L.O.V.E.

Michal Willinger, 2012
Decision making seminar with:
Dr. Itzhack Aharon

Many thanks to:
Daniel Levy (structure)
Tamir Goldberg (encouragement)
Mario Mikulincer (containment)

l.o.v.e. and decision-making

The Polyvagal Theory (via Porges, 1995)

The vagal nerves.
Note when a human
AIR FLOW

being is standing upright,
there is a “ladder” from
brain to heart of electrical
nerve fibers.

Once upon a time,
Before the advent of a
complex nervous
system,
the nervous system of
aquatic animals could
only reduce heart rate
by floating, and
waiting for the
excitement to go
away.
There was no channel
for the brain to tell
the heart what to do.

Then, an exciting change
occurred.

Evolved forms of life
emerged with a second
vagal nerve pathway that
connected the brain to
send the heart messages
for the first time.

Animals were able to feel
calm as well as to feel
excitement.


Stephen Porges discovered
the vagal nerves hold the
key to a third system of the
body that is beyond fight
or flight.
It is called,
communication.
Spirituality, conversation
and organization emerge
as a function to lift and
lower the rate of the heart
at will.

Are we special?
We perhaps are not so
special. Many, many
species have vagal nerve
branches that allow for
communication to occur.
But we are upright.
upright
Could there be a
relationship between
Jacob’s Ladder and our
anatomy?

Are we connected?
We perhaps are not so
connected. Many
studies have failed to
support overt psychic
phenomenon or
mystical explanations
for thought and
consciousness.
But we are conscious.
conscious
Could there be a
relationship between
consciousness and
anatomical alignment?

In connection: emerging order
The ACC seems to be especially involved when
effort is needed to solve problems of energy and
trust.
The ventral part of the ACC (internal
consolidation) projects to the amygdala, nucleus
accumbens, hypothalamus, and the anterior insula (the
internal reactionary system).
I propose more metabolic energy is required to get over the "hill" of
altering any internal motivation state at rest; or in a self-feeding loop of
action and reaction. Frontal lobe inhibition must create a schematic of effort
to "convince" the ACC that it is neither too much energy nor too little energy
to "trust" an imagined OFC-pleasant future is possible and worthwhile.

In connection: emerging order
Parietal touch and space diverts focus from imagined inner
pain, stress and inaccurate representations of body-external
threat to inner conceptions of space, time, distance and
achievable states of internal homeostasis. The mind directs
the body with the drive of the imagination and self-observed
rewards.

At a certain point, sensory "fuel" is needed to feedback OT
sensitivity into the system in order to prevent receptor
scaffolding from decaying from lack of use.

One could reasonably deduce that physical isolation and non-
touch over time will produce an excitable and indifferent
organism who suffers from chronic stress or 'freezing' - the
last and oldest evolutionary defense of "playing dead" in order
to conserve energy.

In connection: the internal organs
(insula, homeostasis)

In connection: the parietal lobe
(skin, space, distance)

In connection: the nerves-system

(organization of energy
and muscle
movement)

what physical laws rule these elements?
the vagal nerve : in connection

Jacob’s Ladder: The vagal system:
When two currents Lining the spine
are parallel, they from heart to brain,
form a ladder of two parallel
energy. currents up the
body center.

So Michal, What is L.O.V.E.?

L = Long-term

O = On-line

V = Velocity of

E = Evolution

Part One: The Machinery: the Brain

The ACC.
A = Anterior (before)
C = Cingulate (a circle around something)
C = Cortex (bark, i.e. an edge)

The anterior cingulate cortex is a circle of
surface neurons around your insula.

The vmPFC or the OFC.
V = Ventro (belly)
M = Medial (next to the middle)
P = Pre (before)
F = Frontal (front; i.e. the forehead)

O = Orbito (eyes)
F = (see above)
C = (see previous slide)

The vmPFC or the OFC.
The vmPFC, or the OFC, is the middle area
of surface neurons behind the eyeballs
and behind the forehead.

Image courtesy of the
“connectome” imaging
project, MIT, Boston.

Ready to jump in?

