Investigating delusions What delusions can tell us about the cognitive nature ofbelief Delusions can sometimes turn into strongly held beliefs. Michael Connors and Peter Halligan, The Conversation Nov 24, 2024 7:10 am | 25 Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreBeliefs are convictions of reality that we accept as true. They provide us with the basic mental scaffolding to understand and engage meaningfully in our world. Beliefs remain fundamental to our behavior and identity but are not well understood.Delusions, on the other hand, are fixed, usually false, beliefs that are strongly held but not widely shared. In previous work, we proposed that studying delusions provides unique insights into the cognitive nature of belief and its dysfunction.Based on evidence from delusions and other psychological disciplines, we offered a tentative five-stage cognitive model of belief formation.When faced with an unexpected sensory input or social communication, we seek to account for this based on existing beliefs, memories, and other social information. We then evaluate our account in terms of how well this explains our experiences and how consistent it is with our prior beliefs. If it passes these criteria, the belief is accepted. It then guides what we pay attention to and what other ideas we may consider.We propose that delusions can arise at different stages in this model. Our approach highlights the importance of the individuals search for meaning and social context in shaping delusions. It also draws attention to the impact of a delusion, once formed, on subsequent perceptions and thinking.This model linking delusions and beliefs differs from earlier accounts that suggested delusions were distinct from belief or arise as a largely passive response to anomalous sensory input such as a hallucination. Previous research, for example, has found that some people who believed that family members were replaced by impostors (known as Capgras delusion) had deficits in processing familiar faces, which could have generated this idea.Based on this, some have suggested that other delusions arise in a similar way but in combination with an as-yet undiscovered deficit in the cognitive process of evaluating our beliefs.But these accounts didnt fully consider other contributing factors, such as the individuals prior beliefs, social context, and their personal attempts to explain their experiences.Informative case studyThe study of delusions has been informed by select informative case studies. Unlike large group studies, case studies allow researchers a more detailed exploration of the origins and course of clinical features not explained by current theories.We recently published a paper in the international journal Cortex that describes a unique case study of a woman who temporally experienced compelling delusions during a brief hospital admission for postpartum psychosis, which can give rise to hallucinations, delusions, mood swings, and confusion. This is a rare complication of pregnancy, affecting around 12 in 1,000 women, thought to be due to hormonal changes or immunological factors.Natalie (a pseudonym) had no previous medical or psychiatric history. She developed postpartum psychosis while in hospital after the birth of her second child.As part of her condition, Natalie reported several delusions, including the belief that strangers were her parents-in-law in disguise (known as Fregoli delusion). Natalie recovered quickly with treatment. The combination of interviews and observations while she was experiencing the delusions and her later retrospective account offered a unique window into the onset and experience of her delusions.Following a full recovery, Natalie confirmed that she considered her delusions to be strongly held beliefs. She likened them to her conviction that her husband was her husband. This is contrary to some views that suggested that delusions are different from normal beliefs.Natalie was able to identify specific features that contributed to her delusions. In the case of believing that strangers were her in-laws, Natalie identified mannerisms, behaviors, and speech patterns of the strangers that reminded her of her in-laws. This suggested that the delusion could have arisen from inappropriate activation of memory representations of familiar people based on these cues and other factors.Natalie also recalled other beliefs, including that she was dead (known as Cotard delusion), which she did not share with clinicians at the time. She noted that she entertained this idea due to the failure of other explanations to account for her strange experiences and an idea from a television show.Natalie said she eventually dismissed this idea as implausible while still holding other delusional ideas. This suggests that belief evaluation may involve different thresholds for different delusions. It also highlights the private nature of some delusions.Across all of her delusions, Natalie described her active involvement in trying to explain and manage her experiences. She reported considering different explanations and testing these by seeking further information. For example, she asked questions of the people she thought were her in-laws. This suggests a surprisingly similar approach