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How to Change a Brain that Resists Changing: Exploring Bottom-Up and Top-Down Brain Signaling

You can’t think your way out of the problem but you can feel your way into the solution.

  • Our human brain is excellent at building patterns based on experience. These neurological patterns are both time and energy saving which is of great benefit.  Our brain, even in adulthood, is also capable of ongoing neuroplastic change when provided with effective stimulation.  This neuroplastic change allows for ongoing adaptation, learning, growth and creativity. 
  • There are times when existing patterns (habits, beliefs) do not serve well in current problem solving. These patterns must be surrendered to allow new more effective patterns to grow into place. The process of building and retaining patterns and the process of making changes in patterns generates a competitive environment within the brain.
  • The domain of patterned integration is referred to as a “top-down” neurological dynamic process. The domain of sensory information is referred to as a “bottom-up” neurological dynamic process.  The top-down cognitive resistance to required change can be “relaxed” or “softened” using bottom-up sensory stimulation and reward.  Once “relaxed” further bottom-up information can be instructive in forming new effective neurological, behavioral and psychological patterns.

INTRODUCTION:

  • The profound mystery of the Brain is exceeded only by the controversial theories of Mind – in this document, the concepts of Brain and Mind are simplified for the sake of avoiding unproductive debate – the position here is that, minimally, a good functioning Mind is intimately related to a good functioning Brain.
  • Current science is advancing a number of insights into dynamic brain functioning – these contemporary scientific models will serve the topic of this paper.
  • Perhaps the most influential current understanding is that the adult human brain is capable of positive functional and structural adaptive change when given appropriate forms of stimulation – this phenomenon is known as “neuroplasticity”.
  • At the same time, it is also recognized that our brain excels at creating organized patterns and management processes for the purposes of making effective predictions in perceptions and actions – with repetition, this organization will be constantly reinforced and strengthened making any modification or change in the organization increasingly more difficult.
  • Consequently, knowing that our brain wants to make accurate predictions in perceptions and actions based on sustained habitual organized patterns while also being fully capable of adaptive modifications and change...demands the question “How to Change a Brain that Resists Changing?” - which is the topic of this document.

STARTING WITH THE BASICS:

  • Our human mammalian brain developed over long periods of time – anatomically, our brain developed from the bottom up – the early organizational spine slowly “mushroomed” up (a little evolutionary humor) into the primitive “lower brain” and eventually into the later “higher brain” – even now, we have all of these elements fully functioning in a simultaneous and cooperative fashion.
  • Interestingly, the anatomical “bottom” growing up into an anatomical “top” is also reflected in the functional neurological physiology of the brain... which is explored in this paper – hence, the subject of “bottom-up” and “top-down” brain signaling.
  • The model of “bottom-up” and “top-down” signaling in any complex system is well known and, applied in many fields including cybernetic information processing, economics, psychology, software coding, product development and humanistic studies to just name a few – the model can be applied to manners of thinking, teaching and even leadership.
  • In this paper we are focusing on the application of the “bottom-up/top-down” processing model as it relates to our functional brain.
  • Fundamentally, “bottom-up” is the information that we derive through our senses and “top-down” is the organization and integration of that information – so, “bottom-up” provides information and “top-down” provides integration – obviously both are critical.
  • This simplistic dualistic model serves as an excellent starting point and will remain the core of much our exploration however it should come as no surprise (more about “surprise” later in the paper) that the relationship has a good deal more subtly and complexity.

ABOUT “BOTTOM-UP”:

  • In bottom-up processing, no learning is required, and perceptions are solely based on new stimuli from one’s current external environment, meaning that the driving force of perception in bottom-up processing is the stimulus that is currently being experienced. (1)
  • In this definition, the use of the term “environment” must be expanded – “environment” can be understood as the realm outside of the physical body plus the sensate experiences that occur within the soma such as pain, pleasure, diffuse emotional expressions and positional proprioception.
  • “Bottom-up” experience is essentially “sensate” and restricted to the present moment.

 

ABOUT “TOP-DOWN”:

  • In top-down processing we know that previous knowledge, experience, and expectations are essential in creating perceptions about new stimuli, so the driving force in top-down perception is one’s previous knowledge, experience, and expectations. (2)
  • “Top-down” organization and integration is restricted to the reference of the past and anticipation or projection into the future.

IS “BOTTOM UP” PURE & IS “TOP-DOWN” WISE?

  • The answer to both questions is “NO” – “bottom-up” sensate information is rarely “pure” and “top-down” organizational integration is not always “wise”.
  • “Bottom-up” sensate information is subject to many lens and filters imposed by the biological characteristics of the organism PLUS the perspectives imposed by our new good friend, “top-down” patterns and predictions – it is definitely a Nature/Nurture combination..
  • “Top-down” organizational integration is subject to a wide range of encoding and situational interpretations that may or may not apply with accuracy to the demands of perception and actions.
  • As it turns out, the quest for ongoing life requires a sustained series of “trial and error” experiments and working with a brain that is constantly “jumping to conclusions”.
  • The Neo-Darwinian concept is simple enough – the organism will do whatever it takes to help insure survival because in the hierarchy of needs, being alive is the first and most important rung on the ladder.
  • And so here, we bump into the perennial challenge of “ontology” and “epistemology”.
  • “Ontology” asks what is true and real and “epistemology” is concerned how to gain this knowledge in a reliable way – ontology is the “what is real?” and epistemology is the “how do you know that?”.
  • Boiling it down and in principle – “bottom up” works on the ontology aspect and “top-down” works on the “epistemology” aspect – and together, we should be able to not only survive but also keep learning and growing in adaptation to the ever changing experiences of life. 

ABOUT JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS:

  • Let’s start with a very simple (and possibly silly) example – I am walking in my garden and I look down and see a snake – I jump away and look back down again – on second sight, I see that it is actually my old garden hose – the “take away” here is… “better safe than sorry”.
  • Apparently, in the “library” of my personal experience (my mother was terrified of snakes and instilled the same fear in me) combined with a deep genetically encoded species-based protection mechanism (snakes can be dangerous for human beings) – I have an imprinted pattern that results in a “short cut” through “bottom-up” sensory information and into “top-down” patterning that acts to rapidly protect me with an important perception – the upside of this protection mechanism is that I can be safe if encountering a snake – the downside is that I can easily make mistakes, come to wrong conclusions and act inappropriately.
  • From Neo-Darwinian perspective, this helps to insure a higher probability of survival – in biophysics, this helps to minimize energy expenditure while triggering faster reflex responses.
  • For a better appreciation of “jumping to conclusions”, we will need to explore something a bit more technical called Predictive Coding. 

