Thread by @ejustin46

NO PROTECTION AGAINST SARS-COV-2 / DOPAMINE DROP / DOPAMINERGIC NEURONAL LOSS ?

This is only a hypothesis, but it is shocking, that the majority of the world's population has decided, to no longer protect themselves, against one of the most dangerous viruses.

2) Admittedly, when we study the history of pandemics, after a certain time, there has often been a relaxation of protective measures, linked to "pandemic fatigue".

3) But if pandemic fatigue alone wasn't enough to explain the phenomenal risk most people take by not protecting themselves ?
To try to understand, we must first go back to the construction of "habits" in our brain.
There are 3 stages.

4) Stage 1. As we repeat a behavior, a feedback loop between the sensorimotor cortex and the striatum becomes strongly engaged, which helps us stamp routines into a single unit, or chunk, of brain activity. The chunk partly relies on "dopamine input" from the midbrain.

5) Stage 2. New behavior explored: The prefrontal cortex communicates with the striatum, and the striatum communicates with the midbrain, where "dopamine" aids learning and assigns value to goals.

6) Stage 3. Habit imprinted and permitted.
Aided by "dopamine", the infralimbic cortex also seems to control when to allow us to engage in a habit; shutting down this region can suppress deeply ingrained routines.

7) In terms of habit formation, for example the habit of protecting or no longer protecting oneself, dopamine plays a decisive role.
This is not new and we know the major role of dopamine for motivation and conversely its role in depression.
healthdirect.gov.au/dopamine#:~:te…

8) I will certainly be criticized for such an extreme hypothesis but several studies show that SARS-COV-2 attacks in the brain the mechanisms of regulation of dopamine.
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

9) "Yang et al. demonstrated that a Spike-enabled pseudo-entry virus is able to infect dopaminergic neurons"

Fig. SARS-CoV-2 antigens were detected in both dopaminergic and non-dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra nature.com/articles/s4153…

10) "Our findings expand the knowledge about the neurodegenerative process that the SARS-CoV-2 virus can induce, especially to dopaminergic neurons, underlying long-term neurological impairment in COVID-19 patients."
biorxiv.org/content/10.110…

11) "Dopamine Transmission Imbalance in Neuroinflammation: Perspectives on Long-Term COVID-19"
mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/6…

12) "SARS-CoV-2 Infection Causes Dopaminergic Neuron Senescence"
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

13) I repeat that this is only a hypothesis.
Has infection with the Dopaminergic Neuron SARS-COV-2 caused a drop in dopamine levels in many individuals, and caused a change in their risk compartment?
I will let the experts answer this question.

Thanks for reading 🙏

14) FYI
@MeetJess @LauraMiers @elisaperego78 @DavidJoffe64 @xabitron1 @HarrySpoelstra @1goodtern @0bj3ctivity @_ppmv @Alitis__ @FLAHAULT @Antonio_Caramia @mrmickme @C_A_Gustave @arijitchakrav

@MeetJess @LauraMiers @elisaperego78 @DavidJoffe64 @xabitron1 @HarrySpoelstra @1goodtern @0bj3ctivity @_ppmv @Alitis__ @FLAHAULT @Antonio_Caramia @mrmickme @C_A_Gustave @arijitchakrav NEW STUDY !

"SARS-CoV-2 hampers dopamine production in iPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons"

SARS-CoV-2 infection of dopaminergic neurons sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

@MeetJess @LauraMiers @elisaperego78 @DavidJoffe64 @xabitron1 @HarrySpoelstra @1goodtern @0bj3ctivity @_ppmv @Alitis__ @FLAHAULT @Antonio_Caramia @mrmickme @C_A_Gustave @arijitchakrav DYSFUNCTION of DOPAMINERGIC system = RISK TAKING while SEEKING REWARD

We mentioned it at the start of this thread. Part of the population is taking risks in the face of the virus in search of an easy life. This study sheds new light on this subject.
nature.com/articles/s4158…