Convergence-Any good links or insights on this phenomena appreciated...

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Permalink Reply by Roman Kozlowski on November 15, 2009 at 6:53am

The amygdalae perform primary roles in the formation and storage of memories associated with emotional events. Research indicates that, during fear conditioning, sensory stimuli reach the basolateral complexes of the amygdalae, particularly the lateral nuclei, where they form associations with memories of the stimuli. The association between stimuli and the aversive events they predict may be mediated by long-term potentiation, a lingering potential for affected synapses to react more readily.

Memories of emotional experiences imprinted in reactions of synapses in the lateral nuclei elicit fear behavior through connections with the central nucleus of the amygdalae and the bed nuclei of stria terminalis (BNST). The central nuclei are involved in the genesis of many fear responses, including freezing (immobility), tachycardia (rapid heartbeat), increased respiration, and stress-hormone release. Damage to the amygdalae impairs both the acquisition and expression of Pavlovian fear conditioning, a form of classical conditioning of emotional responses.

The amygdalae are also involved in appetitive (positive) conditioning. It seems that distinct neurons respond to positive and negative stimuli, but there is no clustering of these distinct neurons into clear anatomical nuclei.
Different nuclei within the amygdala have different functions in appetitive conditioning.
Memory modulation

The amygdalae also are involved in the modulation of memory consolidation. Following any learning event, the long-term memory for the event is not instantaneously formed. Rather, information regarding the event is slowly assimilated into long-term storage over time (the duration of long-term memory storage can be life-long), a process referred to as memory consolidation, until it reaches a relatively permanent state.

During the consolidation period, the memory can be modulated. In particular, it appears that emotional arousal following the learning event influences the strength of the subsequent memory for that event. Greater emotional arousal following a learning event enhances a person's retention of that event. Experiments have shown that administration of stress hormones to mice immediately after they learn something enhances their retention when they are tested two days later.

The amygdalae, especially the basolateral nuclei, are involved in mediating the effects of emotional arousal on the strength of the memory for the event, as shown by many laboratories including that of James McGaugh. These laboratories have trained animals on a variety of learning tasks and found that drugs injected into the amygdala after training affect the animals' subsequent retention of the task. These tasks include basic classical conditioning tasks such as inhibitory avoidance, where a rat learns to associate a mild footshock with a particular compartment of an apparatus, and more complex tasks such as spatial or cued water maze, where a rat learns to swim to a platform to escape the water. If a drug that activates the amygdalae is injected into the amygdalae, the animals had better memory for the training in the task. If a drug that inactivates the amygdalae is injected, the animals had impaired memory for the task.
Despite the importance of the amygdalae in modulating memory consolidation, however, learning can occur without it, though such learning appears to be impaired, as in fear conditioning impairments following amygdalar damage.

Evidence from work with humans indicates that the amygdala plays a similar role. Amygdala activity at the time of encoding information correlates with retention for that information. However, this correlation depends on the relative "emotionalness" of the information. More emotionally-arousing information increases amygdalar activity, and that activity correlates with retention.

Neuropsychological correlates of amygdalar activity

Early research on primates provided explanations as to the functions of the amygdala, as well as a basis for further research. As early as 1888, rhesus monkeys with a lesioned temporal cortex (including the amygdala) were observed to have significant social and emotional deficits. Heinrich Klüver and Paul Bucy later expanded upon this same observation by showing that large lesions to the anterior temporal lobe produced noticeable changes, including overreaction to all objects, hypoemotionality, loss of fear, hypersexuality, and hyperorality, a condition in which inappropriate objects are placed in the mouth. Some monkeys also displayed an inability to recognize familiar objects and would approach animate and inanimate objects indiscriminately, exhibiting a loss of fear towards the experimenters. This behavioral disorder was later named Klüver-Bucy syndrome accordingly. Later studies served to focus on the amygdala specifically, as the temporal cortex encompasses a broad set of brain structures, making it difficult to find which ones specifically may have correlated with certain symptoms. Monkey mothers who had amygdala damage showed a reduction in maternal behaviors towards their infants, often physically abusing or neglecting them. In 1981, researchers found that selective radio frequency lesions of the whole amygdala caused Klüver-Bucy Syndrome.

With advances in neuroimaging technology such as MRI, neuroscientists have made significant findings concerning the amygdala in the human brain. Consensus of data shows the amygdala has a substantial role in mental states, and is related to many psychological disorders. In a 2003 study, subjects with Borderline personality disorder showed significantly greater left amygdala activity than normal control subjects. Some borderline patients even had difficulties classifying neutral faces or saw them as threatening. In 2006, researchers observed hyperactivity in the amygdala when patients were shown threatening faces or confronted with frightening situations. Patients with more severe social phobia showed a correlation with increased response in the amygdala. Similarly, depressed patients showed exaggerated left amygdala activity when interpreting emotions for all faces, and especially for fearful faces. Interestingly, this hyperactivity was normalized when patients went on antidepressants. By contrast, the amygdala has been observed to relate differently in people with Bipolar Disorder. A 2003 study found that adult and adolescent bipolar patients tended to have considerably smaller amygdala volumes and somewhat smaller hippocampal volumes. Many studies have focused on the connections between the amygdala and autism. Additional studies have shown a link between the amygdala and schizophrenia, noting that the right amygdala is significantly larger than the left in schizophrenic patients.

Studies in 2004 and 2006 showed that normal subjects exposed to images of frightened faces or faces of people from another race will show increased activity of the amygdala, even if that exposure is subliminal. However, the amygdala is not necessary for the processing of fear-related stimuli, since persons in whom it is bilaterally damaged show, even in the absence of a functional amygdala, rapid reactions to fearful faces.

