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Psyche
M. J. Drake Spaeth
Psyche, the ancient Greek word meaning ‘‘soul’’ or ‘‘spirit,’’ is also the name of the Greek goddess of the Soul, one of whose symbols is the butterfly. The term was employed by Sigmund Freud to describe the unity of unconscious and conscious, the tripartite structure of the mind divided into Id (i.e., the repository of unconscious drives and wishes that determine our conscious behaviors); Super-Ego (i.e., the repository of superconscious extreme moralistic elements that compensate for the opposite extremes of the id); and the Ego (i.e., the conscious referee between the dichotomous ongoing conflict between id and superego). It was also adopted by Freud’s student Carl Jung to encompass the mind and its evolving, developing relationship with the world over the course of life, manifest in the individuation of the Self from the more limited ego. The concept of psyche links psychology and spirituality in several ways. In the Greek myth of the goddess Psyche, a human woman becomes elevated to the status of a goddess through her tumultuous relationship with Eros, the god of Love. She at first loses Eros through the machinations of his mother Aphrodite and later is restored to him through the intervention of Zeus, king of the Gods. Symbolically, this myth illustrates how the human spirit/soul is elevated and ultimately transformed through the vicissitudes love, and how sexuality and spirituality spring from the same libidinal source – a connection recognized by Freud in his theory of psychosexual development. In Jungian terms, the myth calls to mind the unity of anima (the feminine aspect of the psyche) and animus (the masculine aspect of the psyche), the Hierosgamos (i.e., the sacred marriage of opposites) in the quest of the ego to become the Self. Moreover, the butterfly aspect of Psyche evokes the image of the caterpillar building and ultimate discarding the cocoon, which it sheds upon its transformation into a butterfly. This image brings to mind Platonic dualism – in which the soul or spirit sheds the outer physical flesh in death, flying free – an idea that is still found in many religious traditions throughout the world. Ulanov point out that Jung regarded Psyche as the ‘‘mother of consciousness’’ – that which joins with the father that is spirit, effectively linking Christian ideology with the older Greek images described above.
So Psyche (Greek ψυχή breathe, blow) used in classic Greek as a synonym for the word soul. Since our culture and mind grew more sophisticated it became necessary to separate the two concepts. Today psyche is the object psychology is dealing with. It is one of the four parts that makes the sum total of the non-physical aspects of a human being; the others are consciousness , mind and soul. Whilst psyche only exists in the body and is connected to the body, soul refers to the part that is unfading.
Functions of psyche Psyche has two main functions. It is both a non-material "hard disk" that stores memories and a non-material digestion organ that masters fear. Psyche can be of different complexity and can in this respect be compared with a mirror globe that has more or less reflectors on its surface. A globe with less mirrors gives a simple image of reality whilst a globe with many mirrors gives a highly complex image of reality. It is obvious that a highly complexe psyche is able to represent reality more sophisticated but on the other hand is more prone to picture distorted images of reality. A strong distortion of reality can lead to a state in which the basic function of psyche temporarily is no longer functioning and fear will no longer be digested correctly. A pathologically working pysche will not only sustain distortions of reality but also intensify them, so that help from outside is necessary (psychoanalysis) to re-enable psyche to sanely digest fear again. As a consequence of this help distortion of reality (that always happens because of fear) can be abolished little by little.
Psyche and mind
The word mind relates to the mental abilities of a human, the will, intellect, wit, power of judgement, cogitation separating capability, experiences, education, the ability to discover coherences and the communicative aspects of the human being, like language. Basically mind and psyche work together. Psyche can be accessed by the mind and mind can uncover the distortions of reality that psyche has adapted to. Very seldomly psyche is in rude health. A healthy psyche knows the fear but doesn't allow fear to control it. Psyche and consciousness Superficially it seems paradoxical that psyche is constructed in a way to primarily store distorted images of reality, but it is only under these conditions that consciousness is needed to develop. Growing consciousness is capable of discovering discrepancies between memories and reality and capable of correcting the distortions of reality with the help of the mind. In this respect psyche is a most precious growth subsidiary for the development of consciousness. Horizontal and vertical intermediary By being a non-physical storage organ that is dependent on the supply of the physis (impressions of the world we live in), psyche gives a connective link between the physical (body) and the spiritual aspects (mind, soul) of the human being as well as a bridge between the separated bodies of all the many humans being alive at the same time. The term „non-material organ“ is used to relate to these two parts of psyche: “non- material” refers to the fact that psyche is not visible whilst “organ” designates something that inseparably belongs to the body. Hence the non-material quality relativises the idea of an organ inasmuch it is not located in the body, notwithstanding its effects strongly influence the physicalness.
