain and behavior resulting from foods or drugs that aren't
detected by the senses (I'm assuming that by 'brain and behavior' you
mean responses by systems within the brain to stimuli, and other
similar responses in other organs or organ systems)?
--
BTW, if you don't already know, Internet Mental Health is a
great mental illness resource at http://www.mentalhealth.com/
(and my only connection to that site is Netscape)