L-- Abstract No:1321
The purpose of this project was to investigate the psychological and physical effect of training of body awareness and slow stretching on persons with secondary brain injury. Body-mind oriented therapies as relaxation training and certain forms of visualization and meditation are gaining popularity in the treatment and prevention of somatic and psychic disorders. In this paper a new method of self-regulation, Inner Body-Awareness and Meditative Stretching is presented. Meditative stretching is a slow, rhythmic stretching routine synchronized with deep, slow breathing and positive mental focus. The technique is introduced and psychological and physiological studies on the technique are presented. These studies suggest that this form of body-mind oriented training may elicit a state of well-being and "relaxed alertness" in persons with secondary brain injury. The technique seems to further the ability to mental relaxation (significantly higher alpha wave production in the front of the brain), to lower the general tension of the body (significantly lower Emg on M. Frontalis) and to increase the physical condition, even if it was a non aerobic technique. There was a significant descent of state anxiety (Stai ). There was a significant here and now effect on reducing anxiousness (Macl factor 1) and a positive here and now effect on the mood, better humour and less fatigue ( Macl factor 2 and factor 3). There was no effect on creativity as measured with the Rat creativity test. Subjective evaluation of the technique and the influence on resources in the everyday life was very positive from all subjects.
Key words: Secondary brain injury, Body Awareness Training, Stretching, Visualisation, Alpha %, Emg, anxiety (Stai), anxiousness (Macl factor 1), mood (Macl factor 2) fatigue ( Macl factor 3).
L-- Abstract No:1325
Theories trying to explain consciousness differ widely in view of the epistemological ratio between data-language and the use of hypothetical terms. Regarding this balance the attempt of finding formal similarities between the languages of physics, chemistry, neurobiology etc. on the one hand and psychological languages on the other needs precise statements on the part of psychology to validate its hypothetical constructs. The development of Psychoanalysis and its schools illustrate the topic in question: At the beginning there was the inspiration of connections between physiological parameters and metaphorical formulations; however, further elaboration of psychoanalytic ideas showed an increasing tendency of using analogies as explanatory means. This happened because the emphasis on unconscious forces at the expense of conscious processes needed phenomenological methods which had utmost subjective and linguistic character - theories of depth psychology became less and less capable to relate their insights to physiological processes. The question arises whether - in a new perspective - elements of their theories have a hitherto unconsidered potential for an synopsis between phenomenological descriptions and a physiological *matrix *. One promising area of psychoanalytic research in this respect - till today only handled metaphorically - is the prenatal stage though FREUD himself already considered the intrauterine stage to be the origin of psychodynamics. And a contemporary psychoanalyst - LORENZER - supposes that FREUD's mythologies on the origin of the ego could be formulations of nondescribable intrauterine occurrences. Similarly, the great PIAGET insisted that the prenatal stage underlies the organisa*tion of schemata throughout the stages of development. But FREUD and PIAGET probably had to quit further considerations on this topic because they saw prenatal development to be extremely determined by maturation factors. Nevertheless, some of the prenatal characteristics of human are striking when compared with prenatal characteristics of apes - bearing in mind that about 98% of the apes' genetic material is identical with that of men. These peculiarities (e.g. premature genital maturation steps), spread over many weeks of the fetal stage, are data one can interprete from a psychological standpoint. In this view they may seem to be physiological counterparts of archaic prototypes of FREUD´s and PIAGET´s psychological formulations of mechanisms like *introjection*/*projection* and *assimilation*/*accomodation*. This paper hypothesizes: firstly, that the encounter of organic events in prenatal life leads to an interference pattern inasmuch as parts of the neuro-system since then almost permanently endeavour to discriminate between biological significances of these events; secondly, that by means of this process of discrimination physiological substrata of affective and symbolic attributes of consciousness are generated. Consequently, the genesis of consciousness seems to be a result of prenatal organic learning the conditions of which is determed by genetic material.
L-- Abstract No:1327
Four substantial philosophical implementations of blindsight are considered: Conscious inessentialism, conscious modularism, Block's distinction between a- and p-consciousness, and Dennett's position, which substitutes informational content for consciousness. The paper argues, that a hypothetical superblindsighter is not perceptual conscious, even though his belief contents in one sense will be as informational rich as a normal sighted person's. The crucial point is, that perceptual consciousness is indexical in a way non-perceptual beliefs are not. When perceptual beliefs are reported and individuated as states, the indexical character of the contents is lost. Conscious perception involves beliefs, but cannot from a first person point of view be adequately analysed as belief-acquisition. Some experiential-based arguments for this claim can be demonstrated, and a theory which substitutes informational content for consciousness is therefore wrong. It is further argued, that Block's distinction between a- and p-consciousness is somewhat arbitrary. Although a Kantian-like analysis of perceptual content is favoured, I will not claim that conscious modularism is true. Here Block was right: The blindsighter's lack of consciousness and reduced behavioural capabilities are not necessarily connected. So conscious inessentialism and conscious modularism are both still up for election.
L-- Abstract No:1328
Previous work from our group has demonstrated the profound and persistent neural and psychological changes induced by early trauma in EEG evidence of asymmetric hemispheric activation during the recall of past trauma, as well as abnormal hemispheric coherence and reductions in the size of the corpus callosum in abused and neglected children treated at McLean Hospital (1). Functional hemispheric asymmetry resulting from childhood abuse may play a role in altered states of consciousness and emotional regulation. Schiffer (2) has recently reported in 70 psychotherapy patients, changes in anxiety levels induced by selective left or right lateral visual field stimulation. In psychiatric interviews 40 of the 70 patients manifested personality changes such that one lateral view induced a more mature world view and greater sense of security while the other view induced a less mature and anxious perspective.
