From: "Chris Lofting" <ddiamond@ozemail.com.au>
To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: Psychedelics and memes
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999 20:47:42 +1000
-----Original Message-----
From: Gatherer, D. (Derek) <D.Gatherer@organon.nhe.akzonobel.nl>
To: 'memetics@mmu.ac.uk' <memetics@mmu.ac.uk>
Date: Friday, 11 June 1999 5:16
Subject: RE: Psychedelics and memes
>
>
>Chris:
>
>Hallucinogenic drugs (e.g. LSD)are more harmonics oriented in that they
>exagerate/play-down sensory harmonics (colours etc) but the individual
>retains some sense of 'self'; they do not experience the delusions caused
by
>psychotropic drugs (cocaine, speed etc):
>
>Derek:
>
>Is this correct? Some LSD users report personality fragmentation,
paranoia,
>depression and confusion. I would equate paranoia with 'delusions' (I'm
not
>sure what you mean by delusions). Long term LSD use produces psychosis,
>depression and permanent personality change. I would take delusion to be a
>part of such a psychosis.
>
Chris:
Delusions is this context are delusion of SELF and are 'immediate' rather
than longterm. There are also delusion of OTHERS which are more like the
characteristics of the hallucinogenic thread -- see below, although since
there is some degree of self maintained (even if negative) the emphasis is
more o ILLUSION rather than DELUSION.
In generaal, we are dealing with two neurology-sourced 'threads' that seem
to dictate the operations of 'in here'. These threads are woven together to
create 'patterns' of behaviour that will come in various forms showing
biases to one thread or the other. These threads show sensitivity to
different biochemistry. One thread when exposed to psychotropic drugs
experiences SELF delusions. e,g, "I AM GOD". The other thread is sensitive
to hallucinogenics and there is a relational bias as in "I have/have not a
relationship WITH GOD".
Any relational bias is linked to an emphasis on harmonics rather than the
'tonic'. The threads are:
A. Object biased (Whole or parts). Self-contained. Fundamentalist. Stresses
independence. Context insensitive due to the self-containment. Archetypal.
B. Relationships bias (Static or Dynamic). 'Others'-contained. Relativist.
Stresses dependencies. Context sensitive. Typal.
You can trace these down to the neuron with A being more 'axonic' in
behaviour, jump-like, pulses. B is being more 'dendritic' in behaviour,
continuum bias and so all is linked. B is highly feedback sensitive and so
exagerates/plays-down a state by utilising the feedback.
In a psychological context, B is more neurotic whereas A can be psychotic.
MIX these, weave them into patterns, and you will get behaviours that
reflect biases to one with a 'tinge' of the other as well.
We can see these biases expressed in the manner in which the hemispheres of
the brain function with the left being jump-like, object oriented, waypoint
mappings. Here is the 'source' of 'whole' numbers, the excluded middle
(because of the jumps) and perhaps even the concept of quantum leaps!
This object emphasis favours SELF over OTHERS in that OTHERS introduces
relationships and here we get into right-hemisphere characteristics of
relationships, the 'space inbetween' objects and so the ability to
transform, to make something seemingly out of nothing -- the source of
illusion more than delusion.
Regarding Paranoia, it seems to be more linked to attention system problems
where it is 'stuck' in wide-angle mode (diffuse). Mania is the 'opposite'
where the attention system is 'stuck' in narrow-angle mode (intense). There
is a Cingulate Cortex emphasis here with the prime dimension being that or
anterior/posterior.
The brain hemisphere oscillations we see as part our 'being' (seen in rCBF
mappings and MRI etc) introduce a dynamic system and so we deal with BIASES.
In this sense there is a continuum of behaviour states made out of the
interdigitation of the two threads (we see this in the amygdala with the
interdigitiation of the fight/flight dichotomy).
You are dealing with at least a 3D brain-mind, the left/right dimension, the
anterior/posterior dimension and the 'top'/'bottom' dimension. (you are in
fact dealing with a development path based on complexity and so the
presences of emergent properties as well!) With this in mind there is only
rare instances of 'pure' thread expression, more expressions that show
biases.
Biochemically we see 'biased' pathways especially for serotonin and
dopemine.
Serotonin has an operational dimension:
Uptake too quick = depression.
Uptake too slow = "God in the head Syndrome". Note that 'you' are not 'god'
but you experience 'it'/'him'/'her' due to the biochemisty bias.
Hallucinogens favour these pathways.
Dopamine has an operational dimension based on the same uptake issues with
schizophrenia vs Parkinsons' Disease symptoms.
Psychotropics work better in this dimension.
The wiring of the individual, due to genetic diversity, will show particular
variations on these general themes where we see 'entanglements' but still
biases.
Another dimension is that with acetocholine (spell?). Nicotine has an
interesting influence here.
>Chris:
>
>This suggests that there are mental conditions that would benefit from LSD
>etc to enable a sense of 'normality'.
>
>Derek:
>
>It used to be used of course for schizophrenia, but there are too many side
>effects and long term problems (as above) to make it a good treatment.
>
That would make sense if we see Schizophrenia as a thread bias either within
the thread (too quick/slow pickup) or across threads where imbalance is
controlled by introducing an extreme in the other thread.
Drugs these days are more particularised and so make management easier..
>Somebody else wrote:
>
>>Psychedelics have a reputation as "hallucinogens" but in my experience
>>they tend to be just the opposite. They most strongly disrupt the
>>linguistic and cognitive structures by which a person orders the world,
>>while leaving the actual perception of the world more-or-less intact (with
>>some fireworks and oddities thrown in).
>
>Derek:
>
>Other people have thought along the same lines. For instance Shulgin
(1978)
>has suggested the term 'phantasticants', and Brown and Braden (1987)
>'illusogens'
>
>Chris:
>[referring to what somebody else wrote above] Correct. They maintain a
sense
>of 'self', a 'core' context that is stable.
>
>Derek:
>
>Not sure that self is what is imoprtant. Amphetamine and cocaine psychoses
>resemble schizophrenia, I grant you, but:
>a) some LSD users report similar symptoms anyway (see above), and
>b) these conditions do not erode any sense of self.
>
See comments above about the threads...
best,
Chris.
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~ddiamond
===============================================================
This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit