METAPSYCHOLOGY

2007 Dr Romesh Senewiratne (MBBS, Australia, 1983)

In 2004 I pondered the concept of 'metapsychology' without realising that
the word was already in popular, if not widespread use. This is what
resulted:
Definition of Metapsychology:
The science of mass psychological effects and phenomena, including
their influence on the individual minds of humans and other animals.
Includes:
1. Interactions between individuals of the same species
2. Interactions between individuals of different species
3. Interactions between groups of the same species
4. Interactions between groups of different species
5. Analysis of interactions between all minds within the total ecosystem
6. Set theory as applied to group psychology
7. Collective consciousness:
i)
shared and individual knowledge
ii)
shared and individual beliefs
iii) shared and individual delusions (incorrect beliefs)
iv) shared and individual memories
v)
shared and individual emotional reactions
vi) shared and individual imaginings/concepts/ideas
vii) shared and individual hopes
viii) shared and individual expectations
ix) shared and individual fears
x)
shared and individual actions
xi) shared and individual attitudes
xii) shared and individual virtues
xiii) shared and individual vices
8. Collective and individual subconscious:
i)
instincts
ii)
cultural inheritance and influences
iii) familial inheritance and influences
iv) prenatal experiences
v)
neonatal experiences

vi)

early childhood experiences

9. Unconscious psychophysiology
i)
autonomic nervous system
ii)
hormonal system
iii) electrophysiology
iv) radiation physiology
v)
electromagnetic physiology
vi) biochemistry
10. Cultural psychology:
1) Geographical
i)
National
ii)
Continental
2) Political
3) Religious
4) Racial
5) Familial
6) Class
7) Profession
8) Gender
9) Age
11. Third eye (pineal) movements in time and space (4 dimensions)
12. Mass-media psychology and political psychology:
i)
propaganda and advertising
a) Military
b) Political/governmental
c) Religious
d) Corporate
e) Masonic
f) Charity
ii)
psy-ops (deliberate mass psychological deceptions)
iii) mind control programs/brainwashing programs
iv) hypnosis
v)
hypnotherapy
vi) psychiatry schools and programs

vii) psychology schools and programs

viii) espionage and intelligence agencies
13. Cyberpsychology
14. Psychological warfare
15. Psychological genocide as an aspect of cultural genocide
Central point of the vertebrate brain and mind:
Contending midline structures:
i)
optic chiasma
ii)
pineal (potential for crystallization)
iii) hypothalamus
iv) thalamus

Frontal Lobes see figure 1

(planning, aspects of conscious
decision making and abstract
thought; all voluntary movement
depends on motor cortex in
precentral gyrus and frontal eye
fields- see fig 2)

Parietal Lobes see fig1

(somatosensory cortex
including position sense and
spatial awareness; association
areas with auditory and visual
cortex)

Pineal (fig 3)

EYES
Light converted to
electrochemical
signals; eyes also
used for unspoken
and spoken
communication
with others relying
on actions of
extraocular
muscles - see fig 4

Suprachiasmatic
nucleus of
hypothalamus
circadian clock
Hypothalamus

Thalamus
(receives audio and
visual inputs as well
as other sensory
data) see fig 7

Synthesises melatonin
from dietary
tryptophan via
serotonin during
darkness at night;
affects pituitary
hormones: see fig 4

See fig 8

Optic chiasma
Limbic System
(hippocampus, limbic
lobe, cingulate gyrus,
amygdala, mammillary
bodies) Dop. see fig 8

Pituitary
gland

Autonomic Nervous
System (sympathetic
branch) ACH, NA
Reticular Activating
System (RAS) of
Brainstem NA

Nuclei of eye
muscles (brain
stem ganglia
of cranial
nerves 3, 4
and 6) see fig 6

Centre for
conjugate
gaze

Frontal eye fields

(frontal lobe)

Basal Ganglia (substantia

nigra, globus pallidus,
caudate nucleus) fig 9
Initiation and control of
movement ?role in urge to
dance and motivation substantia nigra produces
dopamine from dietary
amino acid tyrosine via
DOPA which is also
precursor of melanin

