Loving God with all your mind: Brain lateraliza7on ......Roger Sperry, 1981 Nobel Prize in...
Transcript of Loving God with all your mind: Brain lateraliza7on ......Roger Sperry, 1981 Nobel Prize in...
LovingGodwithallyourmind:Brainlateraliza7on,religion,and
psychopathology
CatholicPsychotherapyAssocia7onGregKolodziejczak,PsyD,PhD
April27,2018
Lightbearers.org
Chris7anJarreK,PsychologyToday
TheDividedBrain
CorpusCallosum•over200millionaxons
•bothexcitatoryandinhibitory
AlienHandSyndrome(IntermanualConflict)
KarenByrne
RightBrain/LeWBrain
EverythingwehaveseensofarindicatesthatthesurgeryhasleWthesepeoplewithtwoseparateminds,thatis,twoseparatespheresofconsciousness.Thismentaldivisionhasbeendemonstratedinregardtopercep7on,cogni7on,voli7on,learningandmemory.
RogerSperry,1981NobelPrizeinPhysiologyandMedicine
Gazzaniga’sInterpreter
LH=Gazzaniga’s“Interpreter”
Experimentsonsplit-brainpa7entsrevealhowreadilytheleWbraininterpretercanmakeupstoriesandbeliefs.
(MichaelGazzaniga,2005)
LHInterpreter
“Idon’treallyknowwhy,butI’mkindofscared.Ifeeljumpy,IthinkmaybeIdon’tlikethisroom,ormaybeit’syou,you’regecngmenervous.”“IknowIlikeDr.Gazzaniga,butrightnowI’mscaredofhimforsomereason.”
(Gazzaniga,2011)
• Hemisphericdifferences
• Implica7onsforreligion
• Implica7onsforpsychology
Hemisphericdifferences
• Grossanatomy
• GraytowhitemaKerra7o
• Cytoarchitecture
• NeurotransmiKerprofile
• Sensi7vitytohormonesandpharmacologicalagents
• Developmentalprofile
LeWHemisphere(LH)dominance
• Verballanguage• Analy7calthinking/parts• Linear7mesequencing• Abstractthought• NarrowfocusedaKen7on• Seman7cmemory• Consciousapproachemo7ons• Ra7onality• Rightsideofthebody
RightHemisphere(RH)dominance
• Visuospa7alpercep7on• Nonverbalcommunica7on• Holis7cthinking/gestalt• Experien7al(vslogical)• BroadvigilantaKen7on• Autobiographicalmemory• Withdrawalemo7onsandallunconsciousemo7ons• Intui7on• LeWsideofthebody
RHdominance
• Connec7ontoone’sownbody• Senseofselfandiden7ty• Empathy• Mostaspectsofsocial-emo7onalfunc7oning• Metaphors,humor• REMdreams• Facialrecogni7on
OurFocus
• NonverbalvsVerbal• Emo7ons• Self/Iden7ty• BroadvsnarrowaKen7on• Wholevsparts• Metaphoricalvsliteral• Concretevsabstract• Ambiguityvscertainty
“Tan”
LouisLeborgne,died1861atage51
LHcontrolsthemedia
SilvioBerlusconi
HemisphericDifferences
• NonverbalvsVerbal• Emo/ons• Self/Iden7ty• BroadvsnarrowaKen7on• Wholevsparts• Metaphoricalvsliteral• Concretevsabstract• Ambiguityvscertainty
Emo7ons
Agrowingbodyofresearch...demonstratesthegeneralsuperiorityoftherighthemispherefortheexpressionandrecep7onofbothposi7veandnega7veemo7ons.Furthermore,thishemisphereisdominantfortheimplicitcogni7veprocessingoffacial,prosodic,andbodilyinforma7onembeddedinemo7onalcommunica7ons.
(Schore,2003)
HemisphericDifferences
• NonverbalvsVerbal• Emo7ons• Self/Iden/ty• BroadvsnarrowaKen7on• Wholevsparts• Metaphoricalvsliteral• Concretevsabstract• Ambiguityvscertainty
Self/Iden7ty
TherighthemisphereistherepositoryofBowlby’sunconsciousinternalworkingmodelsoftheaKachmentrela7onship.