Option for clip 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=vYwOtTMUz0c

Let’s map the ACC.
The anterior cingulate cortex can be
divided anatomically based on dorsal
(“cognitive”) and ventral (“emotional”)
components.

SOURCE:

Bush G, Luu P, Posner MI (2000). Cognitive and emotional influences in anterior cingulate cortex. Trends
in Cognitive Science, 4 (6): 215–222.

Huh? What does this mean?
To get the answer, we first have to know
about the structure that the cortex is
“cingulating.” Do you remember what it
is?

The Insula
Your sylvian
fissure:
Protecting your
limbic system
since fMRI.

First, imagine I take the “sylvian fissure”
and open it up to peek inside.

The red area is what I am interested in.
Hey, wait, what does “insula” mean?

In both hemispheres, there is an insulating
sheath of neurons who project to dorsal and
ventral “streams” in the brain.

SOURCE:

Bush G, Luu P, Posner MI
(2000). Cognitive and emotional
influences in anterior cingulate
cortex. Trends in Cognitive
Science, 4 (6): 215–
222. doi:10.1016/S1364-6613(00)
01483-2.

Inside vs. Outside
The dorsal stream traditionally is called
“emotional”, but this is not so accurate:

It is the stream that is sourced by the
interior of the body (skin and deeper) from
the anterior insula, which processes
internal body states.
SOURCE:

Critchley, H.D. (2005). Neural mechanisms of autonomic, affective, and cognitive integration. Journal of Comparative
Neurology, 493 (1): 154–66.

Can you name 3 or more examples
of internal body states?
Homeostasis
Status of internal organs
Sympathetic activation
Parasympathetic relaxation
Heart rate
Breath rate

Outside vs. Inside
The ventral stream traditionally is called
cognitive, but this is not so accurate:

It is the stream which is sourced by the
exterior of the body (beyond the skin) from
the posterior insula, which processes
external body states.

SOURCE:

Critchley HD (December 2005). "Neural mechanisms of autonomic, affective, and cognitive integration". Journal of
Comparative Neurology, 493 (1): 154–66.

Can you name 3 or more examples
of external body states?
Heat
Vibration
Texture
Touch
Pain
Cold

THOUGHT-BREAK:

What is the relationship between ACC-
insula position and its structure/function?

Hint: Let’s start with simple nature. Here is a flower that looks a lot like a
brain. Up close, there is complexity. But it’s still one thing, and each petal
isn’t so different from the others.

Note for good understanding of our
insula and ACC function:
1. Any anterior brain function is an abstraction of its posterior
(see source).

2. The ventral channel is sourced by the posterior insula and the
dorsal channel is sourced by the anterior insula.

SO:

Thinking back to internal and external body states,
what can we deduce?

IN SUPPORT OF MY DEDUCTION:

Kita, S. et. al. 2011. Does Conditioned Taste Aversion Learning in the Pond Snail Lymnaea stagnalis Produce
Conditioned Fear? Biological Bulletin, 220: 71-81.

Let’s map the dorsal ACC simply:

PFC SII
targets targets

Anterior
cingulate
sources

Parietal FEF
targets targets

The dorsal ACC (external consolidation) projects to the PFC, parietal cortex, sensory-motor
system and the frontal eye fields. In this case, note that targets may also be sources.

SOURCE:

Posner M. & DiGirolamo, G.J. 1998. Executive attention: Conflict, target detection, and cognitive contro". In
Parasuraman R. The attentive brain. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Let’s map the dorsal ACC visually:

PFC SII
targets targets

Yes/No/If/Then muscle-motion
Anterior
cingulate
sources

decisions and
feelings
Parietal FEF
targets target

touch and space
Visual Key (Willinger):

PFC = the ultimate inhibitor
SII = body-sensory eye movements
Frontal eye fields = eye motions (saccades) (saccades)
Parietal = touch and space

Let’s map the ventral ACC simply:

Insular
Amygdalic Feedback
targets

Anterior
cingulate
sources

Hypothalamic
Nucleus
targets accumbens
targets

The ventral ACC (internal consolidation) projects to the amygdala, nucleus accumbens,
hypothalamus, and anterior insula. Note also, targets may be sources.

