D.F. Swaab Quotes & Sayings

Cannabis affects the brain because brain cells themselves produce cannabis-like neurotransmitters. The first such compound to be identified was christened anandamide, ananda being Sanskrit for "bliss." The proteins that transmit anandamide's message to the brain, the receptors, are mainly located in the striatum (hence the blissful feeling) and in the cerebellum (hence the unsteady gait after taking marijuana), in the cerebral cortex (hence the problems with association, the fragmented thoughts and confusion), and in the hippocampus (hence the memory impairment). But there are no receptors in the brain stem areas that regulate blood pressure and breathing. That's why it's impossible to take an overdose of cannabis, as opposed to opiates. — D.F. Swaab

In 2004 Fox News reported that the widow married the man who'd been given her first husband's heart. Her new husband went on to kill himself in the same way as the heart's first "owner." At the age of thirty-nine, Cheryl was widowed for the second time. De Telegraaf didn't conclude from this that it might not have been easy to live with Cheryl. — D.F. Swaab