Amerika

It turns out that the dopamine hits from social activity can alter our brains and make us addicted to the approval of the herd. This habit-forming activity causes us to gradually begin to act as others want us to act, unless we actively resist it.

It turns out that a Pavlovian reaction occurs to positive stimulus, including social actions:

Researchers uncovered how shifting levels of a brain protein called KCC2 can reshape the way cues become linked with rewards, sometimes making habits form more quickly or more powerfully than expected. When this protein drops, dopamine neurons fire more intensely, strengthening new associations in ways that resemble how addictive behaviors take hold. Rat studies showed that even brief, synchronized bursts of neural activity can amplify reward learning, offering insight into why everyday triggers, like a morning routine, can provoke strong cravings.

To better understand this relationship, researchers studied rodent brain tissue and monitored the behavior of rats during Pavlovian cue-reward tests. In these classic experiments, a brief sound alerts the rats that a sugar cube is on the way. Beyond analyzing how KCC2 affects the pace of neuron firing, the investigators discovered that neurons firing in a coordinated pattern can amplify dopamine activity in a surprising way. Short bursts of dopamine appear to serve as potent learning signals that help the brain assign meaning and value to shared experiences.

In other words, mind control exists: when the group bestows approval, the brain amplifies dopamine activity, and this forms an addictive habit which then regulates future behavior.

If you wonder why humans in groups tend to converge on the same pathologies, this mechanism explains how socializing works like mind control and makes conformists of us all.

Tags: conformity, KCC2, mind control, pavlovian response, social control