PREDICTIVE CODING:

  • While avoiding overly detailed information, here we will have a look at the principles underlying the organizational integration that is characteristic of “top-down” brain signaling.
  • You will recall that the “higher brain” is mostly responsible for “understanding” what is going on in the world as the flow of “bottom-up” stimulation supplies information via the senses.
  • Cybernetics would describe this as attempting to “find a signal in the noise”.
  • The higher brain conducts an “epistemological” method that attempts to make an “ontological” discovery.
  • Again, in simplification, the “bottom up” information will be meaningful for two possible reasons: 1) the information is associated with a new experience with a concentrated quality of either pleasure or pain and/or 2) the information is similar to a past meaningful experience.
  • If either (or both) of these conditions is met, our brain will imprint and store this experience as a coded neurological pattern that can be readily summoned in the future on an “as needed” basis – it is rapid and energy efficient.
  • However, remember my garden hose (mentally) masquerading as a snake – these “top-down” coded patterns can be tricky.
  • In as much as the “top-down” patterns can be effective and efficient, they may not always be correct (as in the case of the mistaken identity of my garden hose).
  • These “top-down” imprinted patterns allow our brain to anticipate probable future experiences and make reasoned predictions as to how to respond to these experiences with maximum speed and minimum energy.
  • Often, things do work out and the “top-down” pattern works well (like when you ace your tennis serve again and again) – however, there are times when it doesn’t work well at all which will then trigger what is (technically) called a “prediction error” (aka, that didn’t go well at all).
  • The only way that a “prediction error” gets recognized is when the “bottom up” sensory information enters the scene and is matched against the predicted outcome – “whoops”!
  • In one advanced brain model, a “prediction error” is called a “Surprise” (a term I quite like).
  • In brain modeling, it is explained that the brain does everything it can to avoid “prediction errors” and “surprises” – we REALLY need to explore this concept further … and we will for sure.
  • When the brain makes a prediction and the resulting perception or action is correct (validated by the flow of “bottom-up” sensory information) – it feels “good” and the brain “likes it” – it generates “reward” - the pattern is reinforced and strengthened making it more reliable and resilient.
  • However, when the brain makes a prediction and the resulting perception or action is NOT correct (again, as informed by the “bottom-up” sensory information) – it feels “bad” and it generates “punishment” (we don’t like that at all) – and the pattern is brought into question because (surprise!!!), a prediction error has been reported.
  • Our brain really likes rewards and really doesn’t like punishment – so, obviously, our brain really wants its predictions to be correct and will attempt to avoid the bad news and the associated punishments – which is one of the main reasons that our brain will resist changes in its ‘top-down” patterns… even when the prediction is an error !!! 

WHEN OUR BRAIN GETS IT RIGHT ...OR WRONG:

  • Generally speaking, feeling “bad” does not feel “good” – organisms do their best to avoid pain and seek out pleasure – that’s certainly true for our brain.
  • When you make a prediction for a perception or action, being correct “feels good” – so, it is easy to appreciate the tendency to protect your prediction even in the face of a “prediction error”...which feels “bad”.
  • A stored “top-down” pattern is known technically as a “prior” – which is a good term as “prior” means “before” – a “prior” is the result of meaningful experience from the past (before) and was significant enough that the brain decided to keep it ready to use again if necessary – “priors” are registered with the anticipation of similar future rapid problem solving.
  • Not all “priors” are created equal however – simply speaking, some “priors” are considered “reliable” and others as “unreliable” – and these two states are not absolute – they are not like an On/Off light switch – they are more like a “dimmer switch” with lots of possible “shades of gray”.
  • The rating of a top-down “prior” as reliable and unreliable has a direct influence on the reactions to bottom-up sensory information.
  • If a “prior” is coded as “reliable” and it is used in a prediction...and the prediction fails with a resulting “prediction error”...the top-down “new” brain will resist the “old brain” bottom-up information and essentially attempt to “cancel” the prediction error report.
  • This “cancel the report” response reminds me of a quote from the famous anthropologist Margaret Mead – she was reported as saying when presented with controversial research information – “This is the kind of proof I wouldn’t believe even if it is true”.- at least she was aware of her own strong bias.
  • Having a strong “reliable prior” can be good or bad – good, for example, if a visual experience is distorted by hallucination and you deny the bottom-up information and cancel out the impression because it is not accurate or valid – bad, for example, if you are so committed to a belief that you deny obvious and accurate information regarding the facts of an event.
  • As stated above, a “prior” can also be “unreliable” – in such a case, when the top-down “new brain” makes a prediction that results in a prediction error...because the prior is “unreliable”, the bottom-up “old brain” sensory information will be given extra validity and, against anticipation, the brain will (sometimes reluctantly) accept the error and yield to a “change of mind” (and a change of brain).
  • Let’s group a few alternative terms for a “prior” to bring it more into a practical appreciation – prior = pattern = order = perspective = interpretation = behavior = habit = belief = point of view = confirmation bias = my reality = who I am.

HOW “TOP-DOWN” HUNTS FOR MEANING IN “BOTTOM-UP”:

  • Basic Predictive Coding has a pretty simple approach to bottom-up information gathering and top-down experience integration – however, as we stated before “bottom-up information is not always pure and top-down integration is not always wise”.
  • For a better understanding of the “hunt for meaning”, we need to introduce a principle called “Active Inference”.
  • First, to clarify the relationship and difference between the concepts of “to imply” and “to infer” is necessary – then we will better appreciate the “inference” aspect of Active Inference as well as to why it is “active”.
  • The verb “to imply’ (the noun is “implication”) can be defined “to as suggest the truth or existence of something not expressly ” - when someone doesn’t “just come right out and say it” but instead injects certain hints or subtle information into a statement – that is “to imply”.
  • The “implication” comes from the speaker and is meant to indirectly influence the listener – it is a bit like hiding meaning in the message that the listener must “decode” to understand.
  • The verb “to infer” (the noun is “inference”) can be defined “to deduce or conclude (information) from evidence and reasoning rather than from direct explicit statements.”
  • The “inference” is created by the listener when they probe the message from the speaker for information that is not directly or openly transmitted by the speaker.
  • Now, let’s look more closely at the “active” aspect of Active Inference – in the general definitions above, the act of “inference” is more reactive and responsive to the initial input of sensory information – one could say that the dynamic involves a “passive” response by the listener to the messaging initiated by the speaker – hence, the listener is first of all neutral or “unbiased” and the act of inferring is a secondary reaction to the message – therefore, perhaps “Passive Inference”.
  • This “passivity” is apparently not the case we are dealing with here because the “inference” element is specifically called “Active Inference” – so what does that mean?
  • So, with this in mind, if we consider the top-down “new brain” as the listener and the bottom-up “old brain” as the speaker...Active Inference would mean that the top-down “new brain” is prepared to engage in bottom-up information with a “filter” in place – the top-down dynamic has shifted from passive to active and is on the lookout for possible “implicit” meaning in the stream of bottom-up sensory information – the top-down “new brain” apparently has suspicions regarding the “purity” or factual information of the bottom-up “old brain” sensory flow.
  • ..perhaps the top-down “new brain” is not so much questioning the “purity” of the bottom-up information as much as the top-down “new brain” has an “agenda in mind” – if so, then the probability of a strong “confirmation bias” must be considered.
  • The brain is no longer “open minded” to discovery of new information as much as it now has an agenda to solidify preexisting beliefs and behaviors irrespective of any evidence to the contrary.
  • With the “confirmation bias” in place, the interpretation of bottom-up sensory information will be slanted and sifted towards the likelihood of reinforcing the assumptions based on bias of past experiences with a potent resistance to new information that would require modifications and changes in the mind/brain.

