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Ongoing Discussion of Book Reviews of JaakPanksepp (1998), Affective Neuroscience (Vol. 2, No.2): Commentary by Paul D. MacLean (Bethesda)Paul D. MacLeanaa National Institute of Mental Health, CBDB, Neuropathology Section, Building 36, Room3A24, 35 Convent Drive, MSC 4091, Bethesda, MD 20892-4091Published online: 09 Jan 2014.

To cite this article: Paul D. MacLean (2001) Ongoing Discussion of Book Reviews of Jaak Panksepp (1998), AffectiveNeuroscience (Vol. 2, No. 2): Commentary by Paul D. MacLean (Bethesda), Neuropsychoanalysis: An InterdisciplinaryJournal for Psychoanalysis and the Neurosciences, 3:1, 81-85, DOI: 10.1080/15294145.2001.10773339

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15294145.2001.10773339

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Ongoing Discussion (Vol. 2, No.2)

Ikemoto, S., & Panksepp, J. (1999), The role of nucleusaccumbens dopamine in motivated behavior: A unifyinginterpretation with special reference to reward-seeking.Brain Res. Rev., 31:6-41.

Kaplan-Solms, K., & Solms, M. (2000), Clinical Studies inNeuro-Psychoanalysis: Introduction to a Depth Neuro-psychology. London: Karnac Books.

Krause, R. (1997), General Psychoanalytic Pathology, Vol.1. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. (In German)

--- (1998), General Psychoanalytic Pathology, Vol. 2.Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. (In German)

Nelson, E., & Panksepp, J. (1998), Brain substrates of in-fant-mother attachment: Contributions of opioids, oxyto-cin, and norepinephrine. Neurosci. & Behav. Rev.,22:437-452.

Nielsen, L., & Kazniak, A. (1999), The University of Ari-zona, Consciousness Studies electronic seminar on "TheInvestigation of Conscious Emotion: Combining FirstPerson and Third Person Methodologies" (February22-March 5, 1998. http://www.consciollsness.arizo-na.edu/emotion/library.html

Panksepp, J. (1981), Hypothalamic integration of behavior:Rewards, punishments, and related psychobiologicalprocess. In: Handbook of the Hypothalamus, Vol. 3, PartA, ed. P. J. Morgane & J. Panksepp. New York: MarcelDekker, pp. 289-487.

--- (1982), Toward a general psychobiological theoryof emotions. Behav. & Brain Sci., 5:407-467.

--- (1986), The anatomy of emotions. In: Emotion:Theory, Research and Experience, Vol. 3, ed. R. Plut-chik. Orlando, FL: Academic Press, pp. 91-124.

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--- (1988), Brain emotional circuits and psychopathol-ogies. In: Emotions and Psychopathlogy, ed. M.Clynes & J. Panksepp. New York: Plenum Press, pp.37-76.

--- (1998), Affective Neuroscience: The Foundations ofHuman and Animal Emotions. New York: Oxford Uni-versity Press.

--- (1999a), Emotions as viewed by psychoanalysis andneuroscience: An exercise in consilience. This Journal,1:15-37.

--- (1999b), Review: The Brain and Emotion, by Ed-mund T. Rolls. This Journal, 1(2):263-269.

Shevrin, H. (1999), Commentary on emotions. This Jour-nal, 1:55-60.

Schore, A. N. (1994), Affect Regulation and the Origin ofthe Self: The Neurobiology of Emotional Development.Hillsdale, N.J.: L. Erlbaum Associates.

Watt, D. (1998), Emotion and consciousness: Implicationsof affective neuroscience for extended reticular thalamicactivating system theories of consciousness. ASSC E-Seminar Target article. September 21-0ctober 9, 1998.http://server.phil.vt.edu/assc/watt/default.htlm

Wise, R. A. (1982), Neuroleptics and operant behavior: Theanhedonia hypothesis. Behav. & Brain Sci., 5:39-87.