to how we typically form beliefs.Natalie recalled the influence of television and movies on her ideas. She also recalled how she elaborated on her delusions, once formed, based on information in her surroundings.These features challenge theories that delusions simply arise from anomalous sensory data. They instead highlight the role of the individuals search for meaning and social context, as well as the subsequent impact of delusions on perception and thinking.ImplicationsAs a case study, Natalies experiences are not necessarily representative of all people who experience delusions or postpartum psychosis. However, Natalies case presents informative features that theories of delusions need to account for.In particular, Natalies personalized insights highlight the critical role of the individual in actively trying to understand their experiences and bestow meaning. This is opposed to just passively accepting beliefs in response to anomalous sensory data or neuropsychological deficits. This suggests psychological therapies may be useful in treating psychosis, in combination with other treatments, in some cases.More generally, Natalies account reveals commonalities between delusions and ordinary beliefs and supports the view that delusions can be understood in terms of cognitive processes across the stages of normal belief formation that we identified.While there remain challenges in investigating delusions, further study may offer insights into the underpinnings of everyday belief and, in turn, of ourselves.Michael Connors, Conjoint Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney, and Peter W Halligan, Hon Professor of Neuropsychology, Cardiff University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.Michael Connors and Peter Halligan, The Conversation The Conversation is an independent source of news and views, sourced from the academic and research community. Our team of editors work with these experts to share their knowledge with the wider public. Our aim is to allow for better understanding of current affairs and complex issues, and hopefully improve the quality of public discourse on them. 25 Comments

Go fish! Ancient fish-trapping network supported the rise of Maya civilization The Maya were landscape engineers on a grand scale, even when it came to fishing. Kiona N. Smith Nov 22, 2024 1:40 pm | 45 The Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary is a biodiverse wetland in what's now Belizebut the precursors of the Maya turned it into an industrial-scale fishing operation. Credit: Fernando Flores The Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary is a biodiverse wetland in what's now Belizebut the precursors of the Maya turned it into an industrial-scale fishing operation. Credit: Fernando Flores Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreOn the eve of the rise of the Maya civilization, people living in whats now Belize turned a whole wetland into a giant network of fish traps big enough to feed thousands of people.We already know that the Maya turned swamps into breadbaskets by draining and building raised blocks of land for maize fields. However, a recent survey of a wetland in whats now Belize suggests that the rise of the Maya civilization was fueled not just by maize but by tons of fish every year. University of New Hampshire archaeologist Eleanor Harrison-Buck and her colleagues recently mapped a network of channels and ponds for trapping fish, built just before the Maya civilization rose to prominence.Fish in a barrelHarrison-Buck and her fellow archeologists used drones and Google Earth data to map 108 kilometers of ancient channels that zigzag across 42 square kilometers of wetland in Belizes Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary. The result is a network of channels and ponds that looks remarkably like the fish traps found farther south in Bolivia, built several centuries after the ones at Crooked Tree. Radiocarbon dating of material buried in the bottom of one channel suggests that the network has been around for at least 4,000 years.If Harrison-Buck and her colleagues are right, the channels, along with a series of ponds, are a system for trapping fish by channeling receding floodwaters into the ponds. In the ponds, harvesting the fish would have been easyjust like spearing fish in a barrel (or a small pond).The Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary is a sprawling marshy grassland dotted with lakes and cut by streams. During the wet season, floods submerge the marshes and fish gather to spawn, as theyve done for thousands of years (at least). As the water recedes and the dry season sets in, retreating fish escape down the zigzag channels dug into the landscape, right into the ponds. And once the water levels drop even further, the fish in the ponds have no way to escape.Harrison-Buck and her colleagues calculated that at its peak, the system could have produced enough fish each year to feed around 15,000 people. Thats based on modern estimates of how many kilograms of fish people eat every year, combined with measurements of how many kilograms of fish people in Zambia harvest with similar traps. Of course, people at Crooked Tree would have needed to preserve the fish somehow, probably by