Therighthemisphere...andnotthelaterformingverbal-linguis7cleW,isthesubstrateofaffec7velyladenautobiographicalmemory. (Schore,2003)
Self/Iden7ty
Convergingneuropsychologicandneurobiologicaldatastronglysuggestthattherighthemisphereiscri7callyinvolvedinthemaintenanceofacoherent,con7nuous,andunifiedimplicitsenseofself. (Schore,2003)
FrontotemporalDemen7a(FTD)
A53-year-oldright-handedmanhadbeenanhonest,dynamicleaderwhoranasuccessfuladver7singagencyfromtheagesof29to35.Hethendecidedtowriteapoli7calnovelandspentseveralyearsinGuatemalabutwrotenothing.
(Milleretal,Neurology,2001)
Axialsec7onofSPECTperfusionimageshowsmostsevereperfusiondeficitinrightfrontalregion.
RH LH
Self/Iden7ty
Itappearsthatanondominantfrontallobeprocess,onethatconnectstheindividualtoemo7onallysalientexperiencesandmemoriesunderlyingself-schema,istheglueholdingtogetherasenseofself.
(Milleretal,Neurology2001)
HemisphericDifferences
• NonverbalvsVerbal• Emo7ons• Self/Iden7ty• Broadvsnarrowa<en/on• Wholevsparts• Metaphoricalvsliteral• Concretevsabstract• Ambiguityvscertainty
AKen7on
ThemostfundamentaldifferencebetweenthehemispheresliesinthetypeofaKen7ontheygivetotheworld.
McGilchrist(2009)
AKen7on
TherighthemisphereunderwritesbreadthandflexibilityofaKen7on,wheretheleWhemispherebringstobearfocusedaKen7on.Thishastherelatedconsequencesthattherighthemisphereseesthingswhole,andintheircontext,wheretheleWhemisphereseesthingsabstractedfromcontext,andbrokenintoparts,fromwhichitthenreconstructsa‘whole’.
McGilchrist(2009)
HemisphericDifferences
• NonverbalvsVerbal• Emo7ons• Self/Iden7ty• BroadvsnarrowaKen7on• Wholevsparts• Metaphoricalvsliteral• Concretevsabstract• Ambiguityvscertainty
Drawingsoftargets7mulusfrommemorybypa7entswithRHandLHdamage.
(RobertsonandLamb,Cogni4vePsychology,1991)
WholevsParts(GestaltvsDetails)
Embarka4onofUlysses,ClaudeLorrain,1646
Le=ers,RichardTuKle,1966,MOMAinNYC
ScienceandCharity,PabloPicasso,1897
FiguresattheSeaside,PabloPicasso,1931
TheSongofLove,1914GiorgiodeChirico
FirstLandingJump,1961RobertRauschenberg
www.centuryhearingaids.com
Intherighthemisphere,theworldispresent:weexperiencethelive,complex,embodied,worldofindividual,uniquebeings,foreverinflux,aworldwithwhichwearedeeplyconnected.IntheleWhemispheretheworldis“re-presented”:we“experience”ourexperienceinaspecialway,ratherlikereadingamap.Aswithamap,lesscanbemore.
(McGilchrist,TheLancet,2011)
PresentvsRe-presented
Herethereare...sta7c,separable,bounded,butessen7allyfragmenteden77es,groupedintoclasses,onwhichpredic7onscanbebased.ThiskindofaKen7onisolates,fixes,andmakeseachthingexplicitbybringingitunderthespotlightofaKen7on.Indoingsoitrendersthingsinert,mechanical,lifeless:itdenaturesthem.Butitalsoenablesustolearnmoreeasily,andtoseehowtomakethingsbypucngthemtogether. (McGilchrist,TheLancet,2011)
LeWHemisphere’sWorld
WholevsParts
Corollary:
Intui7vevsLogical/Analy7cal
HemisphericDifferences
• NonverbalvsVerbal• Emo7ons• Self/Iden7ty• BroadvsnarrowaKen7on• Wholevsparts• Metaphoricalvsliteral• Concretevsabstract• Ambiguityvscertainty
MetaphoricalvsLiteral
“Hehadaheavyheart.”