Department of PsychologyBowling Green State University1001 East Wooster StreetBowling Green, OH 43403e-mail: jpankse@bgnet.bgsu.edu

Ongoing Discussion of Book Reviews of Jaak Panksepp (1998), Affective Neuroscience (Vol. 2, No.2)Commentary by Paul D. MacLean (Bethesda)

The invitation to comment upon Panksepp's book forthis journal gives occasion to encounter two quite newexpressions. The first is the expression neuropsychoa-nalysis. I am told that this new journal originated be-cause of the interest of a group of analysts in keepingabreast of developments in neuroscience. (Later on, aresearch question will arise that suggests how a recip-rocal desire might present itself in neuroscience.) Theterm psychoanalysis itself is the one that Freud finallydecided to adopt as a name for the method of freeassociation. There seems to be no precedent for theterm with the prefix neuro. Any adherence here to

Paul D. MacLean is one of the great pioneers of modern behavioralneuroscience. He is based at the National Institutes of Mental Health,Bethesda, Maryland.

historical usage would be purely symbolic, referringto Freud's lifelong conviction "that there was no evi-dence of psychical processes occurring apart fromphysiological ones: that no mind could exist apartfrom a brain" (Jones, 1953, p. 368).

The second expression is the name of Panksepp' sbook, Affective Neuroscience (1998). In the preface,Panksepp describes his aims in writing the book andoutlines his reasons for choosing to focus on topics ofan affective nature. We should interrupt him by askingwhy he chose the expression affective neuroscience.A definition of the two words affect and emotion helpssteer us to some clarification. In a medical dictionarysuch as Dorland's one finds the word affect defined asa "Freudian term" referring to a pleasant or unpleas-ant feeling. The subjective experience of affect is en-

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tirely private. Only we as individuals can sense thefeelings or affects. The experience of affect in anotherindividual must become known to us through someform of behavior. For the behavioral expression ofaffect occurring in a person or animal, Descartes'word emotion (literally' 'a moving out of' ') has provedto be the commonly used term. Indeed in many dic-tionaries the word emotion is used as the equivalentof affect. Although Panksepp follows this practice, itseems that from a neurological standpoint he considersobtaining a knowledge of mechanisms generating feel-ings more challenging than those accounting for emo-tional expression.

As background for comments on a few of Pank-sepp's topics, I need to provide an outline of the evolu-tion, structure, and functions of the vertebraeforebrain. The forebrain of human beings and otheradvanced mammals has evolved as a triune structureconsisting of three neural assemblies that respectivelyreflect ancestral anatomic and chemical commonali-ties with reptiles, early mammals, and late mammals.

All three classes of terrestrial vertebrates-rep-tiles, birds, and mammals-are said to derive fromreptilian stock. As long known, most forms of directedbehavior depend on the presence of the forebrain con-tained in the cerebral hemisphere and upper brainstem.Comparatively of great importance, the behavioralprofile (ethogram) of animals in all three classes ofland vertebrates shows more than 25 like kinds ofbehavior that show up in all (MacLean, 1990, p. 102).Since the forebrain of reptiles and birds has only avery small representation of rudimentary cortex, it isprobable that the basal ganglia of the forebrain mustlargely account for the basic forms of behavior ob-served in all three classes.

Mammals derive from the mammal-like reptiles(the therapsids) which are so similar to mammals thatthey can be distinguished only by two small bones ofthe jaw joint that in mammals migrate and become themalleus and incus of the middle ear (regarded as oneof the most remarkable transformations of structureand function known in paleontology) (MacLean, 1990,Fig. 5.10, p. 94). Since there are no existing reptilesdirectly in line with therapsids, we have used lizardsin our comparative neurobehavioral studies becausetheir bony structure is so much like one of the primi-tive mammal-like reptiles (MacLean, 1990, chapter 5).Our studies have indicated that all forms of basic be-havior in all three classes of land vertebrates fall intotwo main categories. One category comprises the dailymaster routine and subroutines. The other category in-cludes four main displays used in social communica-

Paul D. MacLean

tion and referred to as assertive displays, aggressivedisplays, courtship displays, and submissive displays.This sums up the major findings on the protoreptiliancomplex (alias R-complex) based on an assortment ofexperimental and clinical observations.

