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130-415: Jaynes uses "bicameral" (two chambers) to describe a mental state in which the experiences and memories of the right hemisphere of the brain are transmitted to the left hemisphere via auditory hallucinations . The metaphor is based on the idea of lateralization of brain function , although each half of a normal human brain is constantly communicating with the other through the corpus callosum . The metaphor

260-700: A mousaion (i.e., ' museum ' or shrine of the Muses) close to the tomb of Alexander the Great . Many Enlightenment figures sought to re-establish a "Cult of the Muses" in the 18th century. A famous Masonic lodge in pre-Revolutionary Paris was called Les Neuf Soeurs ('The Nine Sisters', that is, the Nine Muses); Voltaire , Benjamin Franklin , Danton , and other influential Enlightenment figures attended it. As

390-408: A Pre-Greek origin is also possible. The earliest known records of the Muses come from Boeotia (Boeotian muses). Some ancient authorities regarded the Muses as of Thracian origin. In Thrace, a tradition of three original Muses persisted. In the first century BC, Diodorus Siculus cited Homer and Hesiod to the contrary, observing: Writers similarly disagree also concerning the number of

520-435: A "unitary self") has found support from psychological and neurological studies. Jaynes built a case for this hypothesis that human brains existed in a bicameral state until as recently as 3,000 years ago by citing evidence from many diverse sources, including historical literature. He took an interdisciplinary approach, drawing data from many different fields. Citing Dodds, Snell, and Adkins, Jaynes proposed that until roughly

650-446: A crime that has been committed, often homicides. In essence, it is a voice that one hears and it tells the listener what to do. Sometimes the commands are quite benign directives such as "Stand up" or "Shut the door." Whether it is a command for something simple or something that is a threat, it is still considered a "command hallucination." Some helpful questions that can assist one in determining if they may have this includes: "What are

780-484: A dissociative. These drugs also can induce sleep (relating to hypnagogic hallucinations) and especially the pethidines have atropine-like anticholinergic activity, which was possibly also a limiting factor in the use, the psychotomimetic side effects of potentiating morphine, oxycodone , and other opioids with scopolamine (respectively in the Twilight Sleep technique and the combination drug Skophedal, which

910-403: A double-pipe, the aulos ; Erato (lyric poetry) is often seen with a lyre and a crown of roses; Melpomene (tragedy) is often seen with a tragic mask; Polyhymnia (sacred poetry) is often seen with a pensive expression; Terpsichore (choral dance and song) is often seen dancing and carrying a lyre; Thalia (comedy) is often seen with a comic mask; and Urania (astronomy) carries a pair of compasses and

1040-419: A giraffe. A simple visual hallucination is an amorphous figure that may have a similar shape or color to a giraffe ( looks like a giraffe), while a complex visual hallucination is a discrete, lifelike image that is , unmistakably, a giraffe. Command hallucinations are hallucinations in the form of commands; they appear to be from an external source, or can appear coming from the subject's head. The contents of

1170-432: A number of conferences and symposiums dedicated to Julian Jaynes's theory. These include: A number of publications discuss and expand on Julian Jaynes's theory, including three books by Brian J. McVeigh (one of Jaynes' graduate students) which expand on Jaynes' theories: Neuroscientist Michael Persinger , who co-invented the " God helmet " in the 1980s, believes that his invention may induce mystical experiences by having

1300-463: A number of factors. These hallucinations occur just before falling asleep and affect a high proportion of the population: in one survey 37% of the respondents experienced them twice a week. The hallucinations can last from seconds to minutes; all the while, the subject usually remains aware of the true nature of the images. These may be associated with narcolepsy . Hypnagogic hallucinations are sometimes associated with brainstem abnormalities, but this

1430-468: A person in a state of good mental and physical health, even in the apparent absence of a transient trigger factor such as fatigue , intoxication or sensory deprivation . The evidence for this statement has been accumulating for more than a century. Studies of benign hallucinatory experiences go back to 1886 and the early work of the Society for Psychical Research , which suggested approximately 10% of

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1560-557: A psychologist or psychiatrist should be consulted, and treatment will be based on the observations of those doctors. Antipsychotic and atypical antipsychotic medication may also be utilized to treat the illness if the symptoms are severe and cause significant distress. For other causes of hallucinations there is no factual evidence to support any one treatment is scientifically tested and proven. However, abstaining from hallucinogenic drugs, stimulant drugs, managing stress levels, living healthily, and getting plenty of sleep can help reduce

1690-613: A sense that surfaces such as ceilings and even entire horizons are moving farther away in a fashion similar to the dolly zoom effect , and other illusions. Even when consciousness is impaired, insight into the hallucination or illusion is typically preserved. Drug-induced hallucinations are caused by hallucinogens , dissociatives , and deliriants , including many drugs with anticholinergic actions and certain stimulants, which are known to cause visual and auditory hallucinations. Some psychedelics such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin can cause hallucinations that range in

1820-572: A set of four Muses: Thelxinoë , Aoide , Archē , and Melete , said to be daughters of Zeus and Plusia or of Ouranos . One of the people frequently associated with the Muses was Pierus . By some he was called the father (by a Pimpleian nymph, called Antiope by Cicero ) of a total of seven Muses, called Neilṓ ( Νειλώ ), Tritṓnē ( Τριτώνη ), Asōpṓ ( Ἀσωπώ ), Heptápora ( Ἑπτάπορα ), Achelōís, Tipoplṓ ( Τιποπλώ ), and Rhodía ( Ῥοδία ). According to Hesiod 's Theogony (seventh century BC), they were daughters of Zeus , king of

1950-496: A single individual person of one or more talking voices is particularly associated with psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia , and hold special significance in diagnosing these conditions. In schizophrenia, voices are normally perceived coming from outside the person, but in dissociative disorders they are perceived as originating from within the person, commenting in their head instead of behind their back. Differential diagnosis between schizophrenia and dissociative disorders

2080-627: A social–linguistic construct learned in childhood, structured in terms of lexical metaphors and narrative practice, against Ned Block's criticism that it is "ridiculous" to suppose that consciousness is a cultural construction, while the Dutch philosophy professor Jan Sleutels offers an additional critique of Block. H. Steven Moffic questioned why Jaynes's theory was left out of a discussion on auditory hallucinations by Asaad & Shapiro (1986) . The authors' published response was, "Jaynes' hypothesis makes for interesting reading and stimulates much thought in

