halorhodopsin

hmm. tDCS and DBS are certainly really interesting technologies, but i still don't see them having any recreational mechanism. in the case that they can act as monoamine releasing agents, the absolute best case is that you can make a meth-band.

the second study is completely irrelevant to the point you were trying to make. not trying to be mean but i just don't understand how a study about the efficacy of tDCS in studies is related to possible recreational effects from tDCS/DBS.

seriously. the guy just enjoys literature and words. anyone who writes a sentence with a structure like "this was always work that needed doing, and has value thereby" is not automatically pretentious...they are just probably a writer.

i'm not convinced. the "high" of alcohol and benzodiazepenes is caused by GABA receptor agonism. the "high" of MDMA is caused by serotonin reuptake inhibition and dopamine release. the "high" of Ketamine is caused by NMDA receptor antagonism. the "high" of psychedelics like LSD or DMT are caused by a unique cocktail of selective agonism of serotonin, dopamine, and adrenergic receptor subtypes, and so on.

the one common element is that all "highs" are caused by ligands with very specific molecular properties binding to neurotransmitters. a headband will never be able to bind to a neurotransmitter.

well, it's not really paranoid stupidity. these resources were used against the Occupy movement. if you look at the 70's, COINTELPRO was created to squash domestic dissenting groups such as the Black Panthers, to great effect.

our government is perfectly fine with suppressing dissent, and the fate of the Occupy movement shows this - a government would not use undercover police, agent provocateurs, destabilizing tactics, etc. if they tolerated dissent. in my city, the local police intentionally broke up homeless camps and moved them near or into the Occupy tent camp, straining the Occupy resources. Then, when the homeless people inevitably did drugs or were publicly intoxicated in the camp, the police came in and started arresting people left and right for drug possession, intoxication, etc. this did a fantastic job of breaking up our local protest.