Сonsciousness
The term consciousness has a long history in psychology. The topic is perhaps one of the more difficult ones for the discipline, as its history reveals. Wilhelm Wundt’s (1832–1920) founding of the first psychological laboratory in 1879 heralded his attempt to identify and categorize elements of conscious experience using the method known as introspection, or examination of one’s own mental state. Wundt’s student, Edward Bradford Titchener (1867– 1927), brought Wundt’s approach to the United States and initiated a perspective known as structuralism. Another early psychologist, William James (1842–1910) also expressed interest in consciousness. He wrote about the stream of consciousness and described it as continuous, changing, and having depth. In contrast to Wundt and Titchener, James did not focus on analyzing and reducing conscious experience to its supposed elements. To him, attempting to divide this stream would distort the unity of conscious experience. Despite the close connection between consciousness and the founding of the discipline, the topic of consciousness would fall into disfavor for quite some time. The development of the behavioral movement, led by John B. Watson (1878–1958), focused on observable behaviors; there was no allowance for the nonscientific discussion of what could not be observed— conscious experience. In 1913 Watson wrote, “Psychology as the behaviorist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behavior. Introspection forms no essential part of its methods”. Thus, the study of consciousness was, if not banned, certainly placed firmly on the back burner for several decades. Nevertheless, advances in techniques and monitoring equipment have made it possible to conduct more sophisticated research than Wundt or Titchener would have ever thought possible. For example, in 1929, Hans Berger developed the electroencephalograph (EEG), which monitors and records brain activity through electrodes attached painlessly to the skull. The common belief that the EEG provides electrical stimulation to the brain is a myth. The brain’s electrical signals are amplified and printed out, producing a record of brain waves. Several commonly observed brain waves are alpha, beta, theta, and delta (more on brain waves later in this chapter). Although the EEG was a major advance, it does have several limitations. For example, although brain waves provide some evidence of activity occurring in the brain, this information
beepers designed to sound at random intervals to signal them to report their daydreams in written form. Researchers have also used physiological measuring devices to study daydreams; daydreaming seems to be associated with changes in the ratio of different brain waves. Hypnosis One of the most controversial topics in psychology may be hypnosis. The connection to stage hypnosis often makes the public wonder if there is anything behind what is often perceived as just stage effects designed for entertainment purposes. We can trace the history of hypnosis to Franz Anton Mesmer (1734–1815), an Austrian physician, who captured the imagination of residents of Paris by claiming that he could cure anything that was ailing them. He believed the atmosphere was filled with invisible magnetic forces he could harness for their curative powers; people with a variety of ailments sought his supposed healing powers. His efforts to harness those supposed magnetic forces became known as a technique called mesmerism. Despite numerous testimonials in support of his treatment efforts, in 1784 a scientific commission chaired by Benjamin Franklin determined that what Mesmer seemed to achieve was the result of his patients’ imagination, not invisible magnetic forces. Nevertheless, his techniques survived in the hands of James Braid (1795–1860) a Scottish surgeon who changed the name from mesmerism to hypnosis. Although the word is derived from the name of the Greek god of sleep, hypnosis is not sleep. The French physician Jean-Martin Charcot (1825–1904) studied hypnosis, and as a result it developed a degree of respectability as an area of medicine. Sigmund Freud learned to use hypnosis from Charcot, and used it as a treatment technique early in his career. A common definition of hypnosis is “a social interaction in which one person, designated the subject, responds to suggestions offered by another person, designated the hypnotist, for experiences involving alterations in perception, memory, and voluntary action”. Historically, researchers have used the concept of suggestibility or susceptibility to explain phenomena subsumed under the term hypnosis. The term reflects the degree to which a person follows suggestions offered by the hypnotist. In a typical hypnotic treatment, the hypnotist creates a situation in which the hypnotized person is more likely to follow his or her suggestions. The process of putting someone in a hypnotic state, called a hypnotic induction , usually involves having the person stare at an object (such as a watch), inducing relaxation, and encouraging drowsiness. A person’s degree of suggestibility to hypnosis can be assessed by using measures such as the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, which consists of a series of 12 activities designed to assess the depth of the hypnotic state. For example, the person may be told that he or she