As part of our ongoing study of early abuse on brain development, Schiffer et al (3) found that left or right visual stimulation altered the affect and theta EEG laterality of college students. On a separate day each subject underwent an echo planar fMRI scan using a unique T2 stepping procedure to assess T2 relaxation time as an indirect non-invasive estimate of basal blood perfusion in each hemisphere and in anterior temporal lobe (ATL) (GE 1.5T Signa scanner with Advanced NMR systems whole body echo planner coil). Right-sided resting ATL blood flow determined by baseline fMRI appeared to predict EEG and affect responses to lateral visual field stimulation (4). In normal students fMRI analysis indicated an extremely tight coupling between right and left hemisphere T2 measurements (r = 0.995) with a slope that is extremely close to unity (b=1.048). In contrast, abused subjects had a lower correlation (r=0.861) and flatter slope, indicating an excess of right hemispheric activity.
Taken together these findings support Schiffer's view (5) that our two hemispheres are like dual joined minds, or mental Siamese twins, who learn in early life to harmoniously share their unique specializations. This harmony is disrupted by abuse or traumatic events which can unbalance the twins and lead to pathological struggles for emotional dominance resulting in a wide range of personality disorders, as well as altered states of consciousness. For example, one twin, the right in many cases, may retain the memory of abuse or trauma and as a result be functionally less mature. In times of stress or anger, it may take control, sabotaging the good efforts of the more mature personality resulting in acts of violence, child abuse, self-destructive behavior or the appearance of alters. Interhemispheric struggles, primarily a result of child abuse, may be the psychological root of drug addiction (6), personality disorders or other dissociated states of consciousness. (Supported by a supplement to [MHT's] NIMH ROI-53636 supporting the recruitment of individuals with disabilities into biomedical research careers.).
1) Teicher MH, Ito Y, Glod CG, Andersen SL, Dumont N, Ackerman E. Preliminary evidence for abnormal cortical development in physically and sexually abused children using EEG coherence and MRI. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1997. 821: 160-175.
2) Schiffer F. Affect changes observed with right versus left lateral visual field stimulation in psychotherapy patients: possible physiological, psychological, and therapeutic implications. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 1997. 38: 289-295.
3) Schiffer F, Anderson CM, Teicher MH. EEG, Bilateral ear temperature, and affect changes induced by lateral visual field stimulation. J Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience (submitted).
4) Schiffer F, Anderson CM, Renshaw PF, Maas LC, Teicher MH, fMRI correlates with EEG and affect responses to lateral visual field stimulation, 1998 APA abstract (submitted).
5) Schiffer F. (in press) In Your Right Mind, Free Press:New York.
6) Anderson, CM Ibogaine therapy in chemical dependency and posttraumatic stress disorder: a hypothesis involving the fractal nature of fetal REM sleep and interhemispheric reintegration. MAPS (in press), (http:// remfractal.mclean.org:8080/ibogaine.html) or (http://www.maps.org/news-letters).
L-- Abstract No:1329
Consciousness, in a global sense is a property of all living systems, where differentiating self from others begins with gene duplication and advances to its apex in our own species. Our cognitive styles are rooted in biology and interact differently with experience to affect the way in which we interpret our world. Our studies have identified a familial trait, "Inverted Directional Processing (IDP)" that is a factor in language based learning disabilities that constitute a major communicative gateway. We have developed a diagnostic test using motor directionality as a diagnostic instrument (REFC). Inconsistencies in directional processing involving fine and gross motor movements as related to visual tracking and kinesthetic and aural feedback are often at the root of these disabilities, resulting in skewed cognitive awareness. For example, think of the letter "b" as set in a 3-dimensional plane. The "b" can be produced following the front of the image, the inside of the image, or the back of the image and still appear on the paper in the same orientation. The difference is that in the first example the "b" has been drawn on the top of the plane using a continual clockwise, wrist-up hand rotation. In the second example it is produced following the inside of the image in a governing counter clockwise direction. In the third example it is made as though from the back of the image using an inverted hand position and governing counterclockwise directional movement. Each production might be involved in understanding the symbol. The inability to remember the process in its properly matched orientation could cause the inverted movement to produce a reversal of the symbol which then has a sound value represented by the letter "d". We present statistical evidence that many individuals identified as language impaired display motor directional inconsistencies, and some have physical characteristics with possible aberrant kinesthetic feedback (see photos). Thus biologically based IDP imposes styles of cognitive processing affecting conscious perception and communicative abilities that help to define the "self".
* The Directional Motor Link in Reading Disabilities; Rowe A. Young And Benson E. Ginsburg from Temporal Information Processing the Nervous System: Special Reference to Dyslexia and Dysphasia. Volume 682 of the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences; June 14, 1993
L-- Abstract No:1330
We propose a coding for color qualia based on spatio-temporal neural activities. The basic assumption is that a state in neural activity space-time is identical to a mental state (c.f. identity theory, the neuron doctrine in perception). Our view is that qualia is coded by a "natural coding" in the sense that there is no arbitrariness involved in the correspondence between a spatio-temporal neural firing pattern and a quale. We investigate the mathematical principles that underlie this correspondence.
