http://www.cogsci.ucsd.edu/~pineda/COGS175/readings/Dietrich.pdf … The Transient Hypofrontality hypothesis says that trancelike "altered states" like dreams, meditation, hypnosis, glossolalia, and the "runner's high" are characterized by reduced frontal lobe activity.
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People with depression and anxiety have reduced activity (measured by PET scans) in the DLPFC, but increased activity in the VMPFC. Perhaps, they worry/ruminate more about "am I ethical? am I socially appropriate?" but are less able to ask "am I making sense right now?"
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In REM sleep, most of the brain is active just as during waking, except the prefrontal cortex. This may explain why dreams are "dreamlike" -- they lack consistency, the "first person" identity shifts, time distorts, little analytical thought occurs. All PFC functions.
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During lucid dreaming, though, the PFC is activated. The difference between a dream and a lucid dream seems to be in the prefrontal cortex.
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Generative neural nets like DeepDream produce "dreamlike" images, and GPT-2 produces text samples with a "dream-logic" quality. Perhaps what we're seeing is an algorithm that simulates the cortex but not the PFC?
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Dietrich hypothesizes that exercise and hypnosis are, like dreams, hypofrontal states, but we don't have direct physiological evidence of this, only behavioral. EG, people are worse at PFC-heavy tasks while running but not at other cognitive tasks.
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http://www.psychohistorian.org/downloads/psychology/newberg2006.pdf … an n=5 PET scan study found that blood flow to the prefrontal cortex is reduced during glossolalia compared to hymn singing, suggesting that glossolalia is a hypofrontal state.
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The evidence on meditation is inconsistent. EEG studies from the 1960's-70's found more alpha state and less beta state during meditation, normally an indicator of less frontal lobe activity. But fMRI studies from the 1990's showed *more* PFC activity during meditation.
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This is suspect to me because it tracks changing attitudes towards meditation in the US -- "mindfulness" is more associated with focus, productivity, and maturity today, so researchers probably expect to see more PFC activity. Also, fMRI sucks.
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Dietrich thinks trance states, including endurance exercise, are good for mental stability because they temporarily turn off our frontal lobes. Sort of a Bakhtinian thing. I find this an appealing idea.
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