MetaphoricalvsLiteral
“Hehadaheavyheart.”
“Rightbraindamagepa7entsfrequentlytendtobeveryconcreteandliteral.” (Joseph,1988)
HemisphericDifferences
• NonverbalvsVerbal• Emo7ons• Self/Iden7ty• BroadvsnarrowaKen7on• Wholevsparts• Metaphoricalvsliteral• Concretevsabstract• Ambiguityvscertainty
FalseSyllogism
• Allmonkeysclimbtrees
• Theporcupineisamonkey
• Doestheporcupineclimbtrees,ornot?
(DeglinandKinsbourne,BrainandCogni4on,1996)
ControlCondi7on
—“Itdoesnotclimb,theporcupinerunsontheground.”
—Andhowdoesitlook?
—“Itisprickly.”
—Itislikeamonkey?
—“No,itisnot.”
RHonlyLHSuppression
–“Porcupine?Howcanitclimbtrees?Itisnotamonkey.Itispricklylikeahedgehog.It’swronghere!”(Sheisspeakingwithindigna7on.)
LHonlyRHSuppression
–“Theporcupineclimbstreessinceitisamonkey.”
(Thesyllogismispresentedagain):
–“Sincetheporcupineisamonkey,itclimbstrees.”–Butyoudoknow,thataporcupineisnotamonkey.–“ItiswriKensoonthecard.”
ConcretevsAbstract
WepostulatealeW-hemispheremechanismcapableofdecontextualizedmentalopera7onsandaright-hemispheremechanism,theopera7onofwhichiscontext-boundandincapableofabstrac7on.
(DeglinandKinsbourne,BrainandCogni4on,1996)
Narra7vevsProposi7onalThought
Proposi7onalthoughtconsistsoflogicalargumenta7onaimedatconvincingoneofsomeabstract,context-independenttruth....Bycontrast,narra7vethoughtpresentsconcretehumanandinterpersonalsitua7onsinordertodemonstratetheirpar7cularvalidity.Itisadescrip7onofreality.
(Vitz,1990)
Narra7vevsProposi7onalThought
Narra7vethoughtislanguageintheserviceofrighthemispherecogni7on,andproposi7onalthoughtislanguageintheserviceofleWhemispherecogni7on.
(Vitz,1990)
Corollary:PersonalvsImpersonal
Knowvs
Knowabout
HemisphericDifferences
• NonverbalvsVerbal• Emo7ons• Self/Iden7ty• BroadvsnarrowaKen7on• Wholevsparts• Metaphoricalvsliteral• Concretevsabstract• Ambiguityvscertainty
AmbiguityvsCertainty
SotheleWhemisphereneedscertaintyandneedstoberight.
Therighthemisphereisabletomaintainambiguousmentalrepresenta7onsinthefaceofatendencytoprematureover-interpreta7onbytheleWhemisphere.
(IainMcGilchrist,2009)
AmbiguityvsCertainty
Whatwasinteres7ngwasthattheleWhemispheredidnotsay,“Idon’tknow,”whichtrulywasthecorrectanswer.[Rather],Itconfabulated.
Gazzaniga(2011)
Tolera7ngUncertainty
Therighthemisphere’stoleranceofuncertaintyisimpliedeverywhereinitssubtleabilitytousemetaphor,ironyandhumour,allofwhichdependonnotprematurelyresolvingambigui7es.
(McGilchrist,2009)
Tolera7ngUncertainty
Asfarasthelawsofmathema7csrefertoreality,theyarenotcertain;andasfarastheyarecertain,theydonotrefertoreality.
AlbertEinstein
Tolera7ngUncertainty
IfyouunderstoodHim,itwouldnotbeGodyouhaveunderstood.
(St.Augus7ne)
BothHemispheres
Thesetwowaysofseeingtheworldareeachvitaltooursurvival....ThedivisionofaKen7onworkstoouradvantagewhenweuseboth.However,itisahandicap,infactitisacatastrophe,whenweuseonlyone.