It is customary to construct a system of Cartesian coordinates with N neurons. It is then often assumed that a neural/mental state is represented by a point in the activity space. A tacit assumption there is that different points in the Cartesian space represent different mental states. This assumption, however, is too strong, since a set of points in the Cartesian frame can possibly represent a unique mental state. The essential task is to find an appropriate space in which a point uniquely represents a set of neural activities which would then be identical to a mental state. A problem here is that there is no guarantee that a set of neural firings can be appropriately described within a single system of coordinates. For example, there is no significance, as far as we are interested in the neural correlates of mental activities, to describe neural firings in two individual's brain within a single system of coordinates. We therefore have to find a gluing condition for a set of neural activities, which results in a classification of qualia. Assuming Mach's principle as applied to neural activity space-time, we derive a generic formalism by the method of moving coordinate system. We can define distance in each local space based on the local neural activities. Adjacent local spaces are then glued via the overlapping space.
Our basic assumption is that a moving coordinate is identical to a particular quale. A particular null-geodesic (ds=0) of neural activity pattern provides a particular subjective color. A temporal sequence of neural activity represents a moving point which perambulates along the null-geodesic. It is predicted that no matter when/where the point is in the null-geodesic, the subject (=neural network) experiences the identical color quale. The manifold of color qualia is constructed by such geodesics.
In our present mathematical formalism, the perception of objects with multiple features are naturally coherent. Though each attribute of a percept is a projection subspace of the manifold, we can never divide/decompose a point in the manifold into the parts. Obviously the so-called binding problem is not a problem in our scheme.
Our view is that the manifold can be interpreted as the coding for the color qualia determined by nature. In other words, the algebraic structure of the manifold would be mapped one-by-one to the color qualia.
L-- Abstract No:1331
My work explores, in a speculative way, the existence of consciousness in non-organic matter. The Greeks made a fairly arbitrary distinction between animate and inanimate matter, based on their understanding of what constitutes life. Still today we adhere to those classifications, even though there is mounting evidence that the same characteristics that constitute life on the macro level, are equally observed on the micro scale. In modern science the difference between living and non living things is blurred. More recently evidence is mounting that on the micro level of the smallest particles characteristics that constitute life and consciousness are equally observed.
This paper will give an account of what we know, what has been speculated and what can be expected. Quantum animism is discussed in the larger frame of a new philosophy called Transcendental Perspectivism. A mathematical model is introduced that incorporates the results of quantum animism while making predictions for the macroworld as well.
L-- Abstract No:1332
In previous research I have argued that a naturally occurring "virtual" reality (i.e., lucid dreaming) is a bridge to the experience of higher states of consciousness (Gackenbach, 1991). Lucid dreaming, awareness of dreaming while still in the dream state, is a preliminary indicate of the development of higher states of consciousness therefore understanding its nature, development, context as well as access issues is important.
It has been pointed out that based on the cognitive science (mental model) understanding of our sense of self in the world that our perception of reality is a construction, a best guess. Lucid dreaming is another such construction with a different set of input variables than those experienced while awake. Virtual reality (VR), and especially full immersive VR, potentially offers practice in maneuvering around in, as well as being in, "artificial" or perhaps "alternative" realities and is discussed in the VR literature as telepresence. It may well be that such VR practice would translate into more accurate state recognition in dreams (i.e., an increase in lucid dreams). One of the areas where we see such extensive practice is in video game playing which may be associated with an increase in lucid dreaming frequency and related states of consciousness.
There are other lines of evidence which further support this hypothesis such as research on the relationship between performance on such games and intelligence. Jackson, Vernon, and Jackson (1993) explored performance of computer game-like measures of dynamic spatial ability, which assess judgments about moving visual displays. These are linked to measures of reaction time and speed of mental processing, which in turn are thought to be linked with general measures of intellectual ability. The major work in the area is being done by Greenfield and associates and is summarized in "Volume 11 of Advances in Applied Developmental Psychology: Interacting with Video." The conclusion is that video game play increases choice reaction time, spatial skills, scientific problem solving skills, and intelligence (Greenfield & Cocking, 1996).
In research involving individuals who have developed their individual consciousness beyond what most of us experience (i.e., by the regular and long term practice of meditation), a choice reaction time task was used to determine if these people had higher general intelligence. Other studies have shown that those who have these sophisticated spatial skills with high choice reaction time are more intelligent in a global sense. This body of work has shown that those with developed individual consciousness show higher levels of what is called EEG coherence and that such EEG coherence surges, and the associated higher states of consciousness, have also been found to be associated with higher performance on spatial intelligence tests like the Raven's Progressive Matrices test and choice reaction time correlates to such performance as well (Cranson, Orme-Johnson, Gackenbach, Dillbeck, Jones, & Alexander, 1991).
Preliminary factor analysis of self-report data gathered on the internet supports the hypothesized relationship between video game playing and lucid dreaming.
This does not imply that simply playing video games will result in an expanded consciousness in some developmentally superior way. However, we must wonder if that activity will function as a cultural amplifier affecting these children's experiences of such states of being. It may be that another way the technological matrix, sometimes discussed as global brain, will interact in deeply profound ways with the wet brain matrix will be in the wiring of neural networks to create new and unknown outcomes.
References
Cranson, R.W., Orme-Johnson, D., Gackenbach, J., Dillbeck, M.C., Jones, C.H. & Alexander, C. (1991). Transcendental meditation and improved performance on intelligence-related measures: A longitudinal study. Personality and Individual Differences, 12(10), 1105-1116.
Gackenbach, J.I. (1991). A developmental model of consciousness in sleep: From sleep consciousness to pure consciousness. In J.I. Gackenbach and A. Sheikh (Eds.), Dream images: A call to mental arms. N.Y.: Baywood.
Greenfield, Patricia M. & Cocking, Rodney R. (Eds.) (1996). Interacting with video. Advances in applied developmental psychology, vol. 11. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corp.
Jackson, Douglas N III; Vernon, Philip A; & Jackson, Douglas N. (1993). Dynamic spatial performance and general intelligence. Intelligence, 17(4), pp. 451-460.