SOURCE:

Allman J., Hakeem A., Erwin J., Nimchinsky E., Hof P. (2001). The anterior cingulate cortex. The evolution of an
interface between emotion and cognition. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 935(1): 107–17.

Let’s map the ventral ACC visually:

PFC SII
targets targets

Emotion from Internal body
the face Anterior states
cingulate
emotion sources
Homeostasis
decisions and
feelings
Parietal FEF
targets target

instinct
Visual Key (Willinger): Motivations and
addictions
Amygdala = primary emotional arousal
Hypothalamus = primary instinctual arousal
Nucleus accumbens = motivations and addictions
Anterior insula = homeostasis

Part One: Article IA

Optimal Decision Making and the Anterior Cingulate Cortex
Research team:
Steven K. Kennerly (University College London)
Mark E. Walton (University of Oxford)
Timothy E.J. Behrens (Oxford fMRI Center)
Mark J. Buckley (Oxford)
Matthew F.S. Rushworth (Oxford & Oxford fMRI Center)

APA citation:
Kennerly, S., Walton, M., Behrens, T., Buckley, M., & Rushworth, M. (2006). Optimal Decision Making and the Anterior
Cingulate Cortex. Nature/Neuroscience, published online doi:10.1038/nn1724.

Article IA – The researchers asked the
following Research Questions:
1. What is the relationship of the ACC and effort?

2. Why are efforts low when the ACC is damaged?

3. Why when the ACC is damaged do we observe:
i. impatience,
ii. vacillation in decision-making; and
iii. imperviousness to change?

APA citation:

Article IA – The researchers proposed
the following Hypothesis:

Perhaps the ACC makes the effort of reward appear greater than
it actually is.

Therefore, learning-based decisions toward a goal state is more
of an exaggerated effort than in reality.

APA citation:

Article IA – The research weighed the
following Methods:

1. Training rats and monkeys with and without lesions in the
ACC to obtain a reward of juice by pressing a lever.
• Training rats with and without lesions in the ACC to
obtain a reward of juice by tracking a visual target with
delay.

Measurements are via singular neuron electrical
recordings cross-referenced across brain regions.

APA citation:

Get-Real Break:

The equipment
procedure includes
mouse surgery, training
and learning, execution
and autopsy.

We teach the mouse to
think slowly over time,
and when we are
satisfied he has learned,
his neurons are
sacrificed on the altar of
science.

Just saying.

Article IA – The researchers found the
following Results:

1. The ACC is involved with the retaining of learning
involving the positive value of rewards.
• Lesions to the PFC, OFC or vmPFC do not show similar
results when reward-based learning is controlled without
reward-based rule structure.

The ACC is particularly involved in retaining good
memories for future reward of current efforts over
time.

APA citation:

The scientists could
not teach ACC-
damaged animals to:
1. Remember being
satisfied from a
reward.
2. Accurately calculate
the effort needed to
gain a future reward.
3. Socially learn.

The scientists could
teach ACC-damaged
animals to:
1. Memorize rules.
2. Follow rules.
3. Keep reaction times
up to par in a task.

Article IA – The researchers presented
the following points of Discussion:
1. The positive rewards hypothesis explains why the ACC is
involved with the retaining of learning involving the positive
value of rewards

• It also explains why memorizing rules or reaction times is not
effected by ACC lesions.

Further research should distinguish between value-based
learning (ACC), effort-based learning (hypothalamus), and rule-
based learning (PFC).

Researchers should take care to consolidate past studies and
avoid out-of-date explanations for behaviors.
APA citation:

Part Two: Article IB

Decision Making and Reward in the Frontal Cortex:
Complementary Evidence from Neurophysiological and
Neuropsychological Studies

Research team:
Steven K. Kennerly (University College London)
Mark E. Walton (University of Oxford)

APA citation:
Kennerly, S., Walton, M. (2011). Decision Making and Reward in the Frontal Cortex: Complementary Evidence from
Neurophysiological and Neuropsychological Studies. Behavioral Neuroscience, 125(3), 297-317.

Article IB – The research review
explored the relationship between:

1. ACC learning and effort-based action.

ACC lesions and lesions in other brain areas.

ACC and learning the value of actions.