(McGilchrist,2016)
McGilchrist’sperspec7veonthehemispheresworkingtogether
Right!LeW!Right
NewvsFamiliar
Inawidenumberofspecies,includingfish,amphibians,birds,andmammals,thereisevidencethattheleWhemisphereisspecializedtocategorizeobjectsandothers7muliandtotakechargeofrou7nebehavior,whereastherighthemisphereisspecializedtorespondtonovels7muliandpredatorsandtoexpressintenseemo7ons.
(ProfMarcBekoff,2013)
RHMediatesNewExperiences
PhenomenologicallyitistherighthemispherethatisaKunedtotheapprehensionofanythingnew.Thisdifferenceispervasiveacrossdomains.
(McGilchrist,DialoguesinClinicalNeuroscience,2010)
Right!LeW!Right
Sowitheverything,itseems:groundedintheright,“unpacked”forprac7calpurposesintheleW,thenreintegratedintothewholepicturebytherightagain.
(McGilchrist,TheLancet,2011)
Implica7onsforReligion
IntegratedReligion:
Right!LeW!Right
IntegratedReligion
Wedonotbelieveinformulas,butinthosereali7estheyexpress,whichfaithallowsustotouch.
(CCC170)
EngagingtheLH
[Somepeople]cannotconceivethatareligiousdoctrinemaybeclothedinaclear,definiteandauthorita7vestatementwithoutatoncebecomingsta7c,rigidandinertandlosingallitsvitality.Intheirfran7canxietytoescapefromanysuchconcep7ontheytakerefugeinasystemofbeliefsthatisvagueandfluid,asysteminwhichtruthspasslikemistsandwaverandvarylikeshadows.
(Merton,1961)
RisingabovetheLH
Itisnotthedryformulaofadogma7cdefini7onbyitselfthatpourslightintothemindofaCatholiccontempla7ve,buttheassenttothecontentofthatdefini7ondeepensandbroadensintoavital,personalandincommunicablepenetra7onofthesupernaturaltruthwhichitexpresses.
(Merton,1961)
RisingabovetheLH
BeyondthelaborofargumentitfindsrestinfaithandbeneaththenoiseofdiscourseitapprehendstheTruth,notindis7nctandclear-cutdefini7onsbutinthelimpidobscurityofasingleintui7onthatunitesalldogmasinonesimpleLight.
(Merton,1961)
Un-integratedReligion
• FallingbelowtheLH(vague,basedlargelyinemo7ons,lackingintellectualrigor)
• Gecngstuckandtermina7ngintheLH(excessivelydogma7c,rigid,impersonal,oWenfundamentalist)
FallingbelowtheLH
“Spiritualbutnotreligious”
“Mykarmaranovermydogma.”
Pseudo-mys7cism
NewAgeMovement
TheNewAgeseeksashiWfrommodernity’sexalta7onofreasontoanapprecia7onoffeeling,emo7onandexperience(oWendescribedasaswitchfrom‘leWbrain’ra4onalthinkingto‘rightbrain’intui4vethinking).
(JesusChristtheBeareroftheWaterofLife)
LHReligion
Therehavebeenmen...whogotsointerestedinprovingtheexistenceofGodthattheycametocarenothingforGodHimself....Everypoetandmusicianandar7st,butforGrace,isdrawnawayfromloveofthethinghetells,toloveofthetelling7ll,downindeepHell,theycannotbeinterestedinGodatallbutonlyinwhattheysayaboutHim.
(C.S.Lewis,TheGreatDivorce)
AbstractLove
Acertaindoctoroncetoldme,“Ilovemankind,butImarvelatmyself:themoreIlovemankindingeneral,thelessIlovehumanbeingsinpar7cular,asindividualpersons.”
(Dostoyevsky,TheBrothersKaramazov)
AbstractLove
Hewholovescommunitydestroyscommunity.Hewholovesthebrethrenbuildscommunity.
(DietrichBonhoeffer)
AbstractLove
Itisnodoubteasyenoughtolovethefellow-creaturelessandtoimaginethisishappeningbecausewearelearningtoloveGodmore,whentherealreasonmaybequitedifferent.Wemaybeonly“mistakingthedecaysofnaturefortheincreaseofGrace.”