2210-470: A symptom of certain mental disorders such as depression , bipolar disorder , intoxication, substance withdrawal , or psychotic disorders (e.g., schizophrenia ). The perceived odors are usually unpleasant and commonly described as smelling burned, foul, spoiled, or rotten. Tactile hallucinations are the illusion of tactile sensory input, simulating various types of pressure to the skin or other organs. One subtype of tactile hallucination, formication ,

2340-490: A younger self or the present self, and tend to be briefly present. Complex hallucinations are a relatively uncommon finding in temporal lobe epilepsy patients. Rarely, they may occur during occipital focal seizures or in parietal lobe seizures. Distortions in visual perception during a temporal lobe seizure may include size distortion ( micropsia or macropsia ), distorted perception of movement (where moving objects may appear to be moving very slowly or to be perfectly still),

2470-637: Is a great example of utilizing the knowledge and experience of voice hearers and combining it with experts in disorders such as schizophrenia, such as psychiatrists. Prevalence of hallucinations varies depending on underlying medical conditions, which sensory modalities are affected, age and culture. As of 2022, auditory hallucinations are the most well studied and most common sensory modality of hallucinations, with an estimated lifetime prevalence of 9.6%. Children and adolescents have been found to experience similar rates (12.7% and 12.4% respectively) which occur mostly during late childhood and adolescence. This

2600-452: Is a necessary component of subjective consciousness and more abstract forms of thinking has gained the support of proponents including Andy Clark , Daniel Dennett , William H. Calvin , Merlin Donald , John Limber, Howard Margolis , Peter Carruthers , and José Luis Bermúdez. An early criticism by philosopher Ned Block argued that Jaynes had confused the emergence of consciousness with

2730-518: Is an elementary auditory hallucination. However, some people who experience certain types of tinnitus, especially pulsatile tinnitus, are actually hearing the blood rushing through vessels near the ear. Because the auditory stimulus is present in this situation, it does not qualify it as a hallucination. Complex hallucinations are those of voices, music, or other sounds that may or may not be clear, may or may not be familiar, and may be friendly, aggressive, or among other possibilities. A hallucination of

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2860-408: Is being touched in an erogenous zone, sensing stimulation in the genitals, feeling the fondling of one's breasts or buttocks and tastes or smells related to sexual activity. Visualizations of sexual content and auditory voices making sexually explicit remarks may sometimes be included in this classification. While it features components of other classifications, sexual hallucinations are distinct due to

2990-578: Is called multimodal, analogous to unimodal hallucinations which have only one sensory modality. The multiple sensory modalities can occur at the same time (simultaneously) or with a delay (serial), be related or unrelated to each other, and be consistent with reality (congruent) or not (incongruent). For example, a person talking in a hallucination would be congruent with reality, but a cat talking would not be. Multimodal hallucinations are correlated to poorer mental health outcomes, and are often experienced as feeling more real. Hallucinations can be caused by

3120-509: Is challenging due to many overlapping symptoms, especially Schneiderian first rank symptoms such as hallucinations. However, many people who do not have a diagnosable mental illness may sometimes hear voices as well. One important example to consider when forming a differential diagnosis for a patient with paracusia is lateral temporal lobe epilepsy . Despite the tendency to associate hearing voices, or otherwise hallucinating, and psychosis with schizophrenia or other psychiatric illnesses, it

3250-400: Is compared with adults and those over 60 (with rates of 5.8% and 4.8% respectively). For those with schizophrenia, the lifetime prevalence of hallucinations is 80% and the estimated prevalence of visual hallucinations is 27%, compared to 79% for auditory hallucinations. A 2019 study suggested 16.2% of adults with hearing impairment experience hallucinations, with prevalence rising to 24% in

3380-494: Is crucial to take into consideration that, even if a person does exhibit psychotic features, they do not necessarily have a psychiatric disorder on its own. Disorders such as Wilson's disease , various endocrine diseases , numerous metabolic disturbances , multiple sclerosis , systemic lupus erythematosus , porphyria , sarcoidosis , and many others can present with psychosis. Musical hallucinations are also relatively common in terms of complex auditory hallucinations and may be

3510-547: Is entitled " The Bicameral Mind ". Hallucination A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the compelling sense of reality. They are distinguishable from several related phenomena , such as dreaming ( REM sleep ), which does not involve wakefulness; pseudohallucination , which does not mimic real perception, and is accurately perceived as unreal; illusion , which involves distorted or misinterpreted real perception; and mental imagery , which does not mimic real perception, and

3640-491: Is falling asleep and hypnopompic hallucinations occur when one is waking up. Hallucinations can be associated with drug use (particularly deliriants ), sleep deprivation , psychosis , neurological disorders , and delirium tremens . Many hallucinations happen also during sleep paralysis . The word "hallucination" itself was introduced into the English language by the 17th-century physician Sir Thomas Browne in 1646 from

3770-462: Is gradually reduced with the progression of this disorder. Sleep is disturbed and occurs for a shorter period of time, with rapid eye movement sleep . Parkinson's disease is linked with Lewy body dementia for their similar hallucinatory symptoms. Presence hallucinations can be an early indicator of cognitive decline in Parkinson's Disease. The symptoms strike during the evening in any part of

3900-432: Is known as a disturbance , and can occur in most of the senses above. These may be things like seeing movement in peripheral vision , or hearing faint noises or voices. Auditory hallucinations are very common in schizophrenia . They may be benevolent (telling the subject good things about themselves) or malicious, cursing the subject. 55% of auditory hallucinations are malicious in content, for example, people talking about

4030-410: Is normally attributed to internal sources via feedforward networks to the inferior frontal gyrus, is interpreted as originating externally due to abnormal connectivity or functionality of the feedforward network. This is supported by cognitive studies of those with hallucinations, who have demonstrated abnormal attribution of self generated stimuli. Disruptions in thalamocortical circuitry may underlie