salting, drying, or smoking them.Fisheries were more than capable of supporting year-round sedentarism and the emergence of complex society characteristic of Pre-Columbian Maya civilization in this area, write Harrison-Buck and her colleagues.When we think about the Maya economy, we think of canal networks and ditched or terraced fields. In just one patch of whats now Guatemala, a lidar survey revealed that Maya farmers drained thousands of acres of swampy wetland and built raised fields for maize, crossed by a grid of irrigation canals. To feed the ancient city of Holmul, the Maya turned a swamp into a breadbasket. But at least some of their precursors may have made it big on fish, not grain. The common feature, though, is an absolute lack of any chill whatsoever when it came to re-engineering whole landscapes to produce food. This Google Earth image shows the area containing the ancient fishery. Infrastructure built to last and lastFrom the ground, the channels that funneled fish into nearby ponds are nearly invisible today. But from above, especially during the dry season, they stand in stark contrast to the land around them, because vegetation grows rich and green in the moist soil at the base of the channels, even while everything around it dries up. That made aerial photography the perfect way to map them.In three of the channels, Harrison-Buck and her colleagues took samples of peat, which would once have lain in the bottom of the freshly dug passage, for radiocarbon testing. The results suggest that the channel had been there since at least 2000 BCE. Thats about 200 years before the start of the Formative Period, which marks the beginning of the rise of Maya civilization. (The Formative Period is also called the Preclassic Period; the period just before this is called the Archaic, so the channels were built very late in the Archaic Period.)The Maya evidently kept using the fish-trapping system even as their civilization grew and consolidated into large urban centers. Harrison-Buck and her colleagues found bits of Preclassic Maya pottery in some of the lower layers of sediment that had filled the channels, and other archaeologists have excavated once densely populated Maya communities along the shore of the Western Lagoon.Theres no sign that the Preclassic Maya did much to maintain the system of channels and ponds, though. Today, most of the channels have filled in with sediment, carried in by floodwaters, making them just subtle, curved dips in the ground, about 20 centimeters deep and 15 to 20 meters wide.But even now, the ancient channel system still works. While these features have filled in somewhat over the years, locals inform us that the ponds still concentrate fish during the dry season today, write Harrison-Buck and her colleagues.Science Advances, 2017. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adq1444 (About DOIs).Kiona N. SmithScience correspondentKiona N. SmithScience correspondent Kiona is a freelance science journalist and resident archaeology nerd at Ars Technica. 45 Comments

Nature, Published online: 21 November 2024; doi:10.1038/d41586-024-03818-zVenomous snakes kill tens of thousands of people each year. Treatments that are simpler to administer and more effective than conventional antivenom could curb this number.

Nature, Published online: 21 November 2024; doi:10.1038/d41586-024-03707-5Half a dozen drugs are in trials for conditions of the brain, but success is not guaranteed.

A DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near Lithuania's Vilnius airport.The plane was a Boeing 737 aircraft en route from Leipzig, Germany.At least one person was killed in the crash, according to multiple media reports.A DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near Lithuania's Vilnius airport, killing at least one person and injuring three others.The plane, a Boeing 737 aircraft en route from"We can confirm that today at around 4:30 am CET an aircraft of Swift Air, a third-party carrier operating under contract for DHL, which was on its way from LEJ Airport (Leipzig, Germany) to VNO Airport (Vilnius, Lithuania), made a forced landing about one kilometer from VNO Airport," a DHL spokesperson told BI."There was a total of four people on board. The status of the crew is still being clarified," the spokesperson said, adding that the cause of the accident is still unknown, and an investigation is underway.There has been at least one death as a result of the crash, the AP and Reuters reported.All 12 residents of the house that was crashed into are safe and have been evacuated, Reuters reported, citing information from a police press conference."It fell a few kilometers before the airport, it just skidded for a few hundred meters, its debris somewhat caught a residential house," said Renatas Pola, head of Lithuania's firefighting and emergency services unit, the AP reported."Residential infrastructure around the house was on fire, and the house was slightly damaged, but we managed to evacuate people," he added, per the AP. The mayor of the city, Valdas Benkunskas, told Lithuanian news broadcaster LRT that the plane had missed the house "by chance" and crashed into its courtyard instead.This story is developing. Please check back for more updates.