Pons
Relay between L and
R sides, cerebrum and
cerebellum, esp.
sensory info; nuclei
of cranial nerves V,
VI, VII and VIII
breathing centres
?role in dreaming

Level of alertness, concentration and

state of consciousness (sleep/wake)
Network projects throughout brain

Occipital Lobes
(visual cortex) fig 1
visual perception
and memory
?role of glial cells,
especially
astrocytes in
memory; neural
connections with
limbic system for
memory; ?protein
formation as
requisite for
recording memory

Temporal Lobes (auditory

cortex) input from auditory
pathways via medial geniculate
nucleus of thalamus - see fig 9

Brain Stem RAS, medulla

oblongata, nuclei
of cranial nerves

Cerebellum
(balance, motor control,
?role in perception of
rhythm and urge to
dance)

ABBREVIATIONS for main neurotransmitters:

Dop: dopamine
NA: noradrenaline (norepinephrine)
Ad: adrenaline
ACh: acetyl choline
DOPA: 3,4-dihyroxyphenylalanine
Ser: serotonin

These are synthesised from amino acids:

Dopamine from Tyrosine via DOPA:
Tyrosine

DOPA

Dopamine

In the brain most of the dopamine is synthesised in pigmented cells in the

substantia nigra (this area is pigmented in people with light or dark skin, and
in most people with albinism)
The black pigment melanin is thought to be polymer of DOPA quinone and
DOPA carboxylic acid, joined in chains with Indole quinone.
Dopamine (and therefore its precursors tyrosine and DOPA) are also
catalysed into noradrenaline in the brain, the adrenal glands and
postganglionic cells of the sympathetic nervous system. In the adrenal
medulla noradrenaline is converted, under sympathetic stimulation, to
adrenaline (called epinephrine in the USA).
Dopamine

Noradrenaline

Adrenaline

The main area of synthesis of noradrenaline (NA) in the brain is the locus
ceruleus (blue area) in the brainstem. NA acts as a neurotransmitter in many
parts of the brain, as do dopamine, serotonin, acetyl choline and glutamate.

Indole amines are synthesised from the essential amino acid tryptophan,
which contains an indole ring:

CH2.CHNH2.COOH

NH

Tryptophan

Serotonin (5 hydroxytryptamine) is synthesised in the raphe nuclei of the

brainstem, acting as a neurotransmitter in several parts of the brain. It is also
synthesised in the pineal organ (gland) where, during the night it is
converted to melatonin. Most of the body's serotonin is synthesised in the
lining of the intestines.
Melatonin is known to act as a potent anti-oxidant, and to have effects on the
timing and activity of pituitary hormones, particularly the gonadotrophins
LH and FSH. It is also thought to influence the immune system, sleep cycles
and hibernation in temperate zone mammals. The development of
precocious puberty in children with pituitary tumours (first described in the
1890s) is thought to be caused by reduced effect of melatonin in suppressing
the activity of pituitary gonadotrophins. Melatonin is currently in therapeutic
use for prevention of jet lag and as a low potency sleeping tablet.

Frontal Lobes see figure 1

(planning, aspects of conscious
decision making and abstract
thought; all voluntary movement
depends on motor cortex in
precentral gyrus - see fig 1)

Hypothalamus

EARS
Sound converted
to electrochemical
signals; ear
movement and
position also used
for unspoken
communication by
many other
mammals

Pituitary gland

Parietal Lobes see fig1

(somatosensory cortex
including position sense and
spatial awareness; association
areas with auditory and visual
cortex)

Thalamus
(receives audio and
visual inputs as well
as other sensory
data) see fig 7

Occipital Lobes
(visual cortex)
visual perception
and memory
?role of glial cells,
especially astrocytes
in memory; neural
connections with
limbic system for
memory; ?protein
formation as
requisite for
recording memory

Limbic System
(emotional reactions)
(hippocampus, limbic lobe,
cingulate gyrus, amygdala,
mammillary bodies)
Dop. see fig 8