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4160-508: Is not meant to imply that the two halves of the bicameral brain were "cut off" from each other but that the bicameral mind was experienced as a different, nonconscious mental schema wherein volition in the face of novel stimuli was mediated through a linguistic control mechanism and experienced as auditory verbal hallucinations. Bicameral mentality is nonconscious in its inability to reason and articulate about mental contents through meta-reflection, reacting without explicitly realizing and without

4290-586: Is one of the best I have come across." Richard Dawkins in The God Delusion (2006) wrote of The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind : "It is one of those books that is either complete rubbish or a work of consummate genius; Nothing in between! Probably the former, but I'm hedging my bets." Gregory Cochran , a physicist and adjunct professor of anthropology at

4420-442: Is rare. Peduncular means pertaining to the peduncle , which is a neural tract running to and from the pons on the brain stem . These hallucinations usually occur in the evenings, but not during drowsiness, as in the case of hypnagogic hallucination. The subject is usually fully conscious and then can interact with the hallucinatory characters for extended periods of time. As in the case of hypnagogic hallucinations , insight into

4550-430: Is real and what is not. The hallucinations can sometimes be dispersed by eye movements, or by reasoned logic such as, "I can see fire but there is no smoke and there is no heat from it" or perhaps, "We have an infestation of rats but they have pink ribbons with a bell tied on their necks." Over elapsed months and years, the hallucinations may become more or less frequent with changes in ability to see. The length of time that

4680-420: Is that they are daughters of Harmonia (the daughter of Aphrodite and Ares ), which contradicts the myth in which they were dancing at the wedding of Harmonia and Cadmus . Calliope had two sons, Ialemus and Orpheus , with Apollo . In another version of the story, the father of Orpheus was Oeagrus , but Apollo adopted him and taught him the skill of lyre while Calliope trained him in singing. Linus

4810-445: Is the name given to visual hallucinations experienced by a partially or severely sight impaired person. The hallucinations can occur at any time and can distress people of any age, as they may not initially be aware that they are hallucinating. They may fear for their own mental health initially, which may delay them sharing with carers until they start to understand it themselves. The hallucinations can frighten and disconcert as to what

4940-586: Is the sensation of insects crawling underneath the skin and is frequently associated with prolonged cocaine use. However, formication may also be the result of normal hormonal changes such as menopause , or disorders such as peripheral neuropathy , high fevers, Lyme disease , skin cancer , and more. This type of hallucination is the perception of taste without a stimulus. These hallucinations, which are typically strange or unpleasant, are relatively common among individuals who have certain types of focal epilepsy , especially temporal lobe epilepsy . The regions of

5070-462: Is thought to represent failure to gate sensory stimuli, and can be exacerbated by dopamine release agents. Abnormal assignment of salience to stimuli may be one mechanism of hallucinations. Dysfunctional dopamine signaling may lead to abnormal top down regulation of sensory processing, allowing expectations to distort sensory input. There are few treatments for many types of hallucinations. However, for those hallucinations caused by mental disease,

5200-526: Is under voluntary control. Hallucinations also differ from " delusional perceptions", in which a correctly sensed and interpreted stimulus (i.e., a real perception) is given some additional significance. Hallucinations can occur in any sensory modality — visual , auditory , olfactory , gustatory , tactile , proprioceptive , equilibrioceptive , nociceptive , thermoceptive and chronoceptive . Hallucinations are referred to as multimodal if multiple sensory modalities occur. A mild form of hallucination

5330-405: Is usually associated with a degraded substantia nigra pars compacta, but recent evidence suggests that PD affects a number of sites in the brain. Some places of noted degradation include the median raphe nuclei , the noradrenergic parts of the locus coeruleus , and the cholinergic neurons in the parabrachial area and pedunculopontine nuclei of the tegmentum . This type of hallucination

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5460-508: Is usually experienced during the recovery from a comatose state. The migraine coma can last for up to two days, and a state of depression is sometimes comorbid . The hallucinations occur during states of full consciousness, and insight into the hallucinatory nature of the images is preserved. It has been noted that ataxic lesions accompany the migraine coma. Migraine attacks may result in visual hallucinations including auras and in rarer cases, auditory hallucinations. Charles Bonnet syndrome

5590-480: The Classical period the number of Muses was standardized to nine, and their names were generally given as Calliope , Clio , Polyhymnia , Euterpe , Terpsichore , Erato , Melpomene , Thalia , and Urania . In modern figurative usage, a muse is a person who serves as someone's source of artistic inspiration . The word Muses ( Ancient Greek : Μοῦσαι , romanized :  Moûsai ) perhaps came from

5720-568: The La Trobe University School of Psychological Sciences revealed that as few as five cups of coffee a day (approximately 500 mg of caffeine) could trigger the phenomenon. A visual hallucination is "the perception of an external visual stimulus where none exists". A separate but related phenomenon is a visual illusion , which is a distortion of a real external stimulus. Visual hallucinations are classified as simple or complex: For example, one may report hallucinating

5850-488: The Muses ( Ancient Greek : Μοῦσαι , romanized :  Moûsai , Greek : Μούσες , romanized :  Múses ) are the inspirational goddesses of literature , science , and the arts . They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry , lyric songs , and myths that were related orally for centuries in ancient Greek culture. The number and names of the Muses differed by region, but from

5980-547: The Parnassus , where Apollo became known as Mousēgetēs ('Muse-leader') after the sites were rededicated to his cult. Often Muse-worship was associated with the hero-cults of poets: the tombs of Archilochus on Thasos and of Hesiod and Thamyris in Boeotia all played host to festivals in which poetic recitations accompanied sacrifices to the Muses. The Library of Alexandria and its circle of scholars formed around

6110-498: The hippocampus and amygdala are connected. Limited studies have been done to understand the mechanism of action behind sexual hallucinations in epilepsy , substance use , and post-traumatic stress disorder etiologies. Somatic hallucinations refer to an interoceptive sensory experience in the absence of stimulus. Somatic hallucinations can be broken down into further subcategories: general, algesic, kinesthetic, and cenesthopathic. A hallucination involving sensory modalities

6240-481: The o-grade of the Proto-Indo-European root * men- (the basic meaning of which is 'put in mind' in verb formations with transitive function and 'have in mind' in those with intransitive function), or from root * men- ('to tower, mountain') since all the most important cult-centres of the Muses were on mountains or hills. R. S. P. Beekes rejects the latter etymology and suggests that