Children's clothes from Temu and AliExpress were found to contain toxic substances.South Korean authorities said a jacket from Temu contained 622 times the legal limit for such substances.The substances include phthalate plasticizers, lead, and cadmium, which are classified as hazardous in the country.Some children's clothes from Chinese fast fashion retailer Temu contained up to 622 times the legal limit for toxic substances, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said.The government tested 26 pieces of children's winter wear from Temu, AliExpress, and Shein and found that seven contained toxic substances like phthalate plasticizers, lead, and cadmium, per its news release on Friday.A children's jacket from Temu contained 622 times the legal limit for phthalate plasticizers, a chemical compound that makes plastics more flexible.According to the government's news release, the jacket was also found to contain lead at about 3.6 times the legal limit and cadmium at approximately 3.4 times the limit."Phthalate-based plasticizers affect reproductive functions such as sperm count reduction and can cause infertility and even premature birth," an official from Seoul's environmental health team told the AFP after an earlier investigation in August.Lead and cadmium are both hazardous carcinogenic materials, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.A jumpsuit from Temu contained 294 times the legal amount of phthalate plasticizers, the report said. The report also said a pair of children's shoes from AliExpress contained around five times more lead than is legally permitted in South Korea.Temu, which isspent millions of dollars on Super Bowl advertisements in an effort to win over the US market.In response to a request for comment from Business Insider, a Temu spokesperson said: "Of the seven products mentioned in the Seoul Metropolitan Government's recent report, two were sold on Temu.""These products had already been removed from our platform through proactive monitoring before the report was issued," the spokesperson added.An AliExpress spokesperson told BI that the platform had "cooperated with the Seoul Metropolitan Government's request to remove the affected items from sale immediately."Representatives for the Seoul authorities didn't respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.This is not the first time South Korea has found toxic chemicals in items from Chinese fast fashion brands.In August, the Seoul authorities found phthalates in some pairs of shoes, with one particular pair containing 229 times the legal limit.The same investigation revealed that sandal insoles sold by Temu contained 11 times more lead than legally permissible.And in an earlier investigation in May, Seoul officials said that they tested a pair of Shein shoes, and found that it contained 428 times the permitted levels of phthalates, according to the AFP.The company is planning to go public in the UK, eyeing a $65 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported in October. The date of the IPO has not yet been revealed.With reference to the November 22 report, a Shein spokesperson directed BI to a report by Seoul authorities showing that the tested Shein products were in compliance with regulations.

In 2023, around 2.3 billion people globally faced moderate or severe food insecurity, often going without food for an entire day or more. On the frontlines of this crisis are food banks. While the Global Food Banking Network provided 1.7 billion meals to over 40 million people in 2023, more progress is needed. So, what role should food and beverage companies play?A lot of food banks need staples like long-life milk and fresh produce, explains Rashna Shroff, Community Programs and Partnerships Manager at Nestl Australia. But often food bank organizations which rely on donations can struggle to meet demand and often look for institutional support, she adds. To support food banks in their efforts to combat food insecurity, companies like Nestl are taking action. In 2023, Nestl donated over 140 million food servings globally. Along with donating stock, a company like Nestl can do so much, Shroff shares. Our brands have intentionally fostered partnerships with food banks, our employees volunteer their time to pack food boxes or sort donations, and we also fund programs like nutrition education initiatives.Heres how thats playing out globally. In Indonesia, children face high rates of stunting due to chronic malnutrition.Nestl Indonesia is collaborating with local partner Edufarmers on their ZeroStunting program to focus on nutrition issues and bolster communities.This includes product donations and educational programs to improve nutrition awareness. And its working, one program they collaborated on lowered severe stunting rates by 28% over the course of 100 days.In the United States,one in eight peoplestruggle with hunger. Nestl USA has partnered with Feeding America, the nations largest hunger relief organization, and local food access groups like Rid-All, an urban farm in Cleveland, Ohio, to strengthen urban farming initiatives and community food systems.Down under, Nestl Australia has partnered with Foodbank Australia to mitigate a common challenge faced by food relief organizations: inconsistent food donations. Food banks often receive a random assortment of items, making it difficult for families to prepare balanced, nutritious meals. To alleviate this, Nestl Australia worked with several industry partners to develop the Maggi Hearty One Pot Casserole, a recipe base that is designed to create delicious and nutritious meals with the food found in relief packages. This is the first ever designed-for-Foodbank product, and since its creation in 2021 has helped to make more than 1.2 million meals a year. Our number one goal is to help feed more people, says Rashna Shroff. By leveraging resources like staff, inventory, and supply chains, companies can empower food banks. Successful partnerships built on strong relationships, local needs assessments, and sustainable systems, can create a lasting impact on the billions of people that need food each year.