Recent research suggests that parasites, in particular toxoplasma, form cysts in the brain of rats, often taking up residence in the amygdala. This may provide clues as to how specific parasites may contribute to the development of disorders, including paranoia.

[Ref: Wikipedia Forever]

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Permalink Reply by david thurman on November 15, 2009 at 9:31am

Roman this is a something of interest to me from your quote:

"The amygdalae also are involved in the modulation of memory consolidation. Following any learning event, the long-term memory for the event is not instantaneously formed. Rather, information regarding the event is slowly assimilated into long-term storage over time (the duration of long-term memory storage can be life-long), a process referred to as memory consolidation, until it reaches a relatively permanent state."

This also is of interest:

Evidence from work with humans indicates that the amygdala plays a similar role. Amygdala activity at the time of encoding information correlates with retention for that information. However, this correlation depends on the relative "emotionalness" of the information. More emotionally-arousing information increases amygdalar activity, and that activity correlates with retention.

We can see regions of the brains playing roles, and as Lakoff and Johnson have pointed out in Cognitive science 1.0 they viewed these funcions independent of other regions of the brains. Accordingly Cognitive science has moved to a 2.0 ver. leaving philosophy behind the curve and have now started to take a more holistic interconnected view of how the brain works including the importance of emotion in relationship to rational thinking. Rational thinking is not seen as being a product of our emotional and analytical capabilities so emotion, imagination, generation of metaphors and the very structure in how we see the world is now making A priori false. One of the ironies it makes Fregian Analytical philosophy false and it makes postmodern (pure subjectivity ) false at the same time which is an interesting view.

I've also understood that the direct stimulation of the Amygadala Generates the "God" experience" which was my guess and read that. I also guessed that in extreme cases such as Asperger's or individuals who showed high signs of high logicical thinking but emotional disconnections would have this region of the brain enlarged the invert of bi polars. It's an environmentally sensitive part of the brain so I am wondering how much of Yoga, meditation etc is actually focusing on this region of the brain, and what role it plays in enlightenment as well... Thanks Roman

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Permalink Reply by db on November 15, 2009 at 10:01am

David,

You are getting a taste of something very beautiful... simply because you are participating on Redefine God at a level that where you are doing something and asking for nothing in return. It's the basis fundamental algorithm that I have stumbled upon that I have tagged "dESIRED aFFECT". I am doing the same thing in my life in regards to helping Redefine God in regards to the technical aspects. What you are experiencing is the desired affect of self-realization in what is called a Trine...


A trine (abrv. Tri) is an angle of 120° (1/3 of the 360° ecliptic). A separation (orb) of 120±04° is considered a trine. The trine indicates harmony, and ease of expression, with the two elements reinforcing each other. The trine is a source of artistic and creative talent, which is innate. The trine has been traditionally assumed to be extremely beneficial, providing ease even if undeserved, but it can be a 'line of least resistance' to a person of weak character. Too many trines are said to make a person weak and unable to cope with adversity. Complacency can also prove to be a problem. Due to the harmony bestowed by the trine, the person may not feel the need to develop the gifts given by this aspect, thus it follows that the person has no need to satisfy a need and supply what is lacking because it is already satisfied from the time of his or her birth. The essential meaning of the trine is momentum. It thus indicates situations or conditions which continue as they are without much input of energy and that tend to build upon themselves. It shows accumulation or accretion,continuance, balance, increase, self-perpetuation and stability. Although the trine is generally considered a "soft" or "good" aspect, if the two planets involved are both malefic by nature, or are planets poorly conditioned in the horoscope under consideration, the aspect may indicate rather uncomfortable conditions which persist and build on themselves. The aspect is purely personal in nature, and shows a person as he acts independently of the world in pure self-expression. It is therefore said to indicate natural talent.

You will see that 3 in this discussion will emerge and continue forward and something will be created. I have seen this several times on RG as a participant and as an observer. What's really interesting is that this convergence that you are experiencing is largely due to the awareness of synchronicity and tuning into a level of vibration at another dimension. When I initially took notice to this convergence, I was taken back with awe. I have observed some of the ideas that were discussed here on RG actually manifest in other places with extreme exactness.... to the brink of paranoia I consumed myself into why this was occuring. The harmonic convergence that's also occuring in regards to the 2012 end date of the Mayan calendar weighs deep in the sub-conscious collectively more and more everyday...I also find this amazing. There are many factors going on here.... some of them I created and have come thru fruition... and I know I'm not the only one that created them after review... and these other entites busy at work and never revealing themselves is not a mystery either. You have observers, participants, (human and non-human intelligence), quantum entanglement, social networking, etc. and throw in religion, physics, spirituality, shamanism, bi-polar disorder, synetheasia, asbergers, technology, branding, marketing, project management....and the list goes on that are shared traits of personal existence among members in RG (using mine as an example)... you get a connection that's internal and external to the RG infrastructure.
This whole convergence thing is very deep and bewildering to those that have not evolved to that level.... they will when it's their time. So right NOW.... the best link to what's going on is right here in this discussion.

Enjoy what manifests !!

db


BTW, this whole "ensoundment" concept I'm consistently developing and fine tuning deals directly will holphonics and binaural beats that are extremely interesting in regards to activating a meditative state and balancing the brain hemispheres..... the stuff I'm doing is not your run of the mill binaural brain entrainment you see advertised on the internet like hemi-sync or halo-sync... that's generated from sine waves.... I generate then from nature.... totally organic.

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