L-- Abstract No:1333
Although REST(Restricted Environmental Stimulation Technique) has been the subject of a multitude of research studies and has been shown to be useful in clinical applications much of the public's awareness of the floatation tank experience stems from the movie Altered States. And, it is often in the hope of producing unique, stimulating and consciousness altering states that many people decide to float. For many individuals, floating becomes a "done that," once in a lifetime experience when they emerge from the Epsom salt waters relaxed though certainly not significantly "altered." However, many regular floaters often experience heightened states of awareness and unusual mental phenomena. In an effort to examine these unique states in a controlled setting it was important to develop a technique in which these ephemeral states could be reliably and regularly facilitated. Following then, is 1) an introduction to the Alternate Waking States Induction Method (AWSIM), a technique which has proven effective in the engendering of "altered" states of consciousness in individuals while floating, 2) initial findings of AWSIM research, 3) a brief overview of significant phenomena observed with reference to categorization thereof, 4) implications and possible applications, and, 5) suggestions for further research.
Introduction
As a REST facilitator and investigator of over 17 years I can attest to the subjective, experiential reality of altered or alternate waking states. It seems more accurate to refer to these unique states of consciousness as alternate waking states because, rather than consciousness being "altered," a specific state, when certain conditions are met, changes naturally into another normal, yet alternate, albeit perhaps under-utilized state of consciousness. (Like going from the normal waking state, through the hypnogogic and into the sleep/dream cycle.) These states are waking states because the experiencer has partial or full waking awareness and access to cognitive functioning, even though the body may be "asleep" or otherwise immobilized. I have recorded hundreds of spontaneous alternate waking states experiences which run the gamut from lucid dreams to precognitive visions to out-of-the-body experiences. Since the floatation experience has been a potent catalyst for me in the spontaneous production of alternate waking states, I have sought to develop methods to produce these states with a regularity and reliability which would facilitate structured investigations. In the following article I will introduce a technique christened the Alternate Waking States Induction Method (AWSIM) documenting the development of a technique which has proved effective in producing these ephemeral states of consciousness with a reliability allowing for laboratory study and practical application.
L-- Abstract No:1334
Traditionally, consciousness is defined in terms of surface, top-down or bottom-up theories, referring either to sociopsychological, psychobiological or biopsychological accounts. All such models inevitably fall victim to inherent problems with dualism (Nyborg, 1997a). A fourth possibility, the one chosen here, is the DNA-body-brain-behavior-environment covariant all-bottom molecular approach called physicology (Nyborg, 1994). Physicology is neither a theory nor a philosophical position. It is an ascetic research program, based on only two elementary and empirically verifiable a priories: 1) Molecules exhibit differential stereotaxic affinity, and 2) they do interact, given adequate circumstances, to either build up structures, promote dynamic processes within such constraints, or disassemble structures. One example of such interactions is when conglomerates of molecules "freeze" temporarily in space-time coordinates to form cell walls thus increasing intrasystemic negentropy, another when fluid molecular species promote rapid activational processes (e.g. synaptic activity) that help redistribute intrasystemic energy. A third example is when high concentrations of hormones cause extensive systematic cell death during normal development, a fourth the death of an individual. The extrasystemic environment is also defined entirely in terms of molecular processes, such as temperature, pressure, nutrition, and even society and so-called culture. Extrasystemic processes may affect intrasystemic processes and vice versa. Love is a special case of intersystemic interaction among largely similar molecular systems, involving hormones, DNA, and reproductive processes. Terms like consciousness, ideas, desires, logic or meaning have no attributive or causal status at all in the physicological research program. They are purely descriptive intuitions basically referring to complex and still not fully mapped proximal processes behind behavior. The exclusive focus on the molecular level is dictated essentially by three facts. First, intrasystemic molecular processes lie, from a practical analytic point of view, close to the human cellular, organ, or behavioral scale. Second, defining also the environment in molecular terms puts the extrasystemic level on par with analyses at the intrasystemic level. Finally, molecular interaction analysis can be performed at a level sufficiently above the elementary particle level to not get stuck in problems in quantum mechanics. A challenging task of the future is to identify and coordinate the relevant molecular intra-, inter- and extrasystemic interactive events. A preliminary nonlinear, dynamic, multifactor, multiplicative, multidimensional molecular (ND4M) model for (human) existence (Nyborg, 1997b) is presented as a first tentative step in this direction.
References Nyborg, H. (1994). Hormones, sex, and society: The science of physicology. Westport, CT.: Praeger.
Nyborg, H. (1997). Psychology as Science. In H. Nyborg (Ed.), The Scientific Study of Human Nature: Tribute to Hans Eysenck at Eighty. (pp. 563-589). Oxford: Pergamon.
Nyborg, H. (1997b). Molecular Creativity, Genius and Madness. In H. Nyborg (Ed.), The Scientific Study of Human Nature: Tribute to Hans Eysenck at Eighty. (pp. 422-461). Oxford: Pergamon.
M-- Abstract No:1335
This paper outlines the further development of our research reported in Tucson-II (P. Roy et al. ,J. Consciousness Studies - Spl. issue. 1996).
An analog Special theory of relativity (Hoffmann-Dodwell formalism) has been well established to analyse the neuro cognitive space-time manifold; length of moving mental objects or images contracts, depending on velocity, there is also time dilation of the Lorentz type, the factor is (1-(v/c)2) where "v" is velocity of the object (or image) and "c" the limiting velocity of perception or neuro-conduction. Much experimental data exists as Caelli effect (Ohio) or Bhatia - Verghese effect (India). The basic neuro-dynamical manifold is the vectorfield generated on the cortex based on Hubel-Wiesel's experimental findings of the vectorial sensitivity of visualcortical cells.