has no sense of smell, then the hypnotist will wave a vial of ammonia under the person’s nose. The person’s subsequent reaction to the ammonia reveals his or her responsiveness to hypnosis. Scores on measures of suggestibility or susceptibility follow a normal curve and tend to be quite stable across time. What’s more, “Hypnotizability is unrelated to personality characteristics such as gullibility, hysteria, psychopathology, trust, aggressiveness, submissiveness, imagination, or social compliance. The trait has, however, been linked tantalizingly with an individual’s ability to become absorbed in activities such as reading, listening to music, or daydreams”. There are numerous claims surrounding hypnosis, including its ability to reduce pain, to treat addictions such as smoking and alcoholism, to overcome shyness, and to treat insomnia. A review of 18 published studies of hypnotic pain relief indicated that 75 percent of the participants obtained substantial pain relief from hypnotic techniques. Nevertheless, the mechanisms responsible for the reported pain reduction associated with hypnosis are not clear. One of the most controversial aspects of hypnosis is the claimed ability to improve memory, especially for criminal activity or cases of abuse. Despite claims for its effectiveness, evidence indicates that hypnosis can lead to a situation in which false memories can be created, whether intentionally or unintentionally. As a result, most hypnotically elicited testimony is now excluded from our court system. The controversy concerning hypnosis lies in attempts to explain it. One argument notes that what we label hypnotic behavior is simply a person following what he or she believes is the role of a hypnotized person. Thus, this cognitive-social explanation argues that hypnosis does not
involve an alteration in consciousness; it is simply acting out a role. As Ernest Hilgard noted, “I would be more comfortable for the investigator if there were some precise indicator of the establishment of a hypnotic condition”. An alternative explanation, offered by E. R. Hilgard (1904–2001), posits a process of dissociation in which there is a splitting of conscious awareness, which may well resemble the splitting of consciousness that occurs during everyday activities as simple as driving a car while one’s mind seem to wander. More recently, researchers using PET scans asked hypnotized and nonhypnotized individuals to imagine that brightly colored shapes were actually gray; they were also shown gray shapes and asked to imagine that they were brightly colored. Under hypnosis, there were observed changes in both hemispheres rather than a change only in the right hemisphere, which suggests that there are actual brain changes that occur during hypnotic inductions. In other words, the subjective experience that occurred under hypnosis was accompanied by a distinct change in the brain. It is difficult to imagine that such changes in the brain could be due to efforts to enact a role.
Anesthetic Depth Although daydreaming is quite common, the next example of a change in consciousness is quite uncommon. Consider the following: Jeanette awoke on the operating table, her hernia surgery still underway. She could hear her surgeon discussing the shape of her breasts and body while experiencing “a blow torch in my stomach…every tissue tearing like a piece of paper”. Paralyzed from the muscle relaxants administered along with her anesthesia, she was powerless to tell her surgeons that she was suffering the humiliation of their conversation along with the agony of the procedure they were performing. “You’re screaming as loud as you can inside your head. It’s like being raped and buried alive”. This story may read like the opening of a horror film but it is a reality for what some estimate to be as many as 40,000 surgery patients a year. Paradoxically called “anesthetic awareness,” it reportedly occurs in 1 of every 1,000 surgical patients. The paradox lies in the very definition of anesthesia. Prys-Roberts (1987) defined anesthesia as a state of drug-induced unconsciousness in which the patient neither perceives nor recalls a noxious stimulus. By definition, therefore, anesthesia assumes a lack of awareness. Indeed, this paradox points to a critical point in understanding anesthesia and consciousness: As we have noted, states of consciousness represent a continuum, not an all-or-nothing state of consciousness or unconsciousness (except perhaps at extreme ends of the continuum). Early investigations of the value of inhaled anesthetics described anesthesia as a series of stages characterized by levels of analgesia and lack of awareness. As anesthetic awareness indicates, however, determining accurately the level of consciousness during surgery is easier said than done. Historically, physicians have relied on measurement of respiratory rate, blood pressure, and other autonomic responses as measures of anesthetic depth. It may seem like an odd choice when one considers that anesthetics suppress activity of the reticular formation, thalamus, and the cerebral cortex, considered to be the most important area involved in awareness. Though researchers consider autonomic responses to be an indirect measure of anesthetic perfusion in the brain, we need a more direct measure allowing for the quantification and prediction of awareness.