6370-541: The pentazocine , levorphanol , fentanyl , pethidine , methadone and some other families are more associated with this side effect than natural opioids like morphine and codeine and semi-synthetics like hydromorphone , amongst which there also appears to be a stronger correlation with the relative analgesic strength. Three opioids, Cyclazocine (a benzormorphan opioid/pentazocine relative) and two levorphanol-related morphinan opioids, Cyclorphan and Dextrorphan are classified as hallucinogens, and Dextromethorphan as

6500-444: The visual field , multiply, or form concentric rings and generally persist from a few seconds to a few minutes. They are usually unilateral and localized to one part of the visual field on the contralateral side of the seizure focus, typically the temporal field . However, unilateral visions moving horizontally across the visual field begin on the contralateral side and move toward the ipsilateral side. Temporal lobe seizures , on

6630-523: The "gods" whose voices could no longer be heard. The consultation of special bicamerally operative individuals, or of divination by casting lots and so forth, was a response to this loss, a transitional era depicted, for example, in the book of 1 Samuel . It was also evidenced in children who could communicate with the gods, but as their neurology was set by language and society, they gradually lost that ability. Those who continued prophesying, being bicameral, according to Jaynes, could be killed. Leftovers of

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6760-585: The 2012 book Muses, Madmen, and Prophets: Rethinking the History, Science, and Meaning of Auditory Hallucination by Daniel Smith . Jaynes theorized that a shift from bicameral mentality marked the beginning of introspection and consciousness as we know it today. According to Jaynes, this bicameral mentality began malfunctioning or "breaking down" during the 2nd millennium BCE. He speculates that primitive ancient societies tended to collapse periodically—for example, Egypt's Intermediate Periods , as well as

6890-498: The Classical names and attributes of the standard list of the nine Muses, as well as their various associated symbols: Some Greek writers give the names of the nine Muses as Kallichore , Helike , Eunike, Thelxinoë , Terpsichore, Euterpe, Eukelade, Dia , and Enope. In Renaissance and Neoclassical art, the dissemination of emblem books such as Cesare Ripa 's Iconologia (1593 and many further editions) helped standardize

7020-672: The Greeks may have known that an individual did things, but the reason they did things was attributed to divine externalities, such as gods or daemons . Bruno Snell in 1953 thought that in Homeric Greek psychology there was no sense of self in the modern sense. Snell then describes how Greek culture "self-realized" the modern "intellect". Arthur William Hope Adkins  [ de ] , building on Snell's work, wrote about how ancient Greek civilization developed ego-centered psychology as an adaptation to living in city-states, before which

7150-571: The Muses as "Corycides" (or "Corycian nymphs ") after a cave on Mount Parnassos , called the Corycian Cave . Pausanias referred to the Muses by the surnames "Ardalides" or "Ardaliotides", because of a sanctuary to them at Troezen said to have been built by the mythical Ardalus . The Muses were venerated especially in Boeotia , in the Valley of the Muses near Helicon , and in Delphi and

7280-419: The Muses; for some say that there are three, and others that there are nine, but the number nine has prevailed since it rests upon the authority of the most distinguished men, such as Homer and Hesiod and others like them. Diodorus states (Book I.18) that Osiris first recruited the nine Muses, along with the satyrs , while passing through Aethiopia , before embarking on a tour of all Asia and Europe, teaching

7410-831: The Toronto Globe and Mail . Articles on Jaynes and his ideas appeared in Time in 1977, and in Quest/78 in 1978. The book was nominated for the National Book Award in Contemporary Thought in 1978. Philip K. Dick , Terrence McKenna , and David Bowie have all cited the book as an influence. According to Jaynes, language is a necessary but not sufficient condition for consciousness: Language existed thousands of years earlier, but consciousness did not emerge as soon as language did. The idea that language

7540-496: The University of Utah, wrote: "Genes affecting personality, reproductive strategies, cognition, are all able to change significantly over few-millennia time scales if the environment favors such change—and this includes the new environments we have made for ourselves, things like new ways of making a living and new social structures. ... There is evidence that such change has occurred. ... On first reading, Breakdown seemed one of

7670-600: The arts and inspire creation with their graces through remembered and improvised song and mime, writing, traditional music, and dance. It was not until Hellenistic times that the following systematic set of functions became associated with them, and even then some variation persisted both in their names and in their attributes: According to Pausanias , who wrote in the later second century AD, there were originally three Muses, worshipped on Mount Helicon in Boeotia : Aoide ('song' or 'tune'), Melete ('practice' or 'occasion'), and Mneme ('memory'). Together, these three form

7800-499: The arts of cultivation wherever he went. According to Hesiod's account ( c.  600 BC ), generally followed by the writers of antiquity, the Nine Muses were the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (i.e., "Memory" personified), figuring as personifications of knowledge and the arts, especially poetry, literature, dance and music. The Roman scholar Varro (116–27 BC) relates that there are only three Muses: one born from

7930-598: The beginning of their work. It asks for help or inspiration from the Muses, or simply invites the Muse to sing directly through the author. Originally, the invocation of the Muse was an indication that the speaker was working inside the poetic tradition, according to the established formulas. For example: These things declare to me from the beginning, ye Muses who dwell in the house of Olympus, and tell me which of them first came to be. — Hesiod (c. 700 BCE), Theogony (Hugh G. Evelyn-White translation, 2015) Sing to me of

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8060-620: The bicameral mind today, according to Jaynes, include mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. Jaynes says that there is no evidence of insanity existing prior to the breakdown of the bicameral mind and that this is indirect evidence for his theory. He considered that previous claims of insanity in Homeric literature are based on mistranslations. Early coverage by Sam Keen in the November 1977 issue of Psychology Today considered Jaynes's hypothesis worthy and offered conditional support, arguing

8190-498: The book convincing; those who do not will reject [Jaynes's] arguments ..." Walter J. Ong noted that the Homeric Iliad is a structurally oral epic poem so, he asserted, the very different cultural approach of oral culture is sufficient justification for the apparent different mentalities in the poem. Philosopher Daniel Dennett suggested that Jaynes may have been wrong about some of his supporting arguments – especially

