Case in Point: The Biology of Substance Issues Meets "Us vs. Them Thinking" --- & A modern take on Loyalty & Fealty

​We're going to be looking at Substance Abuse and its relationship to Neuro-Endocrine and Neuro-Immune Pathways.

Also, the DISPARITIES with regard to DRUG ENFORCEMENT are fairly well established..

It's hard if not next to impossible to understand what is going on in this Country with regard not only to Criminal Justice BUT ALSO the Society At Large --- if you don't start addressing:

• UNCONSCIOUS BIAS
• US vs. THEM Thinking
• and a Society of Lawyers, Advocates, and At Will Employees in which everyone has taken an OATH of LOYALTY & FEALTY --- and few are really free to speak their minds without fear of losing their jobs.   
• Further, educated professions such as LAW & Mental Health are making rudimentary logical mistakes --- but it is difficult to address if we're unwilling to address UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS that don't look so good anymore.

Tolstoy had an interesting REMEDY for US vs. Them Thinking and it was that God was on the SIDE of the UNDERDOG.

As soon as the UNDERDOG got the upper hand, it switched --- and God was on the SIDE of the NEW UNDERDOG.   

I think one of the ways this is borne out in a way is that we are UNAWARE of our UNCONSCIOUS BIASES --- but those on the receiving end are AWARE --- and sooner or later that KNOWLEDGE is going to turn into POWER. ​

​What Is the "Us Against Them" Mentality?

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​Effects of prenatal immune activation on amphetamine-induced addictive behaviors: Contributions from animal models (2021)

Abstract

Background:  Prenatal environmental adversities may affect brain development and are associated with increased risk for schizophrenia, an illness with 50% comorbidity with addiction.

Maternal immune activation by poly-inosinic-citidilic acid (Poly(I:C)) exposure can promote behavioral alterations consistent with schizophrenia symptoms in rodents.

.  .  .

​Conclusions: Prenatal administration of Poly(I:C) is able to potentiate vulnerability to addiction in two animal models, without however modulating stereotyped behavior.

​Neuroendocrine and immune pathways from pre- and perinatal stress to substance abuse (2018)

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​Neuroimmune Mechanisms as Novel Treatment Targets for Substance Use Disorders and Associated Comorbidities (2021)