Preference Prefrontal cortex

Sanchez C.J., Bailie T.M., Wu W.R., Li N., Sorg B.A. Manipulation of dopamine dl-like receptor activation in the rat medial prefrontal cortex alters stress- and cocaine-induced reinstatement of conditioned place preference behavior. Neuroscience. 119 497, 2003. 

The distinction between standard and non-standard pathways is caused by the prefrontal cortex with its different pre-activation of memory sets. On the other hand, the early sensory areas are prefered to recruit the basic elements of memory sets because of their earlier activation. Perhaps memory sets which are born first in ontogenesis have to age and die first, memory sets which are born later, may live longer. Perhaps this process is accelerated in patients with schizophrenia. Healthy subjects who grow old and loose their memory sets do not become paranoid because their neuromodulatory system has aged too, only people with an asynchronous decay of the memory sets and the neuronmodulatory system can experience these symptoms. 

The non-start up opens the door for the later stimulus elements being activated with their additional meanings (and dangers). If the advantage of time cannot be used, then all areas should have the same probability of being read by the prefrontal cortex. But patients with schizophrenia prefer the late sensory areas. Therefore these areas must have an unknown advantage. Perhaps the connections between the early sensory elements and the memory sets are not present any more (either functional or structural). In this case the later sensory elements have to substitute for the earlier elements. 

Dopamine increases the contrast in the prefrontal cortex, norepinephrine in the posterior cortex. This means that dopamine prefers the standard pathways and abolishes the non-standard ones (emergency reaction). If the standard pathways are not available any more, an increase of dopamine changes the quality of the nonstandard pathways they become stronger and the danger is that they become un-... 

What can sleep neurophysiology and the new neuropsychology tell us about lucid dreaming, and how can we use that information to increase our access to that state And what, beyond entertainment, can we learn about the brain-mind from a scientific exploration of lucid dreaming The last question has one ready answer by placing experienced lucid dreamers in a PET scanner (or preferably an fMRI), we could test the hypothesis that, when lucid, dreamers increase the blood flow to their dorsolateral prefrontal cortices as that cortex reactivates to a level consistent with wake state executive function. 

---