We proceed next to an intermediate level of theforebrain represented by the limbic system, which asPanksepp explains, plays a fundamental role in thegeneration of affects. Its evolution of more than 180million years parallels the evolution of mammals andtheir distinctive family way of life. It is characterizedby a large cerebral convolution which Broca in 1878called the great lobe because it surrounds the brain-stem (limbic is a purely descriptive word referring tosomething that forms a border or frame). The limbiclobe is enveloped by two concentric rings of cortex.The inner ring is referred to as archicortex. The outerring, a more advanced form of cortex categorized byRose as mesocortex, appears for the first time in mam-mals. It was Broca's special contribution to provideevidence that the limbic lobe forms a common denom-inator in the brains of all mammals.

Because of its strong olfactory connections,Broca gave emphasis to the possibility that the limbiclobe was largely concerned with olfactory functions,and within a few years it was referred to in textbooksas the rhinencephalon. Since olfaction was regardedas an unimportant sense in human beings, the so-calledrhinencephalon received little attention in medicalteaching. In 1937, however, J. W. Papez (pronounced"papes' ') published a now-classical paper titled "AProposed Mechanism of Emotion." He pointed outthat the cortex of the limbic lobe was the only cerebralcortex strongly connected with the hypothalamus withits proven role in emotional behavior. He cited caseaterial and experimental evidence in support of hisproposal. Since then there has been a growing accumu-lation of experimental and clinical findings bearingout the general validity of the Papez's thesis. In 1952Broca's descriptive word limbic was extended, so thatthe enveloping cortex of the limbic lobe along with itsprimary brainstem co'nnections became known as thelimbic system (MacLean, 1952).

On the basis of experimental and clinical find-ings, the limbic system can be divided into three mainsubdivisions (MacLean, 1990, chapters 18-21). Theportion of the limbic cortex primarily connected withthe amygdala has been found to be involved with self-preservation as it pertains to feeding, searching forfood, and the fighting and defense that may be in-volved in obtaining food. The neighboring cortex, con-nected with the septal nuclei, is involved with

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preservation of the species as it pertains to the elicita-tion of primal sexual functions and behavior condu-cive to sociability and procreation.

The newest subdivision, of which there is noclearly manifest part in the reptilian brain, and whichappears to culminate in the human brain, is referredto as the thalamocingulate division because of the pre-ponderance of its connections with the anterior andmidline thalamic nuclei. In the evolutionary transitionfrom therapsids to mammals, there appears to havedeveloped three forms of behavior that most clearlydistinguish mammals from other vertebrates. Thiscardinal triad consists of: (1) nursing, conjoined withmaternal care; (2) audiovocal communication formaintaining mother-offspring contact; and (3) play be-havior.

Neomammalian Brain

If, as stated above, the cortex of the limbic lobe werelikened to a common denominator of the mammalianbrain, then the progressive expansion of the neocortex,ballooning out from the mesocortex, would compareto an expanding numerator, reaching its greatest de-velopment in the human brain. The evolution of theneocortex goes hand in hand with the representationof the visual, auditory, and somatic systems which,more than any of the sensory systems, provide a re-fined differentiation and discrimination of happeningsin the external environment. In computer terms it istempting to compare its development to the progres-sive enlargement of a central processor to which anexpanding memory and intelligence are added for in-creasing the chances of survival. In human beingsthere is abundant evidence that in its evolution, theneocortex, together with its brainstem and neocerebel-lar connections, has afforded a progressive capacityfor logic, problem solving, computation, learning, andmemory of details.

Given the foregoing outline of the evolution andfunctions of the mammalian forebrain, I will confinemy remarks to just two aspects of Panksepp's book.The first pertains to that cardinal evolutionary devel-opment inferred to begin during the therapsid-mam-malian transition and referred to above as thebehavioral triad. As mentioned below, Panksepp's re-search has dealt extensively with this behavioral triad.The second aspect pertains to a form of epilepsy thatprovides the best evidence, and most importantly, theonly self-reported subjective evidence, that focal dis-charges in various parts of the limbic system may

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evoke every variety of affect. For reasons noted below,we will refer to this aspect as "limbic epilepsy."

The Cardinal Behavioral Triad of Mammals

Nursing, Conjoined with Maternal Care

The uniqueness of mammals is spelled out by the Ger-man word Saugetiere-sucking animals. Pankseppgives a conscientious account of both the neural andhumoral aspects of mating, the gestational phase, andmaternal behavior. From an evolutionary view, hepoints out that it is of interest that in mammals, twokey hormones (vasopressin and oxytocin) "assumekey roles in controlling central aspects of sexual be-haviors." Each differs by only one amino acid fromthe hormone vasotocin found in reptiles (e.g., lizards)and having similar actions.