 IT’S NOT ALL BAD BUT… IT’S ALSO NOT ALL GOOD:

  • Top-down “new brain” organization and integration is the bedrock of sanity and fundamental survival – and that is wonderful and amazing – thank you.
  • Bottom-up “old brain” sensory information is the fertile soil of experience and the ever-renewing delight of life – and that is also wonderful and amazing – thank you, again.
  • I suppose what we have here is the infamous “double edge blade” meaning it can cut both ways (good or bad).
  • Having a huge library of top-down, time-saving, patterned neurological short cuts is more than a lifesaver – it means we can continue to accumulate more and more efficient and effective ways of navigating life as we gather more and more skills.
  • All is good as long as the organized patterns are an effective predictor of the flow of experiences – but...let’s here quote Charles Darwin – “It is not the strongest or the most intelligent of the species that survives but the one most adaptable to Change”.
  • Preexisting organized, top-down patterns will certainly throughout life encounter experiences that challenge predictions and express as prediction errors – the ability to abandon the patterns and permit the creation of new patterns while being guided by the flow of bottom-up sensory information is crucial.
  • As discussed above, when the prediction proves correct, it feels good and the brain “likes it” (attraction/pleasure). When the prediction proves incorrect and generates a prediction error, it feels bad and the brain doesn’t like it (aversion/pain) – keep in mind that the “proving” of either is generated with the flow of bottom-up information validation.
  • That seems simple enough as a premise for deciding to abandon a non-functioning pattern – however remember the power of Active Inference that seeks out validating compliance in the flow of bottom-up information – “confirmation bias” is a powerful filter on experience – the adage “Seeing is believing” can be easily flipped into “Believing is seeing” and injecting a sobering realization that much of conscious experience is actually being twisted into a forced confirmation of the “truth” we hold dear...at all costs.
  • A question comes forward – is it possible to experience prediction errors in such a way that they do not produce an uncomfortable state.

 CAN BEING WRONG FEEL GOOD?

  • There’s got to be more than pain to get you to know that you are wrong – what about pleasure and reward.
  • If pain is the only messenger, eventually we will block the knowledge that gives us the truth at all costs – the “truth” just hurts too much.
  • Decreasing the punishment/discomfort of “error” may not be a solid reward but it definitely results in relief – which is certainly welcome.
  • So, maybe the motivation to change what’s not working can be a blend of decreasing the “discomfort” of error and increasing the pleasurable reward of making a positive change.
  • In the Predictive Coding and Active Inference models, a fundamental premise is that our brain attempts to minimize prediction errors - the term “prediction error” sounds negative (generally, no one really thinks that an error is a good thing) - however, the term “surprise”, in some sense, doesn’t sound too bad at all – maybe even good – a “surprise” birthday party can be delightful - winning the lottery (against all statistical odds), is a “surprise” few people would decline.
  • Basically, “surprise” is an unexpected outcome - it can be experienced as positive, negative or neutral depending on context - characterizing a “prediction error” as a “surprise” gives us a lot more latitude when we approach our brain with the process of accepting the necessity of change.
  • We can stretch the possible polarity of perspectives on “prediction error” and “surprise” even further – “prediction error” can be interpreted more strongly as a “violation” (negative) – “surprise” can be interpreted more strongly as “novelty” (positive).

 IF YOU WANT THINGS TO BE DIFFERENT, YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO CHANGE:

  • The scientific fact is that our adult human brain is still capable of change – fortunately not just negative degenerative change but also positive regenerative change.
  • Our brain can do an amazing number of things but it can’t do everything at once – when it comes to changing the brain, we can expect some competition between old functional patterns and new emerging patterns.
  • Because neuroplasticity processes are inherently competitive, there will always be “winners” and “losers” – which can be either good news or bad news depending on which team you are rooting for – so, don’t expect old habits (even though they are not working anymore and maybe even causing problems) to give up without a fight.
  • Our human brain begins to decline as early as 30 years old – it can subtly progress very slowly or decline abruptly in steps and stages – the consequence may be a self-reinforcing spiral downward of degrading brain functioning – the disuse increases, processing becomes less efficient, more neuromodulatory activities weaken while becoming “noisy” and “negative learning” accumulates.
  • Human brain decline and degeneration is a bit like a “physiological gravity” – you can rise above it but it will take a clever use of effort.
  • The brilliant William James explained over 120 years ago – “Plasticity is when the system is weak enough to yield to influences but strong enough to not yield all at once.”
  • So, “yielding to influences” is an unavoidable part of the game – theoretically, yielding to negative influences should inherently feel bad and yielding to positive influences should feel good – this nice and neat theory becomes much more complicated against the competitive terrain of brain neurology.
  • Recall the top-down “confirmation bias” described above – once patterns are imprinted, they will seek to persevere themselves – bottom-up sensory information will attempt to provide reports of “surprising prediction errors” but the top-down “beliefs” of validity will typically put up a fight to maintain authority – which is one of the main reasons why old habits are so hard to change even when they are negative and causing distress.

 WHAT CAN MAGIC TRICKS AND COMEDY TEACH US ABOUT BRAIN CHANGE?

  • Top-down organizational patterns excel at anticipating the probable characteristics of future experiences – they even project into the future with “active inference” and “go looking for” the preferred outcomes – in other words, top-down processes are built upon “expectations”.
  • When a perception is logged or an activity is performed, there is an “expectation of outcome” – the perception and the action are considered factual and accurate – the expectation of outcome can be so strong or rigid that it can be considered to be a “rule” or “law”.
  • If the bottom-up sensory information attempts to “prove it wrong”, the interpretation from the perspective of “rule/law” is one of a “violation” – and not just a “violation” of the “truth” but perhaps even a “violation” of “Reality”.
  • Anyone familiar with popular “magic” knows that it is an “illusion” – not real – yet it is astounding nevertheless – illusory magic tricks are based fundamentally on “misdirection” – meaning, the audience is given a collection of “expectations” based on assumptions – these expectations are fortified in several steps blending apparent perceptions and actions (all under the influence of “misdirection”).
  • Then comes the “surprise” – which is essentially a “violation of expectation” – it is both confounding as well as delightful – certainly a “prediction error” yet one that is entertaining and satisfying.
  • And so, comedy may be a form of “illusory cognitive magic” – the comedian sets up a field of expectation and moves the audience into a “set up” for the joke – a certain “obvious outcome” is anticipated...and then comes the “punch line” – an unexpected twist which is a surprising aspect of the truth.
  • Humor is often defined as a “benign violation” of cultural “rules and laws” - it goes against the cultural expectation (hence, violation) but does so without any harm (hence, benign) – as humor evolves along and within the greater evolution of the culture, the challenge becomes the relative assignment of “harm”...the violation may no longer be benign but now unacceptably hurtful (reference the now famous Will Smith onstage slap of Chris Rock at the Oscars).
  • So, (back to the title of this section – What can Magic Tricks and Comedy Teach us about Brain Change?) - apparently, it has a LOT to do about “expectation” and “misdirection” – are we approaching life under true or false “expectations”? - are we perceiving and acting under the influence of “misdirections” that set us up for unwelcoming “punch lines”?
  • A controversial quote, often assigned to Shakespeare – “A tragedy is a comedy misunderstood”- points out the role that perception and the anticipated expectation of outcome plays in our experiences in life...and our responses to our own personal “prediction errors” – one of the dramatic devices used by Shakespeare (example in The Tempest) is the experience of “misunderstanding” – do we operate under the shadow of “misunderstandings” in our life?
  • Is there a way to proceed towards positive adaptive brain changes that may be closer to the delight of magic and the laughter of humor? - can we somehow reduce the stubborn resistance to positive change?  - maybe the internal neurological competition that takes place within the brain when patterns required change can be influenced to make it less of a battle and more of a dance.

