Reinforcement generalization as interaction between processes rather than events: absence of schedule-induced hyperdipsia in rats with histories of minimal food-water contiguity.

All scientific disciplines contain concepts that reflect interactions between their processes as well as between their units. The divergence process (generalization) applied to reinforcement predicts the existence of reinforcement generalization. Existence of this operation was suggested by the absence of schedule-induced hyperdipsia in rats for which the normal temporal contiguity between eating and drinking had been prevented. The results indicate that through generalization of reinforcement, which could explain the adjunctive class of behaviors, reinforcement of one process evokes comparable changes in other processes even if their overt correlates are not displayed contiguously.

Complex partial epileptic signs as a continuum from normals to epileptics: normative data and clinical populations.

Over a 10-year period, a total of 447 men and 624 women between 18 and 61 years of age were administered an inventory whose items describe experiences that are similar to those evoked by electrical stimulation of the temporal lobes. Empirically determined factors contained experiences of sensory enhancement, affective-dissociation, ego alien intrusions, and literary emphasis. Using this population as a reference, T scores for these clusters were calculated for special normal populations (poets, drama students, false pregnancies) and for clinical groups (post-traumatic stress, anxiety-depersonalization, exotic dissociations, and complex partial epilepsy). Whereas only mild elevations (50 < T < 65) in indicators of temporal lobe signs and symptoms were noted in the special groups, moderate (65 < T < 75) and severe (T > 79) elevations were noted in the clinical populations.

The feeling of a presence and verbal meaningfulness in context of temporal lobe function: factor analytic verification of the muses?

We hypothesized that the feeling of a presence, particularly during periods of profound verbal creativity (reading or writing prose or poetry), is an endemic cognitive phenomenon. Factor analyses of 12 clusters of phenomenological experiences from 348 men and 520 women supported the hypothesis. We conclude that periods of intense meaningfulness (a likely correlate of enhanced burst-firing in the left hippocampal-amygdaloid complex and temporal lobe) allow access to nonverbal representations that are the right hemispheric equivalents of the sense of self; they are perceived as "a presence." The relevance of our results to the theories of Jaynes, Bear, Edelman, and MacLean is discussed.

Greater right hemisphericity is associated with lower self-esteem in adults.

28 men and 32 women were given Vingiano's Hemisphericity Questionnaire and the Coopersmith Self-esteem Inventory. People who reported the greatest numbers of right hemispheric indicators displayed the lowest self-esteem; the correlations were moderately strong (r greater than 50) for both men and women. These results support the hypothesis that the sense of self is primarily a linguistic, left-hemispheric phenomenon and that a developmental history of frequent intrusion from right-hemispheric processes can infuse the self-concept with negative affect.

Temporal lobes signs and Jungian dimensions of personality.

Phenomenological experiences that suggest temporal lobe lability were correlated with Jungian personality (Myers-Briggs) indicators. People with frequent temporal lobe indicators were more intuitive than sensing and more perceiving than judging; in the more general population temporal lobe indicators were also weakly associated with feeling rather than thinking. Students who were actively engaged in a drama class also displayed more frequent temporal lobe signs than psychology students. The data are commensurate with the hypothesis that the relationship between belief in psi phenomena, psi experiences, and specific cognitive styles is derived from a temporal lobe lability factor.

Characteristics of limbic seizures evoked by peripheral injections of lithium and pilocarpine.

The characteristics and consequences of limbic seizures evoked by single peripheral injections of lithium (3 mEq/kg) and pilocarpine (30 mg/kg) were investigated over a three-year period. The seizures occurred when 3 mEq/kg of lithium was followed 4 to 28 hours later by 30 mg/kg of pilocarpine. The seizures did not occur if the intervals were shorter or longer or if the pilocarpine preceded the lithium. The acute mortality or persistent aphagia and adipsia could be compensated by postseizure injections of acepromazine and a special milk-bread diet. Gender, age and preinjection environmental effects, but not hybrid genetics, influenced the seizure onset latency. Fifty to 100 days after the seizures massive lesions were found in the entorhinal-pyriform cortices, amygdala and selected thalamic groups.

