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Hacking Persistent Non-Symbolic Experience

Hacking Persistent Non-Symbolic Experience. Jeffery A. Martin Center for the Study of Non-Symbolic Consciousness www.nonsymbolic.org.

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Hacking Persistent Non-Symbolic Experience

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  1. Hacking PersistentNon-Symbolic Experience Jeffery A. MartinCenter for the Study of Non-Symbolic Consciousness www.nonsymbolic.org

  2. Everyone is looking for something.Something feels missing.Most of us can’t quite put our finger on it.Because it feels like an absence, most of us think that ‘more’…… money, love, approval, whatever … is needed. The population I study doesn’t. They feel complete.

  3. When most people think about PNSE… Buddha EckhartTolle RamanaMaharshi Rumi Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Bernadette Roberts Sri Aurobindo St. Francis Our Sample • Over 1,000 individuals • Age ranges from 18-90’s • Mostly Caucasian European and North American • Educated • All income levels/diverse socio-economic status • Diverse religious/spiritual representation including atheists and agnostics

  4. Approach • ‘Gold standard’ self report measures • Example: Batch 1 - Modified M-Scale, DES2, STAI, SWLS, BFI, TAS, and Modified MUMEX • In-depth interviews (6-12+ hours) • Focused on Cognition, Affect, Memory and Perception • Extracting and refining testable psychological claims from self reports • Experiments • Physiological measurement • HRV, SPV, breath, etc. • EEG, fMRI, … • DNA, blood, and other bio soon…

  5. What is PNSE? Narrative Expanded

  6. What is PNSE? Narrative Narrative Expanded Expanded Towards the far end… No Emotion A step or so back… “Loving Kindness” “Proto Emotions” for all other emotions A step or so back… Persistent positive emotion punctuated by negative emotions that fall off quickly

  7. PNSE Continuum Location 1 Location 2 Location 3 Location 4 • Experiences cluster together into different types of PNSE • Locations actually represent regions with sub-locations • Some people stay in one spot, others move • Generally a forward progression but not always

  8. What is PNSE? Narrative Narrative Expanded Expanded

  9. Other interesting data…

  10. You May be Surprised That… • Psychologically “normal” – keep same preferences, hobbies, etc. • Unable to be differentiated in crowd (or work, family, etc.) • Dogmatic • Divorce • Morality, Health Behaviors, … • Stress, physical illness can knock it out

  11. How Does it Happen? Purposeful Effort Self Objectifying Event ?

  12. Is it all in the brain…?

  13. Where Is The “I”? “The Feeling of What Happens: Body and Emotion in the Making of Consciousness”. Antonio Damasio. Harvest Books, 2000. Core Self Auto biographical Self Proto Self

  14. Neuropsychological Correlates Fox, Snyder, Vincent, Corbetta, Van Essen, & Raichle, 2005

  15. Default & Task Networks • Default network, intrinsic network • Self referential thinking • Allows mental contemplation of past and future • Task network, extrinsic network • Task oriented behavior • Goal oriented behavior

  16. mPFC & PCC Brewer, et al., 2011

  17. Brain Stem • Change in brainstem gray matter concentration following a mindfulness-based intervention is correlated with improvement in psychological well-being. – Singleton, et al., 2014 • Locus Coeruleus, Pontine Tegmentum, Nucleus Raphe Pontis, and the Sensory Trigeminal Nucleus • Serotonin (Raphe) - Sleep, mood, appetite, conditioned fear • Stress down regulates • Very effective for mood and anxiety disorders • Locus coeruleus - Norepinephrine (neurotransmitter), • Modulates arousal • Regulates the interplay between focused vs. flexible responding to environmental demands, or selective vs. scanning attention, • Depression, anxiety, sleep

  18. Things to Consider • The brain is very flexible • Quick changes (6 weeks, etc.), but slow habituation • Many brain regions on the Task and Default networks, and elsewhere have been implicated • May need a variety of techniques, methods, etc.

  19. Engineering PNSE

  20. Not Just About PNSE…

  21. Tech • Feedback • Neuro • Other Bio • Stimulation • Neuro • Traditional tools • Augmented or redesigned with tech

  22. Types of Feedback • Biased • Unbiased • Part-time • Full-time • Real-time • Async • Visual • Auditory • Touch/vibration • …

  23. Applied Research - Feedback PNSE • Home Neuro-feedback

  24. Neurofeedback • rt-fMRI • MEG • EEG

  25. Biofeedback • Pupil dilation • Facial muscles • Eye blink strength • Eye tracking • Galvanic skin response • Heart rate • Breathing • Temperature • Breath gasses • Hormones, neurotransmitters, etc. • Blood

  26. Applied Research - Stimulation • TMS/dTMS • tDCS • tACS • Ultrasound • TUS • FUS PNSE • Home Unit

  27. tDCS

  28. tACS Neuling, Rach, & Herrmann, Front Hum Neurosci, 2013 Brittainet al, Current Biology, 2013

  29. TUS Hameroff, et al.,2012

  30. TUS Sterling Cooley

  31. FUS Yoo, et al., Neuroimage, 2011

  32. Traditional Tools • Meditation • Prayer • Psychological tools • Classes, books, other training methods • Apps • Social • Gamification

  33. Recent Experiment • Best practices from data • 4 months • 2 classes – 1 course • 6 participants • 3 men, 3 women • high, med, low well-being • 1 man did not successfully complete the program

  34. Recent Experiment • NSE • Location 1 = 1 person • Location 2 = 3 person • Location 3 = 1 person • Measures • STAI, STRESS, PILL, M-Scale, NETI, AHI, CES-D, FEQ, GHS, PNAS, Gratitude, Optimism, Meaning, ATH, SWLS • In ‘positive’ direction across subjects

  35. PNSE Special Interest Group (SIG)

  36. Community Project

  37. tDCS Benefits • Learning • Memory • Language Fluency • Mood/happiness • Mystical experience • Visual Tracking • Higher level cognitive functions • Reading • Parkinson’s • Stroke • Schizophrenia • Depression • Pain • Stuttering

  38. Community Project • Open tDCS/tACS hardware development • Front and backend website • Cloud based research and sharing

  39. Thank You! Slides at: nonsymbolic.org/CH-SF-2014.pptx Paper at: nonsymbolic.org/PNSE-Article.pdf Email: jeffery.a.martin@gmail.com

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