 PATTERN RECOGNITION, ANTICIPATION MACHINE, PREDICTION GENERATOR:

  • These are just some of the names assigned to our brain but we must be careful because these names and concepts are accurate essentially for the “new brain” and its top-down organizational integration.
  • In this paper, we have made repeated references to the bottom-up dynamics of the “old brain” which are primarily sensual as compared to the top-down dynamics of the “new brain” which are primarily conceptual.
  • Here is an analogy – consider our brain to be a rally car with a driver and a navigator – the driver is the top-down new brain and the navigator is the bottom-up old brain – in an odd twist, in this analogy, the driver happens to be blind – because of being blind, the driver must rely on the navigator to know what actions to take.
  • Going back (above) to the ontology/epistemology dynamic...the blind driver has no way of knowing “what is out there” (ontology) so he relies on the navigator to describe everything for him (epistemology) – the driver has a very good memory and compiles left turns and right turns in an effort to more rapidly respond to the navigator’s information – at a certain level of experience, the driver begins to take risks and projects forward into the near future and makes turns based on anticipation and expectation – the driver must now rely even more closely on the navigator’s information because of risking possible errors – the navigator must also increase the reporting because he is not just given primary directions, he is also, as rapidly as possible, giving prediction error feedback – hopefully, the driver is not too stubbornly attached to his predictions...otherwise...smash!

 OUR PATTERN COLLECTION:

  • It is critical that we build up an effective and efficient library of experiences for quick and accurate reference – that’s the main task of the top-down new brain.
  • It is also critical that this library remain open for expansion and revision as we live our lives – this is where our bottom-up old brain plays its role.
  • To help make it a little more personal...we have discussed above “perceptions” and “actions” quite a lot...now, let’s consider these “patterns” as they relate to our “beliefs”.
  • “Beliefs” are the domain of the cognitive top-down new brain – it is the merged realm of ideas and perceptions that have a powerful effect in motivated actions.
  • There is class of “beliefs” known as “axioms” – an axiom is a statement or proposition which is regarded as being established, accepted, or self-evidently true – another definition could be that an axiom is a self-evident truth that requires no proof.
  • That is pretty heavy stuff when you have a hard look at ontology and epistemology (what’s really happening and how do we know?).
  • It is easy to understand that if an existing “belief” (aka pattern, prediction) sits in your mind/brain at the level of an “axiom”… it is going to be very tough to modify – any challenge to its validity can result in charges of “mental sacrilege”… perhaps even in punishable heresy.
  • We all have a hierarchy of belief – that is entirely normal and healthy – in cybernetic/information systems theory, our brain is always “seeking signal in the noise” – it is always attempting to “make sense out of nonsense”.
  • The progressive work of the early psychologist, Jean Piaget, offers a fascinating exploration of how we all, as children, attempt to make sense of the world and its natural phenomena – essentially, we make up stories of why things are the way they appear to be with all sorts of fantastic and creative concepts – one of the major challenges is to explain the “hidden causes” of things..like why do clouds move and where does the Sun go every evening.
  • It is a charming reflection on childhood innocence, no doubt – with a little honesty, we can all accept that, as adults, we do much of the same – we humans are story-telling animals – it is our way of not going insane amidst the cognitive confusion of so many unexplained experiences.
  • How many Shakespearean “misunderstandings” are lodged in the “axioms-only” section of our personal brain pattern library? - when it come to cognitive competition on the battlefield of adaptive change, the “axiom soldiers” will put up one hell of a fight.

 HOW DO WE SOFTEN UP HARD CORE PATTERNS THAT NEED TO CHANGE?

  • We humans are social animals – we rely strongly on our cultural context and philosophy – it is reasonable to say that the strong majority of our industrialized countries have a materialistic, scientific and reductionist view of life -the prevailing outlook is fundamentally rooted in logic and rationalism – considering the simultaneous prevalence of religious beliefs and practices throughout these same societies, we are indeed curious beings.
  • Materialism is very well suited for the top-down new brain – in fact, this top-down new brain development is likely the actual physical seed of materialistic modernism.
  • Modern contemporary society rewards analytical, top-down rationalism but is very, very suspicious, even paranoid, when it comes intuitive, body-based intuitive knowing – whether it is viewed as the visible/invisible, mind/brain, spiritual/scientific, Apollonian/Dionysian, etc, etc dualistic conflict...our modern society demands “proof” of the need of change before it risks the leap into the unknown.
  • The hidden “itch” is the residual fundamental mistrust of the body – the body of unrestricted desire, of corrupted appetite, of sinful temptation, of disease and death...how can bottom-up information be trusted when the senses are the ambassadors of the flesh?
  • Here’s where changing a stubborn, axiomatically-resistant brain gets very interesting – physiologically (and probably, psychologically), we humans are “feeling creatures that think, and not thinking creatures that feel”.
  • So, here is the “punch line” in the existential joke – “you can’t think your way out of the problem but you can feel your way into the solution”.

 UNSTICKING A STUCK BRAIN:

  • Neurofeedback is a form of biofeedback in which a practitioner assists a client/patient in adjusting their brainwaves to a more positive profile - there is a variety of methodological approaches and interpretations of the application of neurofeedback.
  • One such method is known as “Multi-Modality Intensive Neurofeedback” - in this case. “multi-modality” means that along with the basic neurofeedback device and technique, other devices and/or processes are integrated into the experience.
  • In neurofeedback, there are times when the desired change in brainwave conditions is difficult to achieve – the brain can be “stuck” in certain patterns that resist the desired change or modification in the fundamental neurofeedback method alone - Multi-Modality Intensive Biofeedback can be effective in “unsticking” resistant aspects of the brain wave behavior.
  • The basic approach is to use another device/process to first “un-stick” the stubborn pattern and then, when the “glue is softened”, introduce the desired brain wave pattern – following the introduction, then reinforce the desired brain wave pattern.
  • Modalities such as PEMF (Pulsed Electro-Magnetic Field), flickering light and pulsed sound are examples of modalities that can serve the purpose of the process described above.
  • Basically, there are three (3) steps in the process: 1) disconnect, 2) reconnect, 3) reinforce.
  • The “disconnect” is also known as “destabilize”, or “dis-habituation” or “de-habituation” – by whatever name the purpose of step #1 is to weaken or “break apart” the stubborn maladaptive brain wave pattern – to achieve this, the “destabilizing” signal will interfere with the pattern – often times the interference will be achieved using chaotic or even random impulses for a brief period of time.
  • This “destabilization” will leave the brain seeking a re-ordering of signaling – in a way, it creates an “appetite” for order following the “disorder” created by the destabilizing signals – this “hunger for order” (seeking signal in the noise – cybernetics) is the opportunity to introduce the target or desired set of brain waves...hence the #2 “reconnect” stage.
  • Once the “reconnect” has taken place, the system is rewarded with reinforcements meant to fortify the now modified brain wave behavior.
  • The three step process exemplified in Multi-Modality Intensive Neurofeedback reduces the top-down habituated controls at the core of the stubborn, resistant neural patterns and increases the bottom-up information influences in the adaptive changes in the brain.