These naturally lead, using the Roy-Shaw-Abraham model, to the development of the analog of General Relativity in neuro-cognitive spacetime: Riemannian basis, curvature of geodesics (straight lines/light rays) and lensing phenomenon of which there is enough evidence from experimental or methodological or pharmacological research of Fischer, Lunneberg, Hill et al. Instead of matter which is associated with space-time curvature in physical space-time1 experiments show that it is the neuro-transmitter "serotonin" which is associated with neuro-psychodynamic space-time curvature. The iso-Einstein field equations are explored: H = kS where H is neurocognitive space-time curvature tensor and S is Serotonin tensor (the outer product of serotonin flux and potential vectors in hypothalamic tissue.
Llinas-Pellionisz has developed the detailed tensoria, and space-time metric formalism of cerebellar/cerebral space-time, using the modus-operandi that "the neuronal circuity acts as space-time metric tensor converting covariant sensory perception into contravariant motor execution," the basis of Intensional Dynamics (the "Perception-Action Cycle"). From this we develop the space-time curvature tensor.
We next approach the problem of discreteness of neuro-cognitive space-time (Stroud's findings): temporal and spatial neuro-cognitive extant is discretized into 0.1 sec and 0.015 degree arc intervals (the "persistence of vision"/"resolution of acuity" phenomena).
We use Rej's model of algebraic formalism of Special and General Relativity instead of the usual geometric formalism of Relativity. Thereby the Stroud model generates an architecture of algebraic event sets of nneuropsychological space-time, describeable by Set- Theory. Local and General sets are delineated as well as acceleration of mental objects/images, which can bepsychopharmacologically modulated. A high Constant serotonin level would produce definite acceleration, closure, compatification. The Stroud length & Stroud time in neuropsychological processes reminds of Planck's length & Planck's time in physical space-time.
Deutsh has shown that compactification and closed time-like curves can lead to non-computability, an unending Turing machine and Quantum Oracle machine
Hence we propose that events in neuro-cognitive space-time is inherently non-computable and this opposes the strong Artificial Intelligence claim that neuro-psychological process and human consciousness are computable.
M-- Abstract No:1337
It has long been thought that birds do not have a cerebral cortex, the physical substrate of many higher functions in mammals. This was largely based on the gross anatomical appearance of the avian forebrain: a conglomeration of spherical nuclei. This is similar to mammalian subcortical structures such as the basal ganglia and is dissimilar to the layered organization of the mammalian cerebral cortex. A number of studies, however, have shown that the avian forebrain exhibits neurochemical, physiological, and connectivity features which are homologous to the mammalian cerebral cortex. In particular, Karten has shown that the anatomical circuits of the avian and mammalian visual systems are homologous. Therefore, he has proposed that birds do have a forebrain structure analogous to the cerebral cortex of mammals.
A central tenet of biology is that ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny. We have used engineered viruses (retroviral vectors), which tag dividing cells and their daughters, to examine patterns of cell migration in the developing forebrain of the chicken and have compared these with patterns seen in mammals. A number of similarities were found in both class of vertebrates. The initial pattern of migration is areally-restricted along radial glia cells. Our studies also showed that individual progenitor cells can give rise to daughter cells (clones) which migrate far distances from their origin to occupy functionally and anatomically distinct areas of the forebrain. Interestingly, clones are found which span cerebral cortical as well as subcortical areas. We have also shown that in other features the development of the bird forebrain differs from that of the mammal. The most striking of these is the presence, in chick forebrain, of a subset of clones arranged rostrocaudally and exhibiting very little mediolateral or dorsoventral spread; in effect forming a tube-like pattern. They are found throughout the forebrain and were not confined to specific nuclei.
Thus while there are some differences, there are more similarities in the development of the forebrain of birds and mammals. This lends support to the argument that birds do have at least a homologue of the mammalian cerebral cortex.
M-- Abstract No:1339
Psychosis results from the inability of the brain to create and maintain long-range correlations between initially independent informations received in different qualities (the usual five senses plus balance and sexuality). Immediately upon being received, such informations are processed in separate pathways and networks which are distributed throughout the brain in a seemingly disorganized manner. Normally the brain possesses the capability (called 'Binding') of creating and maintaining 'unity' from the 'multifariousness of the world', thus enabling organisms to share a so-called 'objective' reality (collective world). [rest of abstract corrupted]
M-- Abstract No:1340
In the overall philosophy of the Yogasutra, which has no place for a personal god, the striking inclusion of "the Lord" presents an anomaly. Even so, this "Lord" is interpreted by the native commentators, as a personal god, anthropomorphically conceived, who aids the yogin in his meditative path by bestowing divine grace. The grace of the Lord seems to come at the price of the integrity of the strict dualism of the system.
Through an analysis of the meditative practice an argument is advanced for a different concept of "the Lord" which, though it conflicts with the native commentaries, better preserves the integrity of the philosophical system, while elucidating the nature of the meditative process, the yogic understanding of the structure of the mind, and an intriguing link between contemplative and devotional religious experience.
If equated with pure contentless consciousness, "the Lord" fits well into Patañjali's philosophy, demythologizing the understanding of a personal God in favor of pure meditative experience. Patañjali's Yogasutras, unlike the layers of traditional commentary, can be seen to present God as a universal deep structure of consciousness, not a personal being. God and the non-dual experience of pure consciousness are one. As such "god" is not an anomalous, extraneous concept in Patañjali's philosophy, but lies at the very core of classical Yoga.
