**Neurochemistry that protect the brain can also unintentionally case problems.** [[5-HT2AR]] #schizophrenia - Activation of the 5-HT2ARs that underlie PiMSs likely has both neuroprotective and neuroplastic effects, probably mediated by common downstream mechanisms, such as the [release](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1179069518800508) of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a protein that promotes both the survival of neurons as well as the growth and maintenance of synaptic connections. In this way, a near-death experience during cardiac arrest or an experience of time expansion during a car crash could be the subjective correlate of a brain protecting itself from immediate damage, and yet also provide an added opportunity for learning. The US neuropharmacologist Kevin Murnane [suggests](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6422730/) that 5-HT2AR activation in response to extreme danger promotes fast and drastic learning conducive both to survival and also, unfortunately, to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder. Similarly, stressful events may provide an opportunity for post-traumatic growth or positive personality change. - For example, dopamine signalling regulated by the 5-HT2AR could play a key role in resolving acute distress or confusion, _and_ _yet_ a developmental dysregulation of these systems by stress or drugs in genetically susceptible individuals could eventually lead to psychosis and require antipsychotic intervention. [[What a spiritual high shares with a mental breakdown Aeon Essays]]