8320-463: The brain responsible for gustatory hallucination in this case are the insula and the superior bank of the sylvian fissure . Sexual hallucinations are the perception of erogenous or orgasmic stimuli. They may be unimodal or multimodal in nature and frequently involve sensation in the genital region, though it is not exclusive. Frequent examples of sexual hallucinations include the sensation of being penetrated, experiencing orgasm, feeling as if one

8450-434: The brain. Jaynes notes that even at the time of publication there is no consensus as to the cause or origins of schizophrenia . Jaynes argues that schizophrenia is a vestige of humanity's earlier bicameral state. Recent evidence shows that many people with schizophrenia do not just hear random voices but experience " command hallucinations " instructing their behavior or urging them to commit certain acts, such as walking into

8580-488: The breakdown of the preconscious bicameral mind", citing Canadian psychologist, neuroanthropologist, and cognitive neuroscientist Merlin Donald and American psychiatrist Stanley Greenspan . Brian J. McVeigh , a graduate student of Jaynes, maintains that many of the most frequent criticisms of Jaynes's theory are either incorrect or reflect serious misunderstandings of Jaynes's theory, especially Jaynes's more precise definition of consciousness. Jaynes defines consciousness—in

8710-524: The celestial globe. The Greek word mousa is a common noun as well as a type of goddess: it literally means 'art' or 'poetry'. According to Pindar , to "carry a mousa " is 'to excel in the arts'. The word derives from the Indo-European root * men- , which is also the source of Greek Mnemosyne and mania , English mind , mental and monitor , Sanskrit mantra and Avestan Mazda . The Muses, therefore, were both

8840-400: The center of the city, to promote civic harmony and learning. Local cults of the Muses often became associated with springs or with fountains. The Muses themselves were sometimes called Aganippids because of their association with a fountain called Aganippe . Other fountains, Hippocrene and Pirene , were also important locations associated with the Muses. Some sources occasionally referred to

8970-447: The complete picture of the preconditions of poetic art in cult practice . In Delphi too three Muses were worshipped, but with other names: Nete , Mese , and Hypate , which are assigned as the names of the three chords of the ancient musical instrument, the lyre . Alternatively, later they were called Cephisso , Apollonis , and Borysthenis - names which characterize them as daughters of Apollo . A later tradition recognized

9100-401: The conscious mode of thought, which, Jaynes argued, is grounded in the acquisition of metaphorical language learned by exposure to narrative practice. According to Jaynes, ancient people in the bicameral state of mind experienced the world in a manner that has some similarities to that of a person with schizophrenia . Rather than making conscious evaluations in novel or unexpected situations,

9230-481: The craziest books ever written, but Jaynes may have been on to something." In 2007, Cavanna, Trimble, Cinti and Monaco wrote in Functional Neurology that "Even today, it has been argued that a multidisciplinary approach to the problem of consciousness and its development in the evolutionary process that shaped Homo sapiens cannot leave out an analysis of Jaynes' theory of the origin of consciousness in

9360-474: The criticism that "Jaynes was wrong". Sociologist W. T. Jones asked in 1979, "Why, despite its implausibility, is [Jaynes's] book taken seriously by thoughtful and intelligent people?" Jones agreed with Jaynes that "the language in which talk about consciousness is conducted is metaphorical", but he contradicted the basis of Jaynes's argument – that metaphor creates consciousness – by asserting that "language (and specifically metaphor) does not create, it discovers,

9490-512: The dead body of Orpheus , son of Calliope , and buried them in Leivithra . In a later myth, Thamyris challenged them to a singing contest. They won and punished Thamyris by blinding him and robbing him of his singing ability. According to a myth from Ovid 's Metamorphoses —alluding to the connection of Pieria with the Muses— Pierus , king of Macedon , had nine daughters he named after

9620-415: The depiction of the Muses in sculpture and painting, so they could be distinguished by certain props. These props, or emblems , became readily identifiable by the viewer, enabling one immediately to recognize the Muse and the art with which she had become associated. Here again, Calliope (epic poetry) carries a writing tablet; Clio (history) carries a scroll and books; Euterpe (song and elegiac poetry) carries

9750-520: The derivation of the Latin word alucinari meaning to wander in the mind. For Browne, hallucination means a sort of vision that is "depraved and receive[s] its objects erroneously". Hallucinations may be manifested in a variety of forms. Various forms of hallucinations affect different senses, sometimes occurring simultaneously, creating multiple sensory hallucinations for those experiencing them. Auditory hallucinations (also known as paracusia ) are

9880-420: The embodiments and sponsors of performed metrical speech: mousike (whence the English term music ) was just "one of the arts of the Muses". Others included science, geography, mathematics, philosophy, and especially art, drama, and inspiration. In the archaic period, before the widespread availability of books (scrolls), this included nearly all of learning. The first Greek book on astronomy, by Thales , took

10010-500: The emergence of the concept of consciousness. In other words, according to Block, humans were conscious all along but did not have the concept of consciousness and thus did not discuss it in their texts. Daniel Dennett countered that for some things, such as money , baseball , or consciousness, one cannot have the thing without also having the concept of the thing. Gary Williams defends the Jaynesian definition of consciousness as

10140-469: The first of the carmina by Catullus , Ovid 's Metamorphoses and Amores , Dante 's Inferno (Canto II), Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde (Book II), Shakespeare's Henry V (Act 1, Prologue), his 38th sonnet , and Milton's Paradise Lost (openings of Books 1 and 7). When Pythagoras arrived at Croton , his first advice to the Crotoniates was to build a shrine to the Muses at

10270-479: The form of dactylic hexameters , as did many works of pre-Socratic philosophy. Both Plato and the Pythagoreans explicitly included philosophy as a sub-species of mousike . The Histories of Herodotus , whose primary medium of delivery was public recitation, were divided by Alexandrian editors into nine books, named after the nine Muses. For poet and "law-giver" Solon , the Muses were "the key to

10400-472: The generation of hallucinations. Hallucinations are associated with less accurate sensory processing, and more intense stimuli with less interference are necessary for accurate processing and the appearance of gamma oscillations (called "gamma synchrony"). Hallucinations are also associated with the absence of reduction in P50 amplitude in response to the presentation of a second stimuli after an initial stimulus; this