Audiovocal Communication

Among vertebrates, the acquisition of audiovocalcommunication became of special value to mammalsbecause any prolonged separation from a nursingmother spelled death for her young. In the laboratorysituation, it has been found that the separation cry canbe most reliably elicited by lack of nourishment orby cooling.

All species of mammals tested thus far have beenfound to produce separation cries, differing only instructure and duration. Primates, for example, have acry consisting mainly of a sustained tone. (In his Har-vard lectures, Leonard Bernstein speculated that the"m-a-a-a-a" sound of the human baby's cry led tothe origin of music.) Here it is enough to say that innumerous situations, for both people and mammalsgenerally, separation is a very painful condition. Inthis respect it is of interest that the part of the cingulatecortex involved in the production of the separation cryreceives some of its innervation from thalamic nucleiinvolved in the perception of pain. Of further rele-vance is the high content of opioid receptors in thecingulate cortex, and that morphine, in all varieties ofmammals to which it has been given, eliminates theseparation cry. I have suggested that the origin of thecry is perhaps evolutionarily traceable to the times ofbeginning nursing and the fatal consequences thatwould ensue if the young were separated from a nurs-ing mother.

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Play Behavior

It is unfortunate that play is so closely linked to theLatin word ludus, meaning both play and somethingludicrous. This and other ludicrous implications, suchas something trivial or frivolous, have been coduciveto a "shy-away" attitude toward research on play.Recognizing the importance of playas an evolutionarydevelopment in mammals, Panksepp has been one ofthe few in brain research to disregard this prejudice.The importance of play in the development of musclesand agility, helpful for survival, is commonly recog-nized. But at the human level of acculturation, con-sider the myriad ways that play enters into theimaginative and creative aspects of the arts, literature,and science.

Play behavior presents a fragile behavior for in-vestigation, being quite unpredictable in its occurrenceand duration. In the rat, Panksepp and coworkersfound that the number of pins (see Figure 15.2 of hisbook) provided a reliable measure of the amount andduration of play-fighting. They were unsuccessful indemonstrating a cerebral localization for play. In adifferent kind of experiment, using Murphy's feralhamster in which cerebral lesions were made shortlyafter birth, we ourselves found that after ablation ofall the neocortex, animals of both sexes grew normallyto maturity and engaged in every form of hamster-typical behavior. But if, in addition, the adjoining cin-gulate cortex had been removed, play with littermatesdid not occur at the expected time or at any time there-after. Further, as to function, I have suggested thatplay may have evolved as a means of promoting har-mony in the nest, thereby warding against scatteringof the young. Later in life it serves to be conducive togroup affiliation.

Limbic Epilepsy

The term limbic epilepsy is one of five names thathave been used to refer to the most common form ofepilepsy. Attacks begin with an aura, followed by sim-ple or complex automatisms. The nature of the auracan be recalled, but what transpires during the automa-tisms has been shown to be beyond the patient's capac-ity to remember. The condition did not become wellknown until after the landmark clinical and electroen-cephalographic studies of Gibbs and coworkers (1938)who referred to it as psychomotor epilepsy to distin-guish it from other forms of epilepsy. It is of historicalinterest that Pierre Janet (1859-1947) used the termpsycho-lepsy for a nonconvulsive condition in whichauralike symptoms were the main presenting feature.

Paul D. MacLean

Had EEG machines then existed, it is probable thatseveral such cases would have proved to be the kindof epilepsy now under consideration. Following the1938 studies, the term temporal lobe epilepsy becamea favored substitute for the psychomotor label becausethe EEG findings pointed to an epileptogenic focus inthe temporal lobe. In the late 1960s, the term limbicepilepsy began to appear in the literature. Since 1970,the noncommittal term complex partial seizures hasbeen officially adopted. I have referred to the condi-tion as limbic epilepsy because of the invariableinvolvement of limbic structures in all cases with ade-quate EEG recordings.

One could venture to say that limbic epilepsy hasgreater potential than any other clinical condition forproviding evidence-in fact, and of utmost impor-tance, the only self-reported