In the Yogasutra devotion to God and isolation of pure consciousness are not separate exclusive paths, but the same meditative process of experiencing the reduction of sacred sound (OM) to salvific conscious silence. Patañjali's concept of "The Lord", seen in this way, presents a consistent, universal and impersonal concept of religious experience.
M-- Abstract No:1341
Information processing theory and materialistic neurophysiology model consciousness as a caused-effect of brain activity. Dividing the world into the physical and the phenomenal, however, leaves one standing at the "Explanatory Gap," attempting to determine how the "physical" causes the "phenomenal," and ultimately leads one to claim that the phenomenal is absolutely unnecessary--physical brain process can go about their business without phenomenal content. The present paper points out that there were psychologists, namely William James and John Dewey, who argued against such epiphenomenalism, and claimed, directly and indirectly, respectively, that first-person phenomenology is, in fact, a necessary prerequisite of controlled action. That is, in order for organisms to propel themselves along anticipatory trajectories towards anticipated locations, they must be capable of specifying the ends (i.e., anticipated states of experience) such propulsions (i.e., actions) are to produce. Data from visual perception during eye movements indicate that these ends (i.e., intentions) are (1) both necessary and sufficient for producing shifts in egocentric space, and (2) are phenomenal--they contextualize, and are present within, the perceived location of both body and the environment. Data from research on phantom limbs are used to support the claim that such anticipatory shifts in phenomenal space exist for the body as a whole. In order to demonstrate that such anticipatory "phenomenal" shifts are truly efficacious, a model of consciousness is proposed in which organisms and brains are modeled, not as information processing systems, but rather, a open- thermodynamic energy-transformation systems that have phylogenetically attained autocatalytic closure. Within such autocatalytically closed energy transformers, the energy-information state of any particular "component" of the system is always "about" (i.e., is dependent-upon and refers-to) the energy- information states of all other "components" within that system. This "aboutness," which is inherent in any component of an autocatalytic system, is thermodynamic in nature, and thus, inherently efficacious. In autocatalytic systems, certain of these "aboutness transformations" are controlled--they are kept within a particular energy/information state. It is argued that the "nested- sensitivities" involved is such thermodynamic autocatalytic control, ARE the objects of experience. In other words, that which we refer to as phenomenology (i.e., consciousness), resides neither within the world or in the brain, but rather, within a "field" of thermodynamic, autocatalytic control.
If attention is viewed as a feature of consciousness, then the question arises of whether attention is directed only at stimuli of which we are conscious. Supervisory attention refers to processes that determine which streams of activity are relevant (Shallice & Burgess, 1993). Supervisory attention suggests that we are consciously directing our mind toward one task or a small number of tasks that are then protected form interference. Do these tasks include the organization of responses to both actively internal and external stimuli? We are applying these questions to balance control. The issue of conscious awareness is important in that balance control may be influenced by attention when inputs to the balance control system are relatively complex and may interfere with other tasks. Balance control is maintained through the integration of sensory information provided by the visual, proprioceptive and vestibular systems. The balance control system dynamically weights and integrates these signals to determine body position and maintain posture. Posturally challenging conditions may require attention.
Attentional activity while awake involve the same neural circuitry that modulates sleep. This involves connections between the prefrontal cortex and the thalamus. (Laberge, 1996). Sleep deprivation causes decrements in reaction time and cognitive performance (Horne, 1996). The goal of our study is to examine the effects of sleep deprivation on performance of reaction time tasks of older subjects and healthy young controls while challenging and measuring the precision of vestibular responses to a continuously moving platform. The reaction time tasks required a press on a microswitch button in response to a green LED placed on the visual scene one meter in front of the subject. For the inhibition reaction time (IRT) task, subjects were instructed to respond as quickly as possible to the LED (termed a "Go" signal in the IRT task) unless they heard a "Stop" tone through the headphones worn throughout the trials. Stop signals were 600 Hz tones presented for 0.5 s at 80 dBA. The Stop signals will have one of three delay times from the Go signal: 0 ms, 25 ms and 75 ms. Thirty percent of the Go stimuli were presented with a Stop signal in random order. The subject was not able to anticipate which stimuli require a reaction and which did not. We found that sleep deprivation did not affect mean reaction times or posture in either elderly or younger subjects. However, older subjects had increased mean reaction times and increased postural sway, as compared to younger subjects.
Neural process in cognition can be divided into two stages. First, the physi cal quantities in environments are transformed into activities of individual neurons. It results in decomposition into lots of signals. Next, those signa ls are unified into the information that is meaningful for the organism. The re is no unique solution on the issue how to combine or unify them. Since ei ther environments or internal states of the organism are always changing ind efinitely, the unification of information in the cognition has to be process ed in an emergent way. It is recently noted that self-organization of tempo ral coherence could be an underlying mechanism for linking pieces of signals . Synchronization of oscillations is considered to be a principle of the dynamical linking.
In 1985, we proposed a hypothesis of synchronization in visual pattern recognition (Shimizu et al. 1985) and developed it into a model of visual pa ttern recognition with figure/ground separation (Yamaguchi and Shimizu 1994, Hirakura et al. 1996).
In their theoretical models, synchronization is considered to unify not only features but also sensory information and memory of a symbol according to t heir relevancy. Thus convergence of synchronization among neural units estab lishes the recognition as figure-ground separation in a complex environment.
This theory is also applicable to the auditory recognition, with respect to vowel recognition (Liu et al. 1994). In eirhte of these two cases, recogni tion is established as a stationary state of synchronization.
