Peatogenic
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- Sep 11, 2017
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Thats interesting, I never experienced depersonalization but in some spiritual circles it seems to be considered the flip side of achieving oneness with reality as a result of ego dissolution, as if ego dissolution had the potential to make you either completely detatch from reality, or to immerse yourself in it more fully than ever. I think this can be because for some people, their consciousness interprets ego dissolution as the ultimate threat (that of dying), and for some it will be interpreted as the ultimate liberation, allowing them to move beyond the fear of ego death and fully and fearlessly engage with life.
The article by Peat linked in the OP is a really great piece on the link between physiology and consciousness. Serotonin is the main regulator of sensory gating (ie inhibiting/closing the doors of perception) and also the main hormone involved in defensive and harm/threat avoiding behaviors. It then implies that there is a direct link between psychological trauma or the extent to which a person is fearful of his environment - and the richness/vividness of his lived experience. The more anxious, fearful and harm-avoidant an individual is, the more his brain will filter out sensory perceptions and essentially shut down his consciousness, narrowly focusing only on that which is deemed necessary for survival.
The fact that depersonalization is strongly linked with intense psychological trauma seems to bear this out - when you are so traumatized that existence itself becomes threatening, your brain has no choice but to shut off its consciousness to such an extent that your whole lived experience seems fake, unreal and drained of all vividness, to prevent your psyche from becoming overwhelmed.
Serotonin: Effects in disease, aging and inflammation
"Some recent reviews have discussed the evidence supporting the serotonin system as primarily inhibitory and protective (Anne Frederickson, 1998, Neil Goodman, 2002). Goodman describes the serotonergic system as one of our "diffuse neuroregulatory systems," and suggests that drugs such as LSD weaken its inhibitory, filtering effect. (Jacobs, 1983, 1987: by changes in the effects of serotonin in the brain, produced by things that affect its synthesis, release, catabolism, or receptor action.) LSD depresses the rate of firing of serotonergic nerves in the raphe nuclei (Trulson and Jacobs, 1979) causing arousal similar to stimulation of the reticular formation, as if by facilitating sensory input into the reticular formation (Bowman and Rand, 1980)."
"...In this newer view, high serotonin production causes behavioral inhibition and harm avoidance, which are traits of the authoritarian personality, while anti-authorians tend to have "novelty seeking" personalities, with high dopamine and low serotonin functions."
"For example, there have been suggestions that early life isolation of an animal can affect its serotonergic activity and increase its anxiety, aggression, or susceptibility to stress (Malick and Barnett, 1976, Malick, 1979, dos Santos, et al, 2010), and these effects are associated with increased risk of becoming depressed, and developing organic problems. Animals kept in darkness (or with blurring lenses) become nearsighted, as the eyeball grows longer under the influence of increased serotonin, and the eyes are protected against myopia by serotonin antagonists (George, et al., 2005). The incidence of myopia is increasing, at least in countries with industrialized economies, and is more common in females."
"The increase of inhibitory serotonin with stress and depression is probably biologically related to the role of serotonin in hibernation, which is an extreme example of "harm avoidance" by withdrawal. A diet high in polyunsaturated fat increases the tendency to go into hibernation, probably by increasing the brain's uptake of tryptophan. When this is combined with an increasingly cold environment, the form of MAO that removes serotonin decreases its activity, while the form that removes norepinephrine increases its activity. The metabolite of serotonin, 5-HIAA, decreases, as the effect of serotonin increases."
"Researchers in Brasil have suggested that the serotonergic system facilitates conditioned fear, while inhibiting the fight or flight reaction, and that this can protectively limit the stress response (Graeff, et al., 1996). "5HT systems reduce the impact of impending or actual aversive events. Anticipation of an aversive event is associated with anxiety and this motivates avoidance behaviour" (Deakin, 1990). In a stressful situation, the serotonergic nerves can prevent ulcers. In other contexts, though, increased serotonin can cause ulcers.
The protective, defensive reactions involving serotonin's blocking of certain types of reaction to ordinary stresses, are similar to the effects of serotonin in hibernation and in Alzheimer's disease (Mamelak, 1997; Heininger, 2000; Perry, et al., 2002). In those extreme conditions, serotonin reduces energy expenditure, eliminating all brain functions except those needed for simple survival. These parallels suggest that improving energy production, for example by providing ketones as an alternative energy source, while reducing the stress hormones, might be able to replace the defensive reactions with restorative adaptive nerve processes, preventing or reversing Alzheimer's disease."