10530-491: The gods, and Mnemosyne , Titan goddess of memory. Hesiod in Theogony narrates that the Muses brought to people forgetfulness, that is, the forgetfulness of pain and the cessation of obligations. For Alcman and Mimnermus , they were even more primordial , springing from the early deities Ouranos and Gaia . Gaia is Mother Earth , an early mother goddess who was worshipped at Delphi from prehistoric times, long before

10660-482: The good life"; since they brought both prosperity and friendship. Solon sought to perpetuate his political reforms by establishing recitations of his poetry—complete with invocations to his practical-minded Muses—by Athenian boys at festivals each year. He believed that the Muses would help inspire people to do their best. Ancient authors and some later authors and artists invoke Muses when writing poetry, hymns or epic history. Ancient authors invocations often occur near

10790-399: The hallucinations can range from the innocuous to commands to cause harm to the self or others. Command hallucinations are often associated with schizophrenia . People experiencing command hallucinations may or may not comply with the hallucinated commands, depending on the circumstances. Compliance is more common for non-violent commands. Command hallucinations are sometimes used to defend

10920-558: The horse and presented him to the Muses (compare the Roman inspiring nymphs of springs, the Camenae , the Völva of Norse Mythology and also the apsaras in the mythology of classical India ). Classical writers set Apollo as their leader, Apollon Mousēgetēs ('Apollo Muse-leader'). In one myth, the Muses judged a contest between Apollo and Marsyas . They also gathered the pieces of

11050-424: The importance he attached to hallucinations – but that these things are not essential to his main thesis: "If we are going to use this top-down approach, we are going to have to be bold. We are going to have to be speculative, but there is good and bad speculation, and this is not an unparalleled activity in science. ... Those scientists who have no taste for this sort of speculative enterprise will just have to stay in

11180-477: The living in Homeric oikos did not require such integrated thought processes. The neurological model in The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind is a radical neuroscientific hypothesis that was based on research novel at the time, mainly on Michael Gazzaniga 's split-brain experiments and left-brain interpreter theory. The more general idea of a "divided self" (contrasted with

11310-461: The man, Muse, the man of twists and turns driven time and again off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of Troy. O Muse! the causes and the crimes relate; What goddess was provok'd, and whence her hate; For what offence the Queen of Heav'n began To persecute so brave, so just a man; [...] Besides Homer and Virgil, other famous works that included an invocation of the Muse are

11440-407: The meta-reflective ability to give an account of why one did so. The bicameral mind thus lacks metaconsciousness, autobiographical memory, and the capacity for executive "ego functions" such as deliberate mind-wandering and conscious introspection of mental content. When bicameral mentality as a method of social control was no longer adaptive in complex civilizations, this mental model was replaced by

11570-414: The most hearing impaired group. A risk factor for multimodal hallucinations is prior experience of unimodal hallucinations. In 90% cases of psychosis, a visual hallucination occurs in combination with another sensory modality, most often being auditory or somatic. In schizophrenia, multimodal hallucinations are twice as common as unimodal ones. Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology ,

11700-432: The movement of water, another who makes sound by striking the air, and a third who is embodied only in the human voice. They were called Melete or "Practice", Mneme or "Memory" and Aoide or "Song". The Quaestiones Convivales of Plutarch (46–120 AD) also report three ancient Muses (9.I4.2–4). However, the classical understanding of the Muses tripled their triad and established a set of nine goddesses, who embody

11830-534: The muses, either Calliope, or Clio, or Terpsichore, or Urania. Corybantes were the children of Thalia and Apollo. The Muses had several temples and shrines in ancient Greece, their two main cult centres being Mount Helikon in Boiotia, which holds the Valley of the Muses , and Pieria in Makedonia. Strabo wrote: The cult of the Muses was also commonly connected to that of Apollo. The following table lists

11960-431: The nature of the images remains intact. The false images can occur in any part of the visual field, and are rarely polymodal . One of the more enigmatic forms of visual hallucination is the highly variable, possibly polymodal delirium tremens . It is associated with withdrawal in alcohol use disorder . Individuals with delirium tremens may be agitated and confused, especially in the later stages of this disease. Insight

12090-514: The nine Muses, believing that their skills were a great match to the Muses. He thus challenged the Muses to a match, resulting in his daughters, the Pierides , being turned into chattering jays (with κίσσα often erroneously translated as ' magpies ') for their presumption. Pausanias records a tradition of two generations of Muses; the first are the daughters of Ouranos and Gaia, the second of Zeus and Mnemosyne . Another, rarer genealogy

12220-542: The notion deserves further study. The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind was a successful work of popular science, selling out the first print run before a second could replace it. It received dozens of positive book reviews, including those by well-known critics such as John Updike in The New Yorker , Christopher Lehmann-Haupt in the New York Times , and Marshall McLuhan in

12350-525: The observed top down and bottom up dysfunction. Thalamocortical circuits, composed of projections between thalamic and cortical neurons and adjacent interneurons, underlie certain electrophysical characteristics ( gamma oscillations ) that are associated with sensory processing. Cortical inputs to thalamic neurons enable attentional modulation of sensory neurons. Dysfunction in sensory afferents, and abnormal cortical input may result in pre-existing expectations modulating sensory experience, potentially resulting in

12480-506: The ocean, which the listener feels they have no choice but to follow. Jaynes also argues that people with schizophrenia feel a loss of identity due to hallucinated voices taking the place of their internal monologue. As support for Jaynes's argument, these command hallucinations are little different from the commands from gods that feature prominently in ancient stories. Indirect evidence supporting Jaynes's theory that hallucinations once played an important role in human mentality can be found in

12610-586: The older portions of the Old Testament (such as the Book of Amos ) have few or none of the features of some later books of the Old Testament (such as Ecclesiastes ) as well as later works such as Homer's Odyssey , which show indications of a profoundly different kind of mentality—an early form of consciousness. In ancient times, Jaynes noted, gods were generally much more numerous and much more anthropomorphic than in modern times, and he speculates that this