 HOW FAST CAN OUR BRAIN CHANGE:

  • Throughout this paper we refer to “neuroplastic” brain change – so how fast can a brain actually change?
  • Fundamentally , there are four stages of neuroplastic change and each has its own time line.
  • Functional Neuroplasticity:
    1. Takes place in “moments” (seconds to minutes to hours);
    2. Preexisting under-functioning synaptic connections that already exist are aroused into higher levels of efficient function;
    3. Related physical neuronal pathways already exist;
    4. Anatomically, each neuron has upwards to 10,000 dendritic synaptic connections;
    5. Analogy: the routes and roads already exist but have not been used much for a period of time.
  • Synaptic Neuroplasticity:
    1. Takes place over days to weeks;
    2. New and different synaptic pathways are created to accommodate new demands;
    3. Related physical neuronal pathways already exist.
    4. Analogy: the roads already exist but new different routes are created using the same roads.
  • Neuronal Neuroplasticity:
    1. Takes place over months;
    2. New and different physical nerves (neurons) are created to allow the new synaptic connections and patterns.
    3. Analogy: for the new routes to be created, new roads must be built.
  • Systemic Neuroplasticity:
    1. Takes place over years;
    2. The new physical neurons and their evolving signal connections and pathways are integrated into all of the global systemic metabolic, adaptation and self-regulatory aspects of the organism as a whole.
    3. Analogy: the new roads and routes are incorporated into the entire city transport system with adaptations in traffic flow and commuting patterns.

 WHAT ABOUT PSYCHEDELICS FOR BRAIN CHANGE?

  • The topic is moving through many societies in waves of hope and promise – of course, most people of a certain age will respond to the idea of psychedelics based on either positive personal experiences or controversial stories from 50 years ago.
  • In relation to the topic of our paper, it is definitely worth looking briefly in this direction – not so much to explore psychedelic compounds but instead to inspect what psychedelics and new psychedelic-related research can tell us about our brain...and how to help it change when it needs to.
  • Karl Friston (the genius responsible for 95% of all the brain imaging technology on the planet) along with Robin Carhart-Harris (a brilliant brain researcher specializing in psychedelic effects) discuss an effect they call E.B.U.S..
  • REBUS is a rather clumsy acronym for Relaxing Existing Beliefs Using psychedelics – the imaging and evidenced based research clearly demonstrates that the effects of psychedelics “relax” typical boundaries that restrict wider ranges of neural communication in the brain.
  • Sincere psychological and psychiatric studies are yielding very promising results in the treatment of difficult conditions such as PTSD, Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Approaching Death Anxiety while using certain psychedelics in a systematic and controlled manner.
  • I believe even more importantly that the psychedelic state is a natural, normal capacity of the human brain – psychedelic compounds give quick access to this capacity but they do not create it – there is a long list of methods or vehicles (beyond the scope of this current paper) that demonstrate unequivocally that this so-called psychedelic state is a natural feature of the human brain.
  • From this informed perspective, the acronym REBUS could well be refined as Relaxing Existing Beliefs Using SOMETHING and not exclusively psychedelics.
  • For the average person, we are best to visit this state periodically and for relatively short periods of time – for seasoned individuals with a history of structured practices and development, entering these states (because they are varied and nuanced) for longer periods of time is known to be positive and even beneficial – various groups such as matured Tibetan monks, yogic adepts and certain indigenous shamans exhibit the capacity to “loosen the common constraints” of the top-down new brain – admittedly, the experiential states are complex and not simply comparable however the ability to make potent neurological shifts without the medium of a psychedelic compound is proven.

 A LITTLE ABOUT THE ENTROPIC BRAIN AND ANARCHIC BRAIN MODELS:

  • Without elaboration, the following is information regarding the similar brain models known as Entropic Brain and Anarchic Brain – these models have an interesting relationship to our topic.
  • As immediately above, these brain models are products of the research of Robin Carhart-Harris at Imperial College, UK (Entropic Brain) and augmented by Karl Friston (Anarchic Brain).
  • These brain models are the result of psychedelic research into brain behavior and information dynamics in systems behavior – these models provide a unique perspective on brain change activities that have an insightful link to bottom-up information and top-down integration processes.
  • The name Entropic Brain rests upon the principle of “entropy”, hence its name - here “entropy” is not the original thermodynamic usage or even the statistical usage but instead an “informational entropy” - in a way, the use of “entropy” in this brain model is more metaphoric than actual – essentially, here “entropy” relates to increased “disorder” or “uncertainty”.
  • The foundation of the Entropic Brain Model is the premise that the human brain developed in stages – the earlier stages were capable of deriving important ongoing information from the environment through the Primary Consciousness senses – this relates to our “bottom-up” dynamic discussed repeatedly throughout this paper – anatomically, this “old brain” is basically “subcortical” and generates what Carhart-Harris terms “Primary Consciousness”.
  • The later stages of brain development resulted in the “new brain” that is mostly “neocortical” – this aspect acts to organize and integrate the information in practical and reliable patterns – this relates to our “top-down” dynamics – Carhart-Harris labels this domain as the generator of “Secondary Consciousness”.
  • According to the Entropic Brain Model, we spend the majority of our time in the organized Secondary Consciousness aspect of our brain – perhaps we can also call Secondary Consciousness...Common Consciousness – and when problems occur that require access to new and novel information, we are capable of shifting into Primary Consciousness which is often referred to as Uncommon Consciousness or even Non-Ordinary Consciousness.
  • The experience of Primary/Uncommon Consciousness need not be fully “psychedelic” (although it can be) – it can also be simply more “open minded” and “insightful/intuitive” – the division between Primary and Secondary Consciousness is not strictly absolute (like black/white) – there is a “gray zone” of relativity that permits degrees of access to one from the other.
  • The “buffer” between Secondary/Common and Primary/Uncommon is a zone of “criticality” – this “shift zone” can be imagined at being more dense in some people and more porous in others – the interpretation is that some of us have difficulty in passing into and through the “critical zone” and shifting into the lucid information rich possibilities offered by Primary Consciousness while others have a relatively easier ability to slide into the “critical zone”.
  • Essentially, it is much easier to change the brain with access to Primary Consciousness and harder to accept and make change when you are locked in Secondary Consciousness.
  • A little more about the Anarchic Brain Model – this model parallels the Entropic Brain Model in most every way – the difference may be more poetic than factual – the word “anarchy” means “no leader” (for example, monarchy means a single leader) – here, the Common/Secondary “top-down” aspect of the brain is considered the normal “leader” of the brain functions – so, when a person shifts towards Uncommon/Primary “bottom-up” dynamics, they are moving away from the “leadership of patterns and predictions” and into an exploration of new possibilities and change.
  • The “take-away” here is that our human brain is naturally designed to move in and out of integrated organization and exploratory information – psychedelic compounds do not MAKE the brain act in strange ways – rather a psychedelic compound helps open the doors of “rooms in the brain” that are naturally there.
  • Generally speaking, short passage and returns in and out of Primary/Uncommon Consciousness is not only fruitful in adaptive brain change...it is actually a “built-in” biological function that we experience every 24 Circadian Cycle – that subject is next.