Does Sony need a rethink? (YouTube)The Monday letters page wonders if Square Enix regrets making the Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy, as one reader tries to imagine Mario Kart 9.To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.ukGo back to go forwardAs silly as it seems to seemingly everyone else, I think we just have to accept that Sony is going ahead with the PlayStation 6 sooner than we wouldve liked and were probably going to get an official announcement much sooner than we would have expected. That also means theyve already decided what its going to be.Given the outrageous price and tiny improvements of the PS5 Pro its not hard to guess what the PlayStation 6 might turn out to be, but I really hope its not just another big plastic box that costs another 600 and barely looks any different from last gen.If I was in charge of Sony Id go with a Switch style hybrid approach and, if necessarily, make the PlayStation 6 less powerful than 5. Most PlayStation 5 games dont like any different from PlayStation 4 anyway and it seems to me theres far more to gain from making a super powerful hybrid console, that is part of the PlayStation ecosystem, than another tiny upgrade.The best thing is there is some hope that this will be their approach, with the talk of a handheld device but will Sony really be bold enough to say enough is enough and power down for the next generation? With the cost of both making and buying games it seems the only sensible approach to me.FocusSecond reinventionGreat article on the problems Nintendo is facing with Mario Kart 9 on the Switch 2. Obviously, none of us know what theyre doing, or probably has the imagination to think up a gimmick that would sell it, but to me there really doesnt seem like theres anything obvious to do.I guess going harder on online is the closest thing to an obvious route but that doesnt seem like a very Nintendo thing to do. I will be fascinated to see their approach but also what they do with a lot of their other franchises in the new generation.People rightly talk about most series having had their best entry on the Switch but where do you go from there? Most of them were good because they were a complete revamp of what had gone before but how often can you do that without either running out of ideas or coming up with a dud? I guess well see.DansonBlack Friday tipIt seems obvious to me that Square Enix regret making the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy. Its sales clearly havent been great and theyre tied into PlayStation exclusivity, so theres nothing they can do about it. Rebirth sold less than Remake and I imagine the third one will sell less again.But its a crying shame because both games are far better than I wouldve ever imagined and Rebirth is, for my money, the best game of the year.Im curious as to what lessons theyll take from the failure though. Not spending that money on remakes again, I guess, but also dont start a trilogy until you know the first one has been a hit first. I would love to see a brand new game, doesnt even have to be Final Fantasy related, in a similar style in the future but I dont know how likely that is now.If its cheap during Black Friday I recommend them both to anyone, theyre a hundred times better than Final Fantasy 16.AustinEmail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.ukJust make gamesWhilst on YouTube yesterday a video of MotoGP 23 popped up, so I thought Id have a look. Surely with graphics literally looking photorealistic like these (despite the gameplay experience appearing to be extremely dull and boring) we have absolutely no need for any new consoles to be released purely to deliver extra graphical/frame rate capabilities?!We just need big companies/developers to focus on making great games.Adams6legendNot dead yetInteresting review of a bunch of Irem games I had honestly never heard of before, but my first question was simply are Irem still going? They always seemed a weird little company, punching above their weight, back in the day and now it seems like you only ever hear about them briefly every five years or so.Are they still going and do they still make games? I guess they must do if R-Type Final 2 came out a couple of years ago? I always dreamed of a big budget 3D version of R-Type, like Star Fox but more serious, but I think I have to accept thats never happening now.R-Types graphics looked so amazing at the time and theyre one of the few old games that still looks great now. I didnt know about the connection to Metal Slug before but that makes sense, as that series always looked amazing too.GonchGC: The company does still exist, but it only licences out its properties and doesnt make the games itself. R-Type Final 2 was by Granzella, who employ a lot of ex-Irem developers and are supposed to be remastering the two R-Type Tactics games from the PSP next year.Dream adjacentInteresting feature about Star Wars Outlaws and I cant help but agree with the premise that the game wasnt anything fans were particularly excited about and to non-fans it just seemed like yet another Ubisoft open world game. Im not a Harry Potter fan but as far as I can see Hogwarts Legacy is exactly what theyve always wanted, in terms of being a student and everything, but