APA citation:
Kennerly, S., Walton, M. (2011). Decision Making and Reward in the Frontal Cortex: Complementary Evidence from
Neurophysiological and Neuropsychological Studies. Behavioral Neuroscience, 125(3), 297-317.

Article IB – My summary of the authors’
review results is the following:
• ACC and addiction appears to project dopaminergic motivation to
categorization processes in the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere,
which subsequently “zooms out” of ‘long-term’ or ‘distant’ if-then rules.

• ACC and delayed gratification appears to project to the vmPFC of the
right hemisphere, which subsequently “zooms in” to ‘short-term’
repulsions, or ‘close’ if-then rules.

Further review should examine research that links “zoomed-out” affect
regulation and the right hemisphere to “zoomed-in” affect regulation in
the right hemisphere via relevant pathways of neurotransmission.

Note that generally active left PFC’s tend to produce attractive
behaviors and active right PFC’s tend to produce repulsive behaviors.
There is evolutionary animal-studies preliminarily supporting as to why;
namely, the right hemisphere is mouth-oriented and the left hemisphere
is body-oriented.

Other sources for cross-reference of this summary:
Bush, G., Vogt, B., Holmes, J., Dale, A. Greve, D., Jenike, M., Rosen, B. (2002). Proceedings of the National
Academy of Science, 99(1), 523-528.

Davidson, R & Irwin, W. (1999). The functional neuroanatomy of emotion and affective style. Trends in Cognitive
Science, 3(1), 1-21.

Deng, C. & Rogers, L. (2009). “Factors Affecting Lateralization and Chicks” in Comparative Vertabrate Lateralization,
edited by Rogers, L. University of New England: Australia.

Davidson, R. (2004). What does the prefrontal cortex “do” in affect: Prospectives in frontal EEG asymmetry research.
Biological Psychology, 67, 219-234.


Lamar, M. (2006). Neuroscience and Decision Making. SOL-UK Workshop: Triarchy Press, London.

Letzkus, P., Boeddeker, N., Wood, J., Shao-Wu, Z., Srinivasan, M. (2008). Lateralization of visual learning in the
honey bee. Biology Letters, 4(1), 16-19.

Part THREE: The Machinery: The Skin

Touch.
The parietal cortex stores space and time
relative to the embodiment of touch.

Brain axon imaging from the
Human Connectome Project,
MIT.
SOURCE:

Rakitin, B. 2006. Introduction to Neuroscience, Lecture 2, Columbia University.
Levy, D. 2009. Biological Psychology, Lecture 3, Raphael Racanti International School of Psychology.

Parietal touch taps into bi-directional feedback
loops between the OFC and insular cortex.

Parietal Base

OFC
(pleasant or
unpleasant)

INSULA
(external/internal
homeostasis)
BASE SOURCE FOR PARIETAL FUNCTIONING (any textbook, and in particular):
Rakitin, B. 2006. Introduction to Neuroscience, Columbia University.
Mudrick, L. 2009. Biological Psychology Recitation, Raphael Racanti International School of Psychology.

The main components of touch and
decisions:
Parietal axons tap directly into opiate-producing source
neurons in the OFC. Opioids in turn reduce pain and
facilitate the release of oxytocin.

In healthy animals, oxytocin overwhelms the presence of
cortisol. When unchecked, cortisol destroys the primary
line of defender-cells in the immune system to activate
PARIETAL LOBE
defensive behavior.
OFC
pleasur
e
INSULA
external/internal
homeostasis
SOURCE:
Field, T. (2010). Touch for socioemotional and physical well-being: a review. Devlopmental Review, (30), 367-383.
Uvnas, K.. & Peterson, M. (2005). Oxytocin, a Mediator of Anti-Stress, Well-being, Social Interaction, Growth and
Healing. Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine, 52(1), 57-80.

Under the skin
(all skin cellular imaging from www.cell.com)

The surface
of the skin is
comprised
of “zombie
cells” – they
remove
nutrients
only and
give nothing
back.
The real
action takes
place in the
deep nerve
pressure
Oxytocin and the Skin receptors
underneath.