(C.S.Lewis,TheFourLoves)
Fundamentalism
• Literalism• Proof-tex7ng• UKercer7tude• Absenceofparadox
ThismanwasnotaCatholic,muchlessasaint!...TheonlywayitispossiblefortheVa7canins7tu7ontodeclareJohnPaulIItobeamodeltoallCatholicswhoisnowinHeaven,isiftheVa7canins7tu7onisnotprotectedbythecharismofinfallibility;andtheonlywaythisispossibleisifitisnotinfacttheCatholicChurchanditsheadisnotinfactatruePope. (NovusOrdoWatch)
CatholicFundamentalism
CatholicFundamentalism
ItisnotpossiblethatMotherTeresa,whowasapublicapostate,couldbeasaintintheCatholicChurch....ShewasnotaCatholicandnotholy,andthereforecouldnotpossiblybeaCatholicsaint.
(NovusOrdoWatch)
VirusesintheBodyofChristChristopherFerrara
La4nMass,summer2004
Onecansaythatcertainverbal“viruses”haveinfectedtheMys7calBodyofChrist.Thesevirusesarepseudo-conceptswhich,likeactualviruses,haveminimalinforma7onalcontent.Thesepseudo-conceptsarepar4clesofanideathatdonotamounttoanintelligibleabstractconcept.
VirusesintheBodyofChristChristopherFerrara
La#nMass,summer2004
AstatementofCatholicdoctrineordogmawillfitnicelyintothetemplatephrase“Xmeansthat....”Ecumenism,likeanelephant,cannotbedefinedbutonlydescribed,becauseecumenism,likeanelephant,isnotanabstractconceptbutathing,orratheracollec7onofthingsknownas“ecumenicalac7vi7es.”
VirusesintheBodyofChristChristopherFerrara
La#nMass,summer2004
Wordoccurrenceinthis14-pagear7cle:
Church: ?Christ: ?Jesus: ?Love: ?
VirusesintheBodyofChristChristopherFerrara
La#nMass,summer2004
Wordoccurrenceinthis14-pagear7cle:
Church: 117Christ: 19Jesus: 4Love: 2
HistoricalshiWs
• Plato ! LeW• Aristotle ! Right• Renaissance ! Right• ProtestantReforma7on ! LeW• Enlightenment ! LeW• IndustrialRevolu7on ! LeW• Roman7cism ! Right• Modernism ! LeW• TechnologicalRevolu7on! LeW
ModernCulture
Anincreasinglymechanis7c,fragmented,decontextualizedworld,markedbyunwarrantedop7mismmixedwithparanoiaandafeelingofemp7ness,hascomeabout,reflec7ng,Ibelieve,theunopposedac7onofadysfunc7onalleWhemisphere.
(IainMcGilchrist,2009)
Scien7ficfundamentalism
Inourcentury,adeifiedreasonandamegalomanictechnologyaretherepressivestructurestowhichthereligiousfeelingissacrificed.Thisfactexplainsmuchofthepresentcondi7onofman,whichindeedresemblesa“universalcompulsiveneurosisofmankind,”toquoteFreud.
(ViktorFrankl,MD)
ModernCulture
Ourageisoneinwhichusefulnessisthoughttobethechiefmeritofnature....TheGreekslearnedinordertocomprehend.TheHebrewslearnedinordertorevere.Themodernmanlearnsinordertouse. (AbrahamHeschel)
ModernCulture
Thebiasinfavoroftheconceptualislinkedtoman’sPrometheantempta7ontoalwaysbeincontrol....Manhascreatedtheposi7vistcultureandhasbecomeaprisonerinhisownhouse.
(Fr.AlfredMcBride)
LHHallofMirrors
StateofAffairs
[WeareleWwith]awayoflifethatwehavealreadydeterminedintheWesttobelackinginmeaning,oWenaesthe7callybarren,drivenbycommercialismandmorallybankrupt,devotedtothepursuitofpleasureandhappiness,butdeliveringanxietyandsystemicdissa7sfac7on;
(McGilchrist2012)
StateofAffairs
theerosion,andinsomecasesthetrashing,ofancientar7s7candspiritualtradi7ons;andthelossofthesenseofuniquenessaseverythingbecomesabstracted,generalised,categorised,mechanised,representedandrenderedmerelyvirtual.