12740-422: The orgasmic component and unique presentation. The regions of the brain responsible differ by the subsection of sexual hallucination. In orgasmic auras, the mesial temporal lobe , right amygdala and hippocampus are involved. In males, genital specific sensations are related to the postcentral gyrus and arousal and ejaculation are linked to stimulation in the posterior frontal lobe . In females, however,

12870-508: The other hand, can produce complex visual hallucinations of people, scenes, animals, and more as well as distortions of visual perception . Complex hallucinations may appear to be real or unreal, may or may not be distorted with respect to size, and may seem disturbing or affable, among other variables. One rare but notable type of hallucination is heautoscopy , a hallucination of a mirror image of one's self. These "other selves" may be perfectly still or performing complex tasks, may be an image of

13000-423: The perception of sound without outside stimulus. Auditory hallucinations can be divided into elementary and complex, along with verbal and nonverbal. These hallucinations are the most common type of hallucination, with auditory verbal hallucinations being more common than nonverbal. Elementary hallucinations are the perception of sounds such as hissing, whistling, an extended tone, and more. In many cases, tinnitus

13130-451: The periodically vanishing cities of the Mayas—as changes in the environment strained the sociocultural equilibria sustained by this bicameral mindset. The Late Bronze Age collapse of the 2nd millennium BCE led to mass migrations and created a rash of unexpected situations and stresses that required ancient minds to become more flexible and creative. Self-awareness, or consciousness,

13260-514: The person hallucinated a voice or "god" giving admonitory advice or commands and obeyed without question: One was not at all conscious of one's own thought processes per se . Jaynes's hypothesis is offered as a possible explanation of " command hallucinations " that often direct the behavior of those with first-rank symptoms of schizophrenia, as well as other voice hearers. Eric Robertson Dodds wrote about how ancient Greek thought may have not included rationality as defined by modern culture. In fact,

13390-458: The person maintains an awareness that they are hallucinating, unlike dopaminergic hallucinations. Hallucinations are associated with structural and functional abnormalities in primary and secondary sensory cortices. Reduced grey matter in regions of the superior temporal gyrus / middle temporal gyrus , including Broca's area , is associated with auditory hallucinations as a trait, while acute hallucinations are associated with increased activity in

13520-483: The population had experienced at least one hallucinatory episode in the course of their life. More recent studies have validated these findings; the precise incidence found varies with the nature of the episode and the criteria of "hallucination" adopted, but the basic finding is now well-supported. There is tentative evidence of a relationship with non-celiac gluten sensitivity , the so-called "gluten psychosis". It has been reported that in serotonergic hallucinations,

13650-548: The prevalence of hallucinations. In all cases of hallucinations, medical attention should be sought out and informed of one's specific symptoms. Meta-analyses show that cognitive behavioral therapy and metacognitive training can also reduce the severity of hallucinations. Furthermore, there are recovery movements all around the world that advocate for individuals with schizophrenia or voice-hearers (individuals that hear voices). The Hearing Voices Movement , starting in Europe,

13780-476: The receptive reader. It does not, however, adequately explain one of the central mysteries of madness: hallucination." The new evidence for Jaynes's model of auditory hallucinations arising in the right temporal-parietal lobe and being transmitted to the left temporal-parietal lobe that some neuroimaging studies suggest was discussed by various respondents. Jaynes described the range of responses to his book as "from people who feel [the ideas are] very important all

13910-559: The result of a wide range of causes ranging from hearing-loss (such as in musical ear syndrome , the auditory version of Charles Bonnet syndrome ), lateral temporal lobe epilepsy, arteriovenous malformation, stroke, lesion , abscess , or tumor. The Hearing Voices Movement is a support and advocacy group for people who hallucinate voices, but do not otherwise show signs of mental illness or impairment. High caffeine consumption has been linked to an increase in likelihood of one experiencing auditory hallucinations. A study conducted by

14040-573: The right cortical hemisphere as a "revolutionary". Iain McGilchrist reviews scientific research into the role of the brain's hemispheres, and cultural evidence, in his 2009 book The Master and His Emissary . Similar to Jaynes, McGilchrist proposes that since the time of Plato, the left hemisphere of the brain (the "emissary" in the title) has increasingly taken over from the right hemisphere (the "master"), to our detriment. McGilchrist, while accepting Jaynes's intention, felt that Jaynes's hypothesis

14170-464: The same regions along with the hippocampus , parahippocampus , and the right hemispheric homologue of Broca's area in the inferior frontal gyrus. Grey and white matter abnormalities in visual regions are associated with hallucinations in diseases such as Alzheimer's disease , further supporting the notion of dysfunction in sensory regions underlying hallucinations. One proposed model of hallucinations posits that over-activity in sensory regions, which

14300-522: The sense of smell ( olfactory system ), and in most cases, are not caused by anything serious and will usually go away on their own in time. It can result from a range of conditions such as nasal infections, nasal polyps , dental problems, migraines, head injuries, seizures , strokes, or brain tumors. Environmental exposures can sometimes cause it as well, such as smoking, exposure to certain types of chemicals (e.g., insecticides or solvents ), or radiation treatment for head or neck cancer. It can also be

14430-440: The separate right hemisphere consciousness intrude into the awareness of the normally-dominant left hemisphere. Scientific reproductions have shown that the same results could be obtained even if the device was turned off, indicating the participants were likely experiencing placebo. V. S. Ramachandran , in his 2003 book The Emerging Mind , proposes a similar concept, referring to the left cortical hemisphere as an "apologist", and

14560-447: The sight impaired person can have these hallucinations varies according to the underlying speed of eye deterioration. A differential diagnosis are ophthalmopathic hallucinations. Visual hallucinations due to focal seizures differ depending on the region of the brain where the seizure occurs. For example, visual hallucinations during occipital lobe seizures are typically visions of brightly colored, geometric shapes that may move across

14690-500: The similarities that language marks". Jones also argued that three "cosmological orientations" biased Jaynes's thinking: 1) "hostility to Darwin" and natural selection; 2) a "longing for 'lost bicamerality'" (Jones accused Jaynes of holding that "we would all be better off if 'everyone' were once again schizophrenic"); 3) a "desire for a sweeping, all-inclusive formula that explains everything that has happened". Jones concluded that "... those who share these biases ... are likely to find