1. Mammals possess tiny
hair cells hooking into
nerves in the third
layer of skin.

3. These “deep pressure
receptors” terminate in
Deep hair-based axons. the brain-OFC for
pleasure (or pain) and
opiate release (or
Substance P).

A SUPPORTING
PAPER:
Field, T. (2010). Touch
for socioemotional and
physical well-being: a
review. Devlopmental
Review, (30), 367-383.
Surface hair cells.

THOUGHT BREAK:

What organizes mental concepts of “space” and
“distance” in my brain? What is the relationship
between spatial organization, and my decisions?

Oxytocin: Skin to Blood to Brain - Manipulating Time and Space?

Cosmic filaments create a
“hand” in space.
NASA, 2009

The oxytocin receptor is unique because it self-replicates via
blood transport to brain cells and the skin.

OT responds to any modality containing vibration and rhythm
to create self-responding patterns at a preferred frequency.

A RECENT OT STUDY:
Gutnick, A., Blechman, J., Kaslin, J., Herwig, J., Belting, H.G., Affolter, M., Bonkowsky, J., Levkowitz, J. The Hypothalamic Neuropeptide
Oxytocin Is Required for Formation of the Neurovascular Interface of the Pituitary. Developmental Cell, 21(4), 642.

Be Mindful for what’s ahead that….
Once oxytocin locks into a phase pattern, it is repeated
internally in cycles of solar and lunar rhythms*…

…and these cycles of addiction can be the most rewarding,
devastating and humbling aspects of our ACC-bearing
species:

The infatuation with other humans,
the self, and
a feeling of soothing loving-peace in contact
with living bodies existing within
our frequencies
of sensory perception.

*(we will go into depth in Part III).

Part Four : Connecting the Dots

The parietal lobe, the anterior cingulate
cortex, and decision -making.

Part Four : Article IC

Parietal Cortex and Insula Relate to Evidence Seeking
Relevance to Reward-Related Decisions

Research team:
Nicolas Furl (Laboratory of Neuropsychology, NIMH)
Bruno Averbeck (Laboratory of Neuropsychology, NIMH)

APA citation:
Furl, N. & Averbeck, B. (2011). Parietal Cortex and Insula Relate to Evidence Seeking Relevance to Reward Related
Decisions. The Journal of Neuroscience, 31(48), 72-82.

Article IC – The research asked the
following Research Questions:

1. What brain areas are active in collecting careful evidence
and making decisions in the ACC?
2. How does seeking more evidence before a decision
compare success by random chance?
3. Do people who tend to seek out less evidence have
corresponding brain areas that are less active?

APA citation:

Article IC – The researchers proposed
the following Hypothesis:

Perhaps neural substrates may be identify when a person
decides to stay to collect more information rather than take a
decision, or to move on.

If so, identification of these areas will help us to consolidate other
fMRI studies in understanding the decision-making brain more
accurately.

APA citation:

Article IC – The research weighed
the following Methods:
1. Training humans on a computer game involving
probability, jars, and beads of different colors.
1. Jars were given monetary rewards and losses that
required trial-and-error.

Measurements compare participant choice to
Bayesian statistical models of random chance, loss/
win frequencies, and recorded fMRI activation during
the task.

APA citation:

Article IC – The research found the
following Results:
1. Searching for information activates the internal-ventral
stream: insula, striatum (conditioned-learning), anterior
cingulate, and parietal cortex.

1. The stream is most active when the odds are at 60/40.

3. The parietal lobe is the most active at the onset of loss;
and the insula fluctuates in sync with choice of strategy.

4. People tended to search less time than optimal for
certainty: on average, maximum mathematical certainty
required to examine a few more examples.

APA citation:

Article IC – The researchers presented
the following points of Discussion:
1. Loss increases evidence-seeking.

• People tend to investigate for less than is necessary, even when
controlled for monetary gain and “hit” rates of accuracy.

3. When there is no change in outcome, there is a bit more seeking
of evidence, but it is still less than necessary.

There appears to be a relationship between the flux of activation
in the insula and the parietal lobe, for when a person is “full” of
information and makes the decision to go inward, and strategize,
or outward, and choose (Willinger).

APA citation:

Part Five: The Machinery: YOGA

L.O.V.E.

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