In the present paper, we propose that dynamical linking is generalized into linking of not only static features but also temporal sequence. The exa mple is auditory information consisting of vowel and consonant, where propag ating waves in nonlinear dynamics are considered to br the elementary dynami cs. It enables the neural system to make presentation of transient informati on either in sensory or in memory levels. As is well known, the two types o f dynamics, oscillation and wave propagation are not exclusive but alternati vely generated in the same neural system. It is concluded that these nonlin ear dynamics in hierarchical neural systems could support stability and flex ibility of unifying information in an emergent way.
Psychiatry and psychology have long studied and labeled disorders of affect, but only with the advent of "Attention Deficit Disorder" has the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual (DSM) lingered long on focusing strength and its impact on the states of mind, mood and momentum which comprise the fabric of awareness.
It is our belief that once the territory of focal dysfunction is better mapped, attention irregularities will be seen as a syndrome of Attention Difficulties (AD) along a spectrum of intensity. To aid that mapping, the lead author diagrams attentional strength and its interaction with strength of affect, using waveforms which equate attention with amplitude and arousal with frequency. The resulting heuristic reveals a continuum of attention differences shading one to the next across three types in nine degrees, from the distractibility of underaroused underfocusing to the sensory overwhelm of hyperaroused hyperfocusing which, in turn, also permits differences from more "modulating" non-AD minds to be more easily conceptualized.
This paradigm of a "moveable mind" not only provides a dimensional scheme for depicting attention differences; it also illustrates how we state-change over time, relative to what we are focusing on. Depicting this temporal relativity clarifies conundrums such as how an underfocusing child can attend to a video game for hours, or an "absent-minded professor" might be overattentive in the lab but underattentive in class. Both need keen arousal to sustain activation and it is this trait which unites them even as they differ in duration and degree of attentional strength. This also serves to underscore the role time plays in our characterization of other behaviors; when time becomes the frame of reference, distinctions in traits such as impulsivity, compulsion and obsessiveness can also be seen spectrally as differences in duration of focal intensity.
Accompanied by numerous visuals, these concepts combine to sketch a path down which we may proceed to explore connections between attention and consciousness by depicting states of mind both more globally and more graphically.
It is argued here that conscious thoughts occur as a result of the production of multiple states or "pools" of spatiotemporally patterned neuronal activity in the mammalian cortex. The array of pools present in multiple areas of the cortex during any given moment in time is the neural correlate of the qualia-rich, experiential phenomena of conscious awareness at that moment. A number of other suggestions similar to this, dating back to models of cognitive functioning discussed by Charles Sherrington and Donald Hebb, have been made. However, it seems that these models have often been proposed without further consideration of exactly how the production of pooled neuronal activity could lead to consciousness.
Some of the implications of a model of consciousness as pooled neuronal activity will be considered in this paper. First, potential models of how conscious states, as pooled neuronal activity, are produced in the mammalian cortex are outlined. Second, the question of what aspect of the concerted firing of neuronal assemblies could give rise to consciousness will be explored. Third, this model will be discussed in relation to recent suggestions of quantum mechanical models of consciousness. Fourth, it will be important to compare and contrast this model with what could be referred to as computational models of consciousness. Finally, the model of consciousness explored here will be considered as it relates to a number of other similar models.
Finding evidence of automatic translation priming effects, priming between interlingual synonyms, at a lexical level has far reaching implications for the structure and process of the bilingual lexicon. Just such an effect was demonstrated in a word naming paradigm, using a masked priming procedure, with proficient Welsh-English/English-Welsh bilingual participants. In this procedure a forward mask made up of dollar signs ($$$) was presented for 500ms followed by a prime presented for 50ms followed by a target word presented for 2500ms. There was a 16ms interval between the offset of the mask and the onset of the prime and a 16ms between the offset of the prime and the onset of the target. The mask, prime and target were all presented in the same location on a computer screen. The use of the forward masked priming procedure discounted an explanation of translation priming effects based on conceptual (semantic) level priming, and the use of noncognates ruled out an explanation of these effects based on either phonological or orthographic form overlap between translations. Blocking by language and changing the metacontrast mask (i.e. using PRIME-target vs. prime-TARGET case) made little if any difference. This, together with the procedure employed, served to further rule out any confounding effect of perceptual or strategic influences. Manipulating the baseline (neutral and unrelated priming conditions) emerged as an important consideration. A small but significant effect of translation priming emerged (30ms), relative to an unrelated priming condition; one where the prime had, on average, no relation to the target. No effect of translation priming emerged relative to a neutral priming condition; one where the prime was the word 'prime'. A small but significant effect of inhibition-interference (25-30ms), was present for the unrelated priming condition relative to the neutral priming condition. This effect was consistent across bilingual participants, and for two further groups of participants; monolingual English participants and participants who had English as a second language. A consistent repetition priming effect (50-60ms), was found for a within language repetition priming condition relative to the unrelated priming condition, for all groups of participants. An explanation of these results is given whereby priming occurs as a result of the activation of the links between lexical and conceptual level representations in a single linguistic system (Green, 1986; Monsell, Matthews & Miller, 1992). It is also suggested that in the case of the unrelated priming condition inhibition-interference occurs as a result of conflicting phonological representations being processed (e.g. Perfetti, Bell & Delaney, 1988; Forster, 1981). It is suggested that this inhibition-interference also takes place in the translation priming condition and this accounts for the difference (30ms) between the RT's in the translation and repetition priming conditions.