To that end, researchers have developed a number of techniques over the past decade to more directly monitor awareness during anesthesia. One of the first, bispectral analysis, emerged as a means of quantifying awareness in patients. Bispectral analysis operates by converting an electroencephalographic signal into a power spectral analysis. The measure, abbreviated BIS, is derived from three factors measured by the EEG. The first is the extent to which EEG waveforms show biocoherence, which is the level of variability displayed in brain waves. The less variable the brain waves produced, the more biocoherence, and vice versa. Biocoherence is generally seen as a measure of slowed brain activity. Indeed, the amount of biocoherence increases with increases in anesthetic depth. The second factor in the BIS calculation is the amount of power in the delta activity versus that in the beta activity. Delta waves generally are characteristic of a lower level of consciousness, whereas beta waves typically reflect increased levels of brain activity, like that which might occur during a problem-solving task. As anesthetic
Evidence for some recovery of awareness from diffuse neuronal injury does exist. Patients diagnosed with a minimally conscious state show intermittent, though limited, self-awareness. Patients in a minimally conscious state may potentially demonstrate ability to follow simple commands, make verbalizations, sustain visual pursuit, and demonstrate appropriate emotional reactions. Electroencephalography in these cases is characterized with a nonspecific slowing but contains periods of all normally associated brain activity. As we’ve seen, whether it is brain injury or anesthesia, awareness is not an all-or-nothing proposition. Levels of consciousness lie on a continuum that is demonstrated not only in the behavioral repertoire available but also the imaging and electroencephalographic record of brain activity. Alteration in the level of consciousness is not a rare event, however. Indeed, each of us spends an average of eight hours a night in an altered state, asleep.
Sleep Connie, a reporter for a local paper, has no trouble falling asleep. In fact, she spends a good portion of her day fighting the urge to close her eyes and take a nap. She retires for bed regularly at ten o’clock at night, falls asleep with ease, but struggles to waken eight hours later when her alarm sounds. How is it a woman who sleeps eight hours a night can still be so tired? To answer this or any question regarding an individual’s sleeping habits, one needs two things. The first is an understanding that sleep is not a simple thing. Indeed, there are several different types of sleep, each of which has its own pattern of physiological activity. Second, we need to be able to distinguish between these different types of sleep by measuring the activity of the brain and body during sleep. The recording of physiological activity is called polysomnography ( poly means “many,” somno means “sleep,” and graph means “write”). The name reflects that polysomnography detects physiological activity during sleep in many different parts of the body and represents that activity graphically. The body operates electrochemically. Interconnected neurons produce tiny electrical signals, called action potentials , which propagate and travel. These action potentials are the means by which neurons carry out the communication necessary to keep the organism running. The signals produced are tiny, ranging from one microvolt to one millivolt. Bioelectric sensors attached to the sleeper amplify the signals and produce a waveform that can be interpreted to determine the type of sleep the individual is undergoing. Electrodes of this type are placed on the scalp to measure brain activity (EEG-electroencephalogram), the orbital muscles to detect eye movements (EOG-electrooculogram), and on the muscles of the chin, leg, or both to detect neuromuscular disorders (EMG-electromyogram). Sleep researchers may also use electrodes or other measuring devices to assess core body temperature,breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, and so on. Using polysomnography, researchers and physicians can look at real-time changes in a sleeper’s physiology as they happen. This procedure allows researchers to track an individual’s sleep pattern. Like waves of light or sound, brain waves can be described using two primary characteristics: amplitude (or voltage, typically measured in microvolts, μV) and frequency (measured in cycles per second). Some patterns of voltage and frequency are so common that they are given names. Alpha waves are characterized by a frequency of 8 to 12 Hz with a magnitude of approximately 20 to 60 μV and are primarily seen over the occipital cortex. Alpha waves are very common in a wakeful, relaxed brain. When the brain begins to become more active it typically produces what are called Beta waves. Beta waves have a frequency that is nearly double that of alpha waves and a voltage that ranges between 2 and 20 μV. The Delta wave is much different; it is a high-amplitude, low-frequency wave. With a frequency ranging between a much slower 1 to 2 Hz, it is the lowest frequency wave produced. The amplitude can be as large as 200 μV. Delta waves generally indicate that a person is in deep sleep; they are also associated with certain sleep disorders such as sleepwalking and night (or sleep) terrors. Theta waves are an additional wave used to discriminate the type of sleep being experienced. Theta waves occur at a frequency of approximately 4 to 7 Hz and at an amplitude ranging between 20 and 100 μV.
By detecting changes in these patterns of brain activity as well as observing additional changes in the behavior of the organism during sleep, researchers have been able to divide sleep into a series of stages. Stage 1 Sleep Not surprisingly, the first stage of sleep is a transitional one. In fact, some debate still exists as to whether Stage 1 is actually sleep. The EEG during Stage 1 sleep is typified by a mixture of low-amplitude waves including a large amount of alpha activity. It is not uncommon for individuals in this stage to experience an altered state of consciousness often referred to as hypnogogic hallucinations. Sleep-induced sensory distortions, they are often experienced as floating, falling, or as a presence looming over the sleeper. Some researchers have suggested that hallucinations of this type are to blame for legends such as the incubus, a nighttime demon that was believed to mount the chest of a sleeper. Stage 2 Sleep The transition from waking to deep sleep continues in Stage 2 sleep. EEG activity in the first and second stages is similar, save two oddities that occur only in Stage 2 sleep. EEG events known as sleep spindles and K complex are unique to Stage 2 sleep. Sleep spindles are defined as bursts of activity between 12 to 14 Hz that last at least half of a second. K complex, also half of a second in duration, has a large negative component followed by a positive deflection. Slow Wave Sleep Stages 3 and 4 often are combined under the name slow wave sleep — a sensible name, as both stages are characterized by high-amplitude, low-frequency delta waves. The two stages differ only in the proportion of delta waves that manifest. Stage 3 sleep is defined as being < 50 percent delta, whereas Stage 4 is > 50 percent delta. As noted earlier, delta wave activity indicates a low level of brain activity, and indeed, Stage 4 is the deepest stage of sleep. REM Sleep Stage 4 may be the deepest stage of sleep but it isn’t the final stage experienced by a sleeper. That distinction goes to REM, or rapid eye movement sleep. The EEG of REM sleep differs greatly from the preceding slow wave sleep and appears more like mixed low-amplitude activity associated with Stage 1 sleep. So how does one distinguish between REM and Stage 1? The EEG provides one clue in the form of a “saw tooth” pattern of activity that exists in REM but not in Stage 1. The second distinction lies in the name of the stage itself, eye movements. Whereas the first four stages of sleep show little eye muscle activity, EOG measurement during REM shows episodes of darting, saccadic eye movements. Measurement of EMG is also helpful in distinguishing REM from the other stages of sleep. During REM sleep, EMG is at much lower levels than during Stages 1, 2, 3, and 4. What is the source for this difference? Muscle immobility. Motor activity is suppressed during REM, leaving us nearly paralyzed. Additionally, REM sleep is the stage of sleep in which dreaming most often takes place. These three significant differences between REM and the previous stages led to describing Stages 1, 2, 3, and 4 as non-REM (NREM) sleep.