Outlaws is definitely not a dream game for anyone.What Id add though is that not only is Outlaws annoying because it misses the mark but its annoying because of how close it gets, as if they purposefully steered it way from being something more interesting. Youre stuck playing a named character, so youre never you, and you cant actually do any crimes yourself, only what the game lets you so you cant go out looting spaceships or anything.So while the game is set in the seedy side of the Star Wars universe you dont really do anything bad, which really seems to be missing the point. You have to learn all your skills from other people, which I think is a neat way of doing it, but for some reason you know how to lock on and shoot three enemies at a time right from the start of the game.I get why they took the stealth out, because it was annoying if you failed, but it was really the only thing in the game that required any skill, so now nothing does. I didnt hate playing it but the whole time I was wishing it was something else and that makes you end up thinking its worse than it is. Just a big missed opportunity.ClydeInevitable purchaseI can completely understand why the reader blamed Xbox for Sony making a bid for FromSoftware. As soon as Microsoft let the genie out of the bottle, and started buying up everyone that wasnt nailed down, it was just a race to the bottom.Owning From wont give Sony any special stranglehold over the industry or anything but it will mean less people get to experience Froms games, and thats a shame. But whats the alternative, wait till Microsoft buy them instead? Or Tencent? Or Amazon? It has to be someone, thats the ball Microsoft set in motion and now Sony becomes the least worst option for fans.GiffordLow priorityHoping you could possibly bring to the forefront a couple of issues myself, and others, are having right now.Microsoft: Xbox 360 cloud saves on Xbox Series X. Myself and loads of others have no access to our Xbox 360 profiles and saves, making our enjoyment of playing our Xbox 360 titles obsolete (yes, some of us still play these games on the new hardware).There has never been an official announcement from Microsoft about the issue, I havent seen any articles on the issue, just forums full of people frustrated by not being able to play these titles anymore.I myself had to buy a new Xbox Series X when the old one just refused to stay powered on. One Sunday morning I was playing Portal 2, that afternoon my console just switched off and refused to stay on for more than five seconds. I bought a new console and it will just not connect to the cloud to access my Xbox 360 information, my console is currently a brick in front of the TV.PlayStation: I bought a DualSense Edge controller love my back paddles, etc.It is now over a year old, so I thought time to get some spare stick modules, just in case nobody sells them, but not even Sony so do! They havent had them in months apparently, what the flippin heck Tucker!This was a ridiculously high-priced controller bought on the promise of being able to swap out the sticks should any drifting problems arise, and now you just cannot buy the accessories the manufacturer promised us.Please ask these two multinational companies What gives?RAMB0 1ST BL00D (PSN ID)GC: Well ask someone if we get the chance, but we wish those were the worst problems Microsoft and Sony had to worry about at the moment.Inbox also-ransThe thing that amazes me about November is that this Christmas was meant to be Xboxs time to shine and what have we had? A flight sim that didnt work, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 that is super niche, Avowed which was pushed back in to next year, and Indiana Jones which is on PlayStation 5 anyway. Nice going Phil!OrionJust finished the Silent Hil 2 remake and I am thoroughly impressed. Ill be honest, I never thought Bloober Team had it in them but this is one of the best remakes Ive ever played. I dont know what they couldve done better.DaleLMore TrendingEmail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.ukThe small printNew Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Readers Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.You can also leave your comments below and dont forget to follow us on Twitter.GameCentralExclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

For three years,Arcaneviewers have become used to the hit series intro song, Enemy by Imagine Dragons and JID. Like any good opening, the song quickly implanted itself in their hearts, and whether through the visuals or just being a pretty good listen in its own right, its one of the handful of songs from the pop-rock band many would openly cop to liking. With the show now over, Riots gone and released the full version of the tune that started it all. The Enemy that plays inArcanes opening isnt entirely the same as the official track that released on digital platforms in 2021. Where the latter is unashamedly pop and like just about any other Imagine Dragons song, the shows version has more of what can only really be called a League of Legends energy. The orginals drums and plucky bass strings are replaced with an orchestral strings and trumpets, plus a ticking clock underneath JIDs verse. It all works in making