Consciousness, is a final neocortical product, emerging from the evolution of neural mechanisms of cognition and communication, built upon preceding motivational and emotional mechanisms. The connection between disturbances of the affective sphere and deviant social behavior is a well-established fact in psychiatry. In the juvenile period affective disorders are known to be the most frequent psychopathological phenomenon, which underlies pathological deviations of behavior, including various types of aggressiveness with criminal consequences. This study was performed on 40 subjects (15-19 years), including 13 healthy students (controls) and 27 juvenile delinquents with affective disorders, being held in a forensic psychiatric hospital for mental examination. The delinquents were divided into 3 groups according predominating depressive syndrome: anxiety (AX), dysphoria (DY) or apathy (APT). Six delinquents were classified as being "pathologically aggressive" (PA), expressing elements of paranoia, delusions and impulsive sadism within the period of aggressive attack they exhibited. Another 6 adolescents, who performed aggression in the situation of an interpersonal conflict or as a defense were classified "socially aggressive" (SA). Clinical analysis showed, that PA was exhibited only by AX and DY groups, while SA was met in all syndromal groups. There was a direct correspondence between probability of PA and the degree of AX. Eyes closed monopolar (with mutual earlobe reference) resting EEG was recorded and analyzed, using Quantitative Topographical Mapping software. Our data indicate marked dysfunction of the intra- and between-hemispheric relationships in the PA compared to the SA group and normals, most pronounced in somatosensory and right frontal cortical areas. PA showed (for all data presented P<.05) lower than normal coherence in the alpha frequency band (8-13 Hz) between left and right central derivations and between the right frontal area and other same-side derivations. Lower than normal theta-band (4-8 Hz) coherence of the left parietal region and above normal theta spectral power in right frontal site were also found in this group. Abnormalities in the frontal area has been found by other authors to be related to impulsive aggressiveness, which correlates with neuropsychological and cognitive measures of information processing (Baratti, et al., 97). Such features as low IQ, verbal deficits and deficiencies in the brain=s self-control functions have strong relation to conduct problems of the young (Moffitt, 93). Decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex of aggressive adolescents and adults was shown recently by SPECT study (Amen, et al., 96). Similar to PA group indices of the spatial synchronization in the anterior cortical areas were found in AX and DY groups. Differences in alpha spectral power and right-hemispheric coherence in analyzed groups will be related to mechanisms of disturbance in the emotional-affective sphere and altered states of consciousness, including improper perception of reality, selective attention and poor personality integration. An EEG correlate in all our syndromal groups was reduction of central interhemispheric coherence in the theta band. This finding appears to be the opposite to the effects of transcendental meditation practice, which tends to result in an increase theta coherence and accompanied by reduction of anxiety, depressive states and aggressiveness (Wallace, 91). Thus, our results showed that different types of aggressive behavior are combined phenomenologically and through intrinsic neurophysiological mechanisms with definite kinds of depressive syndromes. The deficit of frontal lobe maturity in juveniles with respect to its integrative and inhibitory functions most probably constitutes the pathophysiological basis of deficiencies in affect and behavioral conduct. Future work might imply a study of some self-regulation practices (including TM) in developing more "normal" EEG patterns in people with affective and conduct problems.
People with disturbances of behavior and intellect caused by head trauma, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and other conditions, can be viewed as having alterations in conscious thought. A common theme for such patients when the damge to the brain is mild to moderate is loss of the automatic "pulling together" of the many threads of mental life into the coherent whole that forms their individuation from the external world. These people may struggle with maintaining a sense of self in the context of often throny cognitive and behavioral problems such as "field dependency" (impaired ability to listen to internal guidance, causing them to be pulled in directions of salient yet often irrelevant stimuli), and difficulty prioritizing daily activites. Such difficulties are often conceptualized in terms of disturbances in discretely defined "modules" of cognitive function, which may be defined at least partially by neuropsychological tests. "Substitutive" and "restitutive" remediative approaches based on these concepts have had mixed but mostly limited success. Our approach to recovery of function after brain damage differs from these other remediative approaches. In this presentation we outline the concept of the "Computer-Based Cognitive Prosthetsis" (CBCP), a hardware-software system that is designed to help a person to perform an intelligent activity that they are blocked from performing because of brain damage. Using a case presentation, we illustrate how this system is designed, and show how it can improve a person's mental functioning even if "modular" neuropsychological dysfunction such as amnesia or aphasia (language impairment) persist. The case illustrates how mental impairments can occur in narrow domains, shows that this can lead to global impairments in adaptation, and demonstrates that by using "prosthetic" information processing systems, the "pulling together" process may remain relatively intact even if narrow, domain-specific deficits such as partial amnesia persist. We interpret this improvement in function as a facilitation of the integrated function of the psyche, as an improvement in the emergent conscious life of the person using it. We emphasize that this emergent consciousness may represent an interaction of machine and human intelligence, and that the CBCP may constitute a model for investigations of the nature of human-machine interaction in the study of consciousness.
The aim of our research was to establish a simple phenomenological based theoretical model of the onset of uscle pain perception during the stretching exercises, which will be analytically strong enough to account for it's main experimentally testable properties, such as the qualitative change of the perception from "no pain" to the "pain" state, the rectilinear nature of the angle - pain intensity relation as well as for the stationary state variations. The results suggest that the onset of the muscle pain perception could be modeled by the means of the "loss of stability" mechanism which is shown to be universal for a large variety of qualitative changes in the nature. According to this point of view the "no pain" and the "pain" perceptions represent stable (stationary) states of the somatosensory system for certain values of the control parameter (that is, the angle of rotation). The transition occurs when the previous stable "no pain" state for some critical value of the control parameter becomes unstable and the "pain" state becomes the new stable state. In mathematical terms this means that the previous fixed point that was an attractor of the system's behavior becomes a repeller which pushes the system away in a new state of stable behavior. The regression analysis revealed strong correlation and high goodness of fit between the theoretically derived rectilinear curve and experimental data. For the four subjects tested, the proportion of the variance explained by the rectilinear curve was: 0.715, 0.701, 0.685 and 0.813.