(McGilchrist2012)
Implica7onsforPsychology
• Intrapsychicconflict• Rigidityanddenial• Au7smspectrum• Psychosis
Func7onallySplitBrains
Thesethreecondi7ons—lateralizedspecializa7on,frontallobeinhibitoryac7vity,andincompletemyelina7onofcallosumaxons—canreducetheabilityofthetwohemispherestocommunicateamongnormal,intactindividuals.Hence,inmanywaysthebrainofevenanormaladultisfunc7onallysplitanddisconnected.
(Joseph,1988)
Intra-PsychicConflict
Itisfascina7ngtoconsiderthelaterramifica7onsofearlyemo7onallearningoccurringintherighthemisphereunbeknownsttotheleW;learningandassociatedemo7onalrespondingthatlatermaybecompletelyinaccessibletothelanguagecentersoftheleWhalfofthebrain.
(Joseph,1988)
Intra-PsychicConflict
Considerayoungdivorcedmotherwithambivalentfeelingstowardheryoungson,who,althoughshedoesnotexpressthesefeelingsverbally,conveysthemthroughhertoneofvoice,facialexpression,andinthemannerinwhichshetouchesherson.
(Joseph,1992)
Intra-PsychicConflict
Later,asanadult,thissameyoungmanhasonefailedrela7onshipaWeranother.Hefeelsthathecan'ttrustwomen,oWenfeelsrejected,andwhenagirlorwomansays"Iloveyou,"itmakeshimwanttocringe,runaway,orstrikeout.Asanadult,hisleQbrainhears"Love,"andhisrightbrainfeelspainandrejec7on.
(Joseph,1992)
Unconscious
Thestructuraldevelopmentoftherighthemispheremediatesthefunc7onaldevelopmentoftheunconsciousmind.
(Schore,2003)
Conscious/Unconscious
Theso-calledunconsciousmindisinfactamanifesta7onofright-brainandlimbicsystemmentalac7vity.Conversely,whatweregardastheconsciousmindappearstobelocalizedwithinandtobemaintainedandsupportedviathefunc7onalintegrityoftheleWhalfofthebraininmostpeople.
(R.Joseph,1992)
LHRigidity
TheleW-hemisphereinterpreterisnotonlyamasterofbeliefcrea7on,butitwills7cktoitsbeliefsystemnomaKerwhat.
(MichaelGazzaniga,2005)
LHDenial
DenialisaleW-hemispherespecialty:instatesofrela7veright-hemisphereinac7va7on...subjectstendtoevaluatethemselvesop7mis7cally,viewpicturesmoreposi7vely,andaremoreapttos7cktotheirexis7ngpointofview. (McGilchrist,2009)
LHGrandiosity
Childrenwithright-braindeficitdisorderignoretaskobstacles,acceptimpossiblechallenges,makegrosslyinadequateefforts,andarestunnedbythepooroutcomes.
(Schutz,NeuropsychReview,2005)
Au7s7cSpectrumDisorder
[Aspergersyndrome]canbeexplainedasadeficitthatprimarily,butnotexclusively,affectsright-hemisphereperformance.
(EllisandGunter,TrendsinCogni4veSciences,1999)
Psychosis
SchizophreniaisnotcharacterisedbyaRoman7cdisregardforra7onalthinkingandaregressionintoamoreprimi7ve,unself-conscious,emo7verealm...butbyanexcessivelydetached,hyper-ra7onal,reflexivelyself-aware,disembodiedandalienatedcondi7on.
(McGilchrist,2009)
Madness
Themadmanisnotthemanwhohaslosthisreason.Heisthemanwhohaslosteverythingexcepthisreason.
(G.K.Chesterton,Orthodoxy)
HumanForma7on
Italsoturnsoutthatthecapaci7esthathelpus,ashumans,formbondswithothers––empathy,emo7onalunderstanding,andsoon––whichinvolveaquitedifferentkindofaKen7onpaidtotheworld,arelargelyright-hemispherefunc7ons.
(McGilchrist,2009)
WaysOutoftheHallofMirrors
• Connec7ontonature• Connec7ontothebody• Art• Religion