this feel like a proper Arcanesong rather than a song that happens to be featured in the show. (And if not that, then a track that would open Riots now-annual Worlds championship.) Ever since their 2011 single Radioactive gained popularity, Imagine Dragons has been a punching bag of the pop music space. Their music really was basically everywhere, from car commercials to movie trailers and CW shows. Eventually, this led them to Riot Games, and they made Warriors to promote Leagues first-ever Worlds championship in 2014. According to Arcane co-creator Christian Linke last year, the team actively courted artists they were interested when it came time to build Arcanes season one soundtrack. Back then, record labels were initially uneasy about associating their artists with a cartoon from a studio no one heard of based on a game also considered niche. But as he tells it, Imagine Dragons was one of several artists who fought with their record to be included, and it paid off: Linke said Enemy was a massive streaming hit, and the band performed Enemy at the 2021 Game Awards. It defines both the show and the band, and theres a decent chance some Arcane fans were turned onto it through that song and that specific performance. By getting into bed with Riot a decade ago, Imagine Dragons set the stage for Riot and its larger transmedia ventures with League. Several artists entered Arcaneby doing Worlds songs: Pvris did 2021s Burn It All Down, and its remix featured Denzel Curry, which resulted in both subsequently joining the season one soundtrack. That trend didnt continue for the shows sophomore outing, but the reborn Linkin Parks recent Heavy is the Crown pulls double duty as a season two needle drop and the song for Worlds 2024. More substantially, Alexander Mako Seaver first featured in 2017s Legends Never Die and 2018s Rise before making his debut as a composer for the series. Alongside Alexander Temple, the two made a soundtrack that drives the shows biggest moments and which fans cant stop listening towhich likely wouldnt have existed if the Nickelback of the 2010s hadnt been the first major band Riot collaborated with for its musical endeavors.None of this is to say you should suddenly bow down at the altar of Imagine Dragons; even as someone who went through a phase with them in the 2010s, Ive pulled back from listening to them. (Their music is perfectly fine and good to have on as background noise.) Unless youre already deep in the Arcane paint, this new rendition of Enemy isnt going to be life-changing, but it does bring the band and its relationship with Riots flagship game full circle. Only question now is, what bands leading the charge for whatever the next show is? Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

Imagine stepping into the festive shopping frenzy armed with a one-year Costco Gold Star membership for just $65, and as a cherry on top, receiving a $45 digital gift card to sweeten the deal. This means youre effectively paying only $20 for a membership that opens the door to huge savings and exclusive offers. Its an opportunity available through StackSocial thats simply too good to pass up!See at StackSocialThis promotion is perfectly timed for Black Friday and allows you to secure your first great deal before heading into the bustling shopping season. By obtaining your Costco membership now, youll be ready to take full advantage of the amazing discounts that Costco is known for during this peak shopping period. With over 600 locations across the United States and over 900 worldwide, a Gold Star membership opens the door to significant savings on a wide array of products, from groceries to electronics.Exclusive Offers For Black FridayCostco is famous for its competitive pricing and high-quality products: whether youre looking for bulk food items, household essentials or even premium electronics, this membership gives you access to some of the best prices available on the market. The additional $45 digital gift card enhances this offer even further and allows you to explore Costcos extensive inventory at a cheaper price.This gift card can be used on any in-store purchase, whether youre stocking up on essentials or treating yourself to something special. Youll receive it via email within two weeks of signing up and it can be used multiple times which provides great flexibility for your holiday shopping.The Gold Star membership also includes a free household cardwhich allows you to share the benefits with a family member. This means that both you and your partner can enjoy the savings together. Furthermore, this offer is exclusively available for new members or those whose memberships have been inactive for over 18 months: its a great opportunity for newcomers to experience everything Costco has to offer while inviting back former members who may have let their memberships lapse.Even if you decide not to upgrade to an Executive membershipwhich costs $130 and offers additional benefits (youll also get a $45 digital card)the Gold Star membership still provides great savings throughout the year. With access to Costcos unbeatable prices on a variety of products and services, including gas stations and pharmacies, members can save significantly on everyday purchases.See at StackSocial