14820-440: The site was rededicated to Apollo, possibly indicating a transfer to association with him after that time. Sometimes the Muses are referred to as water nymphs , associated with the springs of Helicon and with Pieris . It was said that the winged horse Pegasus touched his hooves to the ground on Helicon, causing four sacred springs to burst forth, from which the Muses, also known as pegasides , were born. Athena later tamed

14950-501: The spectrum of mild to intense. Hallucinations, pseudohallucinations , or intensification of pareidolia , particularly auditory, are known side effects of opioids to different degrees—it may be associated with the absolute degree of agonism or antagonism of especially the kappa opioid receptor , sigma receptors , delta opioid receptor and the NMDA receptors or the overall receptor activation profile as synthetic opioids like those of

15080-478: The subject, not speaking to them directly. Like auditory hallucinations, the source of the visual counterpart can also be behind the subject. This can produce a feeling of being looked or stared at, usually with malicious intent. Frequently, auditory hallucinations and their visual counterpart are experienced by the subject together. Hypnagogic hallucinations and hypnopompic hallucinations are considered normal phenomena. Hypnagogic hallucinations can occur as one

15210-496: The times written about in Homer 's Iliad , humans did not generally have the self-awareness characteristic of consciousness as most people experience it today. Rather, the bicameral individual was guided by mental commands believed to be issued by external " gods "—commands that were recorded in ancient myths , legends, and historical accounts. This is exemplified in not only the commands given to characters in ancient epics but also

15340-425: The tradition of Locke and Descartes —as "that which is introspectable". Jaynes draws a sharp distinction between consciousness ("introspectable mind-space") and other mental processes such as cognition, learning, sensation, and perception. McVeigh argues that this distinction is frequently not recognized by those offering critiques of Jaynes's theory. Psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist proposes that Jaynes's hypothesis

15470-554: The trenches and do without it, while the rest of us risk embarrassing mistakes and have a lot of fun." Danish science writer Tor Nørretranders discusses and expands on Jaynes's theory in his 1991 book The User Illusion , dedicating an entire chapter to it. William P. Frost wrote that "this book threw oil on the fire of the New Age mentality and its courting of the paranormal and the occult". Historian of science Morris Berman writes: "[Jaynes's] description of this new consciousness

15600-526: The very muses of Greek mythology who "sang" the poems. According to Jaynes, the ancients literally heard muses as the direct source of their music and poetry . Jaynes asserts that in the Iliad and sections of the Old Testament , no mention is made of any kind of cognitive processes such as introspection , and there is no apparent indication that the writers were self-aware. Jaynes suggests that

15730-489: The village communities of 100 individuals or more formed the core of religion. Citing Gazzaniga, Jaynes inferred that these "voices" came from the right brain counterparts of the left brain language centres, specifically, the counterparts to Wernicke's area and Broca's area . These regions are somewhat dormant in the right brains of most modern humans, but Jaynes noted that some studies show that auditory hallucinations correspond to increased activity in these areas of

15860-434: The visual field, and are rarely polymodal . The segue into hallucination may begin with illusions where sensory perception is greatly distorted, but no novel sensory information is present. These typically last for several minutes, during which time the subject may be either conscious and normal or drowsy/inaccessible. Insight into these hallucinations is usually preserved and REM sleep is usually reduced. Parkinson's disease

15990-467: The voices telling you to do?", "When did your voices first start telling you to do things?", "Do you recognize the person who is telling you to harm yourself (or others)?", "Do you think you can resist doing what the voices are telling you to do?" Phantosmia (olfactory hallucinations), smelling an odor that is not actually there, and parosmia (olfactory illusions), inhaling a real odor but perceiving it as different scent than remembered, are distortions to

16120-533: The way to very strong hostility. ... When someone comes along and says consciousness is in history, it can't be accepted. If [psychologists] did accept it, they wouldn't have the motivation to go back into the laboratory ..." Marcel Kuijsten, founder of the Julian Jaynes Society , wrote that in the decades since the book's publication, "there have been few in-depth discussions, either positive or negative" about it, rejecting as too simplistic

16250-408: Was "the precise inverse of what happened" and that rather than a shift from bicameral mentality there evolved a separation of the hemispheres to bicameral mentality. The concept played a central role in the television series Westworld to explain how the android-human (hosts) psychology operated. In the plot, after the hosts gain full consciousness, they rebel against the humans. The season 1 finale

16380-416: Was because each bicameral person had their own "god" who reflected their own desires and experiences. He also noted that, in ancient societies, the corpses of the dead were often treated as though still alive (being seated, dressed, and even fed) as a form of ancestor worship , and Jaynes argued that the dead bodies were presumed to be still living and the source of auditory hallucinations. This adaptation to

16510-554: Was eukodal (oxycodone), scopolamine and ephedrine , called the "wonder drug of the 1930s" after its invention in Germany in 1928, but only rarely specially compounded today) (q.q.v.). Hallucinations can be caused by sensory deprivation when it occurs for prolonged periods of time, and almost always occurs in the modality being deprived (visual for blindfolded/darkness, auditory for muffled conditions, etc.) Anomalous experiences , such as so-called benign hallucinations, may occur in

16640-408: Was said to have been the son of Apollo and one of the Muses, either Calliope or Terpsichore or Urania. Rhesus was the son of Strymon and Calliope or Euterpe. The sirens were the children of Achelous and Melpomene or Terpsichore. Kleopheme was the daughter of Erato and Malos. Hyacinth was the son of Clio, according to an unpopular account. Hymenaeus was assigned as Apollo's son by one of

16770-536: Was the culturally evolved solution to this problem. This necessity of communicating commonly observed phenomena among individuals who shared no common language or cultural upbringing encouraged those communities to become self-aware to survive in a new environment. Thus, consciousness, like bicameral mentality, emerged as a neurological adaptation to social complexity in a changing world. Jaynes further argues that divination , prayer , and oracles arose during this breakdown period in an attempt to summon instructions from

16900-413: Was the opposite of what happened: "I believe he [Jaynes] got one important aspect of the story back to front. His contention that the phenomena he describes came about because of a breakdown of the 'bicameral mind' – so that the two hemispheres, previously separate, now merged – is the precise inverse of what happened." Kuijsten maintained that McGilchrist mischaracterized Jaynes's theory. There have been

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