Basal Ganglia (substantia

nigra, globus pallidus,
caudate nucleus) fig 9
Initiation and control of
movement ?role in urge to
dance and motivation substantia nigra produces
dopamine from dietary
amino acid tyrosine via
DOPA which is also
precursor of melanin

Pons
Relay between L
and R sides,
cerebrum and
cerebellum,
especially
sensory data;
breathing centres
?role in dreaming

Temporal Lobes (auditory

cortex) including Wernicke's Area
in left temporal lobe required for
understanding speech
Medulla of
Brain Stem
breathing,
swallowing,
circulation,
muscle tone

Cerebellum
(balance, motor control,
?role in perception of
rhythm and dance)

Frontal Lobes see figure 1

(planning, aspects of conscious
decision making and abstract
thought; all voluntary movement
depends on motor cortex in
precentral gyrus and frontal eye
fields- see fig 2)

Parietal Lobes see fig1

(somatosensory cortex
including position sense and
spatial awareness; association
areas with auditory and visual
cortex)

Pineal (fig 3)

EYES
Light converted to
electrochemical
signals; eyes also
used for unspoken
and spoken
communication
with others relying
on actions of
extraocular
muscles - see fig 4

Suprachiasmatic
nucleus of
hypothalamus
circadian clock
Hypothalamus

Thalamus
(receives audio and
visual inputs as well
as other sensory
data) see fig 7

Synthesises melatonin
from dietary
tryptophan via
serotonin during
darkness at night;
affects pituitary
hormones: see fig 4

See fig 8

Optic chiasma
Limbic System
(hippocampus, limbic
lobe, cingulate gyrus,
amygdala, mammillary
bodies) Dop. see fig 8

Pituitary
gland

Autonomic Nervous
System (sympathetic
branch) ACH, NA
Reticular Activating
System (RAS) of
Brainstem NA

Nuclei of eye
muscles (brain
stem ganglia
of cranial
nerves 3, 4
and 6) see fig 6

Centre for
conjugate
gaze

Frontal eye fields

(frontal lobe)

Basal Ganglia (substantia

nigra, globus pallidus,
caudate nucleus) fig 9
Initiation and control of
movement ?role in urge to
dance and motivation substantia nigra produces
dopamine from dietary
amino acid tyrosine via
DOPA which is also
precursor of melanin

Pons
Relay between L and
R sides, cerebrum and
cerebellum, esp.
sensory info; nuclei
of cranial nerves V,
VI, VII and VIII
breathing centres

Level of alertness, concentration and

state of consciousness (sleep/wake)
Network projects throughout brain

Occipital Lobes
(visual cortex) fig 1
visual perception
and memory
?role of glial cells,
especially
astrocytes in
memory; neural
connections with
limbic system for
memory; ?protein
formation as
requisite for
recording memory

Temporal Lobes (auditory

cortex) input from auditory
pathways via medial geniculate
nucleus of thalamus - see fig 9

Brain Stem RAS, medulla

oblongata, nuclei
of cranial nerves

Cerebellum
(balance, motor control,
?role in perception of
rhythm and urge to
dance)

DECONSTRUCTING PERSONALITY creatively

What constitutes personality?
Personality types:
Fixed personality
Personality disorders as defined by
American Psychiatric Association (DSM classification)
World Health Organization (ICD classification)
Extraversion/introversion versus inhibitions (frontal lobe)
personality change through lobotomy
Phineas Gages example
Effects of alcohol on disinhibition
Impulsive vs spontaneous
Framingham study and personality types A and B
Animal temperament eg: aggression levels in different breeds of dog
Effects of antenatal, infant and early childhood experiences
The role of genes, genetics and epigenetics (variable gene expression)
What role is left for the stars and planets?
Astrology, astronomy, theology and psychology
Building strengths out of weaknesses
Gaining courage out of adversity
Changing anxiety into excitement
Conversion from negative to positive thinking
Celebrating individuality

Making the most of our creativity