Possible learned detection of exogenous brain frequency electromagnetic fields: a case study.

Zener card representations were presented visually for 15 sec. every 30 sec. for a total of 40 trials per session over 17 sessions to a single subject who displayed temporal lobe lability. During the 15 sec. before the presentation of one of the symbols (target) either a specific 4-Hz magnetic field pattern or a 1-Hz or 7-Hz magnetic field was presented bilaterally at the level of the temporal lobes. Field strengths were in the order of milligauss (about 1000X background values). The subject was required to anticipate the next symbol for each trial. Only when the 4-Hz field preceded the target symbol did the subject's accuracy of guessing remain systematically above (50%) chance (20%) over the sessions. These results suggest that exogenous magnetic fields may become discriminative stimuli through temporal association. Evidence of habituation was also obtained.

Electroencephalographic correlates of temporal lobe signs and imaginings.

Significant correlations (0.50) were observed again between scores for the Wilson-Barber Inventory of Childhood Memories and Imagings and the numbers of experiences that are indicative of temporal lobe lability. In addition, positive correlations (0.42) occurred between temporal lobe EEG measures (scalp electrodes) and numbers of temporal lobe signs. The numbers of alpha seconds per minute from the occipital lobes were correlated (0.57) with the Wilson-Barber cluster that indicated interests in "altered states". Scores on the childhood imaginings section of the Wilson-Barber Inventory were correlated (0.44) with the numbers of spikes per minute over the temporal lobes when the eyes were closed.

Temporal lobe epileptic signs and correlative behaviors displayed by normal populations.

With regard to epileptic signs and correlative behaviors, one hypothesis is that the experiences and nonconvulsive behaviors of patients with electrical foci within the temporal lobe are also displayed, but with less intensity, by normal people. If this is correct, then there should be quantitative relationships between the numbers of major complex partial epileptic signs (CPES) and the occurrence of other frequent clinical experiences and behaviors. An inventory to answer this question was developed. Over a 3-year period, 414 (6 groups) university students were administered an inventory that included themes of CPES as well as control and information items. Strong correlations were consistently found between CPES scores and reports of paranormal (mystical, with religious overtones) experiences and "a sense of presence." Results from three personality (CPI, MMPI, and IPAT anxiety) inventories clearly demonstrated similar profiles. In addition to being more anxious, people who displayed higher CPES scores were more suspicious, aloof, stereotyped in their behavior, ruminative (overthinking), intellectually inefficient, and overly judgmental. CPES scores were significantly (p less than .001) correlated with the schizophrenia and mania subscales of the MMPI. The results suggest that functional hyperconnectionism of cortical-limbic systems within the brain may be more prevalent in the normal population than previously suspected.

Temporal lobe signs: electroencephalographic validity and enhanced scores in special populations.

Internal and external validity tests were completed for an inventory that has been used to infer signs of temporal lobe lability. Strong, positive correlations were reported for a normal (reference) population between the numbers of responses that referred to paranormal experiences (including feelings of a "presence") and separately to religious beliefs and the numbers of spikes per minute within electroencephalographic recordings from the temporal lobe. Numbers of spikes were also correlated with the subjects' scores on the hysteria, schizophrenia, and psychasthenia scales from the MMPI. These clusters of items were not correlated with electrical activity from the occipital lobe (the comparison region). Numbers of responses to control clusters of mundane experiences were not correlated with the temporal lobe measures. A group of student poets scored higher on different subclusters of temporal lobe signs and on the schizophrenia and mania scales of the MMPI than the reference group. For both groups, there were positive correlations between the amount of alpha activity in the temporal lobe only and answers to items such as "hearing inner voices" and "feeling as if things were not real." These results demonstrate that quantitative measures of electrical changes in the temporal lobe are correlated with (or with the report of) specific experiences that are prevalent during surgical or epileptic stimulation of this brain region.