OUR NATURAL CIRCADIAN CYCLE & HYPNAGOGIA:

  • The neurological “glue” that helps hold together our brain patterns and habits naturally “softens” a few times every day and night – our human Circadian Cycle is a biological “pace maker” that guides us through metabolic regulation every 24 hour spin of the Earth.
  • We have four basic Circadian states: 1) Waking, 2) Sleeping, 3) Sleeping Dreams, 4) Waking Dreams – each state provides significant biological benefits – the disturbance or diminishment of any one of the four results in metabolic disequilibrium and dysfunction.
  • “It turns out that for every two hours a person is awake and interacting with the world, the brain on average needs to go “offline” for an hour—disconnected from the outside world—to process and contextualize those experiences.”(8)
  • Sleeping Dreams have always presented controversial interpretations ranging from the irrelevant to the profound.
  • “We argue that dreaming allows the sleeping brain to enter an altered state of consciousness in which it can construct imagined narratives and respond emotionally to them. While dreaming, the brain identifies associations between recently formed memories (typically from the preceding day) and older, often only weakly related memories, and monitors whether the narrative it constructs from these memories induces an emotional response in the brain. If an emotional feeling is detected, the brain tags the association as potentially valuable, strengthening the link between the two memories and making the association available during subsequent wakefulness.” (8)
  • “The neurochemical modulation of the brain is altered during sleep, and especially during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, when the release of norepinephrine and serotonin in the brain is shut off while levels of acetylcholine reach their peak in regions such as the hippocampus. These shifts bias memory networks toward the activation of normally weak associations, perhaps explaining the bizarreness of many dreams, especially during REM sleep.” (8)
  • “Unlike problem solving during wakefulness that relies on imagining and planning, dreaming stops short of offering definitive solutions to our current concerns. Instead, our dreams serve to explore the solution space, helping us to discover new possibilities.” (8)
  • Even less understood and more mysterious is the category of “Waking Dreams” – “Waking Dreams is a novel term for what is usually collectively referred to as “hypnagogia”, “para-hypnagogia” and “hypnopompia”.
  • In our Circadian Cycle, “Waking Dreams” are conventionally designated at the transition from Waking to Sleep (hypnagogia) and Sleep to Waking (hypnopompia) – these terms are derived from the Greek and mean exactly as just described – “para-hypnagogia” refers to the occurrence of these “Waking Dreams” during periods of Waking (for example, traditional short afternoon naps, at the daytime metabolic “low energy dip” around 3:00 pm and periods of conscious deep relaxation that can be induced at any time of the waking day).
  • Waking Dreams predictably involve a combination of lower alpha brain waves and higher theta brainwaves – what this means is the low alpha relates to a calm relaxed but aware state and the higher theta relates to a dreamy creative internalized state – the combination is a unique neurological state that relaxes rigid top-down neocortical organization.
  • All aspects of “Waking Dreams” can be optimized with awareness and intention – the first step is to recognize that this type of state exists, is normal and cyclical within the basic 24 “earth day” – for example, the para-hypnagogic experience can be generated with deep conscious relaxation coupled with attention to the experience.
  • The imagery and information that presents itself is typically fleeting and requires effortless attention to recognize – in some studies, Waking Dreams are categorized as “Light Sleep” because of the relationship to Sleep and deep relaxation.
  • Waking Dream experiencing can be visual, auditory and/or informational (ideas and concepts) – unlike Sleeping Dreams which more immersive and emotional, Waking Dreams tend to be more emotionally neutral and observant.
  • There are many well-know examples of famous scientists and artists using the Waking Dream state as a source of information and inspiration.
  • In the same way, certain people and traditions give value to the effort of exploring more deeply Sleeping Dreams as “Lucid Dreams”...meaning increasing the clarity and awareness while in the Sleeping Dream state (eg. yogic Dream Yoga), the ability to increase the clarity and awareness of the Waking Dream state that results in “Lucid Waking Dreams” is possible.
  • The experiences of Waking Dreams promote opportunities to rest in states that permit increased access to neuroplastic adaptive brain change dynamics.

 

SOFTEN THE GLUE OF PATTERNS THAT NEED TO CHANGE:

  • Perhaps by now you may be seeing where this is going – basically, get out of your “thinking” head and into your “feeling” body...could be one way of saying it – we are not saying to cut off your head...just let it reunite with all the rest of you – let ideas step aside for awhile to let sensations move onto the dance floor in your mind.
  • You can’t think your way out of the problem but you can feel your way into the solution – there is way of knowing without thinking.
  • Let’s see if action and perception can be swirled together with the flow of bottom-up sensory information in a more open and regular fashion.
  • Of all the senses, our human vision and hearing dominate our information flow (over 50% of the cortex is devoted just to vision) – together they form the First Language – at the most primitive level, organisms relate and communicate via mechanical vibration (sound) and electromagnetic radiation (light) – vibration and radiation.
  • The conjoined experience of sensory vibration and radiation (sound and light) is saturated with meaningful information – the perception that is normally external can be turned to the internal with the result of neuroception or interoception as the medium of conscious experience.
  • And once you get back into the “feeling” states of First Language, perhaps let the neuroceptive/interoceptive “feelings” bubble up into the Second Language of somatic movement – let the “feelings” transform into dance – dance like no one is watching – move the energy and let it all start to soften the glue of the habits in your head.

 DON’T FORGET THE INFORMATION ASPECT:

  • At one level, these actions are all about the sourcing, sharing, integration and application of “information” – the concept of information can be very abstract and hard to capture at a practical level – the brilliant Gregory Bateson made clear for me in a couple of short sentences.
  • Information is news of change.
  • Information is a difference that makes a difference.
  • If our brain is to change, it needs information to guide the change – this information is implicit in experiences that involve various aspects of dynamic change – or, the reverse, if there is no change, there is no information

ABOUT TOP-DOWN & BOTTOM-UP:

  • Top-down mechanisms are those initiated via mental processing at the level of the cerebral cortex. In the case of clinical hypnosis, imagery, or meditation, for example, we are primarily referring to conscious and intentional mental activities, although unconscious neural processes are also thought to be involved. In contrast, bottom-up mechanisms are initiated by stimulation of various somato-, viscero-, and chemo-sensory receptors that influence central neural processing and mental activities via ascending pathways from the periphery to the brainstem and cerebral cortex. (10)
  • However, these two dynamics are not entirely separate in our body but are in fact integrated and interwoven on may levels.
  • The examples below indicate the predominant dynamic in the approach (top-down or bottom-up) with the knowledge that neurological processes at this level are extraordinarily complex and still subject to ongoing discovery.

 SOME TOP-DOWN PROCESSES:

  • A top-down process has the effect of reinforcing patterned organization in the brain – as we have seen throughout this paper, such organization permits prediction with anticipated outcomes.
  • The following is a short list of popular processes that utilize top-down neurological processing – these processes all have potentially positive benefits while also being limited in their outcomes – it is important to align expectations and claims against the factual capacities of these processes.
  • Brain Entrainment is a top-down neurological technique.
  • Conventional Brain Entrainment processes are fundamentally based on the Frequency Following Response (FFR) which was first observed almost 90 years ago in the 1930’s – the FFR lay dormant until the 1960’s when it was revived and renamed Brain Entrainment.
  • The principle is straight forward...apply a regular and unchanging signal to the brain for an extended period of time (average 6 to 8 minutes) – in the first stage, the signal is superimposed on the brain (stop the signal and brain stops following) and then after the initial period, the brain will maintain the frequency for a short period without the impulse of the signal.
  • As is obvious, with the no change in the signal, there is no information generated to enable change – the repetitive signal is an organizational reinforcement.
  • Guided Imagery is a top-down neurological technique.
  • Guided Imagery (also known as Mental Imagery and/or Visualization) is a form of cognitive manipulation – neurologically, Mental Imagery shares some activity with normal visual perception however, the prominent difference between normal external visual perception and Mental Imagery is that Mental Imagery relies purely on top-down processing without any bottom-up processing.
  • Dual-Voice (or Cross-talk) is a top-down neurological process.
  • The principle purpose of Dual-Voice is to psychologically manipulate the potential reactivity or resistance to a command or suggestion – the second voice is processed at a liminal level that blends subliminal and conscious recognition and processing – if a command/suggestion poses a probable challenge at some level of integrity, ethics, morals or personal safety, the second or “dual-voice” will deliver a counter-acting message to decrease potential resistance to the main message.
  • In cartoon versions, this dynamic is often portrayed comically as an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other – they whisper comments into your ear – in other cultural expressions, it is referred to as “the little voice inside your head” – Dual-voice (or Cross-talk) as a method attempts to externalize the “little voice in your head” and does its best to offer angelic and not devilish suggestions.
  • Mindfulness Meditation is a top-down neurological process for early or short-term practitioners.
  • In top-down meditation practice, we are constantly attempting to approximate what we think we are supposed to be doing and what we think is supposed to be coming out of it. In short, we are bringing the managerial function of the left-brain to our practice, to control and manage our meditation in a top-down way. (9)
  • Mindfulness Meditation is one of the most popular current meditation styles – technically, in the field of applied neurology, it is considered an “emotional regulation” process – short-term practitioners typically utilize various forms or interpretations of focus attention in their practice – such conscious manipulation recruits top-down neocortical mechanisms.
  • In neuroscience, one way to talk about this is as a “top-down” process—the process of meditation is carried out under the watchful and judgmental eye of the executive function of the cerebral cortex - in top-down meditation practice, we are constantly attempting to approximate what we think we are supposed to be doing and what we think is supposed to be coming out of it - in short, we are bringing the managerial function of the left-brain to our practice, to control and manage our meditation in a top-down way. (9) (Note: long-term Mindfulness Meditation practitioners appear to shift their approaches in such a way that a more free and permissive bottom-up neurological process is used.)
  • Hypnosis is a unique form of top-down regulation in which verbal suggestions are capable of eliciting pronounced changes in a multitude of psychological phenomena. Hypnotic suggestion has been widely used both as a technique for studying basic science questions regarding human consciousness but also as a method for targeting a range of symptoms within a therapeutic context. (11)
  • Top-down regulation refers to the process whereby mental representations cascade downstream to override physiology, perception, and behavior. Although persistent reductionism in psychology and neuroscience traditionally led researchers to favor bottom-up explanations in which psychological phenomena are based in low-level neurobiological mechanisms, there is now widespread recognition that mental representations, such as expectations, regularly impact perception. (11)
  • Autogenic Training is a top-down neurological technique.
  • It was developed in the 1920s from the systematic observation of hypnotized patients by neurologist .H. Schultz, but in contrast to hypnosis it is based exclusively on autosuggestion.
  • In the early stages, physical processes are influenced by basic exercises - weight, warmth, breathing, abdominal, heart and forehead exercises are used - after concentrating on the feelings generated by these exercises for some time, the patient actually senses them and the body reacts - the more advanced levels of autogenic training are based on the use of imaginative techniques (see above Guided Imagery). (12)
  • Deep Breathing is a top-down neurological technique.
  • It is also known as diaphragmatic breathing, is a technique that is based on the notion that mind and body integration produces relaxation . The technique requires participants to contract the diaphragm, slowly inhaling and exhaling. Deep breathing appears to amplify blood oxygen levels, massages the inner organs located in or close to the abdomen, and possibly stimulates the vagus nerve. (13)
  • Psychotherapy is a top-down neurological technique.
  • A top-down approach in psychotherapy starts with looking at how the mind is interpreting information - the therapeutic interventions are all about changing your thoughts. If you think “right”, you’ll be able to make healthier choices, and everything will be okay – a top-down approach may involve the use of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) - as the Mayo Clinic defines it, “CBT helps you become aware of inaccurate or negative thinking so you can view challenging situations more clearly and respond to them in a more effective way.” (14)
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a top-down neurological technique.
  • CBT is a talking therapy that can help you manage your problems by changing the way you think and behave - CBT is a classic example of a “top down” mode of therapy, working with cognition and the “thinking brain” to create change - top down approaches generally involve the body and the nervous system very minimally, if at all.

SOME BOTTOM-UP PROCESSES:

  • Therapies using bottom-up pathways have also been shown to positively influence autonomic (e.g., vagal) tone - bottom-up treatment interventions are believed by a growing number of complex trauma practitioners to regulate and adjust the visceral responses associated with complex trauma - this happens by resetting trauma-related emotional and sensory states stored within the limbic system and peripheral nervous system. (15)
  • Neuroscience research findings based on advanced technology such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) suggest that the limbic system can be consciously accessed through interoceptive awareness - interoceptive awareness is a person’s awareness and perception of the internal experience. It allows humans to integrate body sensations, thoughts and feelings. (15)
  • Multi-Sensory Enrichment is a bottom-up neurological process.
  • Sensory Enrichment is a sub-set of Environmental Enrichment which is the stimulation of the brain by its sensory input - there are 3 components to general environmental enrichment: Sensory enrichment, Activity enrichment and Social enrichment.
  • Brain Engagement is a bottom-up neurological process.
  • Brain Engagement is a new and novel term that describes a form of bottom-up brain signaling that utilizes light and sound stimulation to trigger positive neruoplastic changes in the brain.
  • Unlike conventional Brain Entrainment (based on the classic Frequency Following Response) which produces a sustained and unchanging signal, Brain Engagement uses a series of compositional sets of brain signals that have various degress of dynamic “delta” (aka “change) factors that initiate and direct the brain into progressive responses.
  • Based on advancing neuroplastic methodology, Brain Engagement recruits active attentional states combined with relative degrees of “marginal demand” and produces a type of attractive sensory-based “brain exercise”.
  • Brain Priming is a bottom-up neurological process.
  • Priming is defined as a change in behavior based on previous stimuli - priming, which may occur even after a single learning episode, is a type of implicit learning - the general theory underlying priming is that the brain, which has been primed by a prior method of activation, is generally more responsive to the accompanying training. (16)
  • Priming stimuli can be from the same modality as the accompanying task (modal-specific) or from a different modality (cross-modal) (16) – this means the priming stimulation can be directly associated with the secondary action (modal-specific) or can be indirectly associated (cross-modal).
  • For example, rehearsing a basketball free throw with mimicking movements would be modal-specific because the motor priming is directly related to the actual mechanical movements of shooting the basketball – on the other hand, using memorized semantic phrasing or coaching associated with relaxation and confidence would be a cross-modal priming because it has no direct influence on the motor commands required to shot the basketball but instead created a more relaxed neurological state.
  • Forward associative priming (aka “cross-modal”) ..implicit learning...neural priming in PFC (prefrontal cortex) may reflect the benefits of reduced uncertainty that emerge when learning from the past provides greater ‘bottom-up’ predictive information.
  • There are number of types of Brain Priming: 1) Stimulation-based motor priming. 2) Motor Imagery & Action Observation; 3) Movement-based priming, 4) Pharmacology-based priming (consider “Microdosing” as a likely priming method in this context), 5) Semantic priming, 6) Sensory priming.
  • Uniquely designed light & sound stimulation can act effectively as a form of Sensory Priming.
  • The concept of “microdosing” of a psychedelic compound may be considered a unique form of “pharmacological brain priming” – the microdosing approach proposes to gently “soften the glue” of habitual neurological structures and permit the slow but effective modification of patterned responses.
  • The concept of “microdosing” may also extend into an interesting combination of “sensory brain priming” and “pharmacological brain priming” by the application of specially designed light and sound experiences that move the brain towards the “zone of criticality” that separates Secondary Consciousness from Primary Consciousness.
  • EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing is a bottom-up neurological process.
  • Picture your brain as a staircase - each step is a stage of physical brain development which starts in the womb and ends, on a physical level, around age 25 - each stair step going up is an advanced stage of development. (17)
  • 1st Stair: The brainstem (the “reptilian” brain) is the oldest part of your brain. It’s responsible for most of your automatic functions, such as your heart rate, body temperature, and blood pressure. In addition, your brainstem coordinates movement, controls arousal, and processes sensory information. Imagine a toddler sitting on the 1st step: This is your brainstem. (17)
  • 2nd Stair: The limbic system (the “emotional brain”) is known for its link to emotional experiences and regulation. It’s also responsible for motivation and storing explicit memories. Imagine an emotional teenager who’s desperately trying to figure it all out standing on the 2nd stair: This your limbic system. (17)
  • 3rd Stair: The cortex is the youngest part of your brain and often perceived as the smartest - it’s responsible for attention, perception, awareness, thought, memory, language, judgment, and consciousness. Imagine a 40-year-old adult who's great at “adulting” standing on the 3rd stair: this is your cortex. (17)
  • Bottom-up approaches seek to access and heal trauma on the lower stair steps, where it lives and thrives. Simply put, walking up the brain’s stairs instead of down allows you to address the impacts of trauma at their source.
  • EMDR is a psychotherapy technique designed to relieve the distress associated with disturbing memories - short for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, it involves recalling a specific troublesome experience while following a side-to-side visual stimulus delivered by the therapist - the resulting lateral eye movements are thought to help reduce the emotional charge of the memory so that the experience can be safely discussed, digested, and stripped of the power to trigger anxiety and avoidance. (17)
  • Psychedelics are a bottom-up neurological process.
  • According to the entropic brain hypothesis, psychedelics increase brain entropy and therefore result in more diversity and vividness in subjective awareness. The REBUS theory proposes a specific role of increased entropy and decreased “top-down” control of the default mode network (DMN) as central to psychedelic drug effects on the contents of consciousness, such as perceptual alterations. REBUS is slightly more precise than the entropic brain hypothesis insofar as it specifies the primary locus of entropy that is impacted by psychedelics, which is in the “precision weighting of prior beliefs encoded in the spontaneous activity of neuronal hierarchies,” primarily in the DMN. REBUS proposes that a relaxation of top-down priors allows bottom-up information to exert more influence in brain function, learning, and perception. (19)
  • Somatic Therapy is a bottom-up neurological process.
  • It shares numerous elements of the EMDR rationale - Somatic therapy is a form of body-centered therapy that looks at the connection of mind and body and uses both  psychotherapy and physical therapies for holistic healing. In addition to talk therapy, somatic therapy practitioners use mind-body exercises and other physical techniques to help release the pent-up tension that negatively affects a patient’s physical and emotional well-being. (18)
  • Practitioners of somatic therapy address what they see as a split between the body - instead, they believe mind and body are intimately connected, though not always in apparent ways -thought, emotions, and sensations are all believed to be interconnected and influence one another. (18)
  • If talk therapy has reached its limits for a patient, somatic therapy holds that the body is a largely untapped resource for psychotherapy - these resources include what can be learned from one’s gestures, posture, facial expressions, eye gaze, and movement. (18)
  • Somatic therapies of different kinds have been practiced for centuries.
  • Bodywork & Massage Various types of bodywork and massage have been found to increase vagal activity and HRV - Delaney and colleagues reported increased HRV following myofascial trigger point therapy in a healthy sample of men and women - similarly, two recent studies reported increased HRV in healthy men following treatment with needle acupuncture. (10)

 CONCLUSION:

  • Ironically, our adult human brain is capable of change while at the same time does its best to build patterns that resist change.
  • There are two types of “brain change: a) State Change, b) Trait Change.
  • State Change is of the “easy come, easy go” category – for a State Change, the inducing stimulus must be active - these states are far more transitory and can be relieving if positive and discomforting if negative.
  • Trait Change is built over time and can be thought of as a neurological “habit” – traits tend to persist – the original inducing stimulus does not need to be present.
  • Any neuroplastic change in the brain will be met with “competition” – our brain will attempt to maintain existing patterns and yield to new information only if repeated and reinforced – “old habits die hard”.
  • Not only is our brain capable of neuroplastic change, it is also capable of an impressive general temporary, dynamic processing shift – the Primary Consciousness and Secondary Conscious (see Entropic Brain Model above) show that information rich “Non-Ordinary States” are a natural capacity of the brain – such Non-Ordinary States are capable of “softening the glue” or “relaxing beliefs” and as such make positive change easier – just because this state is uncommon does not make it abnormal.
  • So, the conclusion here is that when changing the brain, using bottom-up sensory information stimulation to direct the brain towards desired change will have an impressive outcome. In anticipation of the competitive resistance expected from top-down pattern preservation, various methods that “relax” existing beliefs, habits and patterns will likely increase the willingness of the brain to surrender old under-performing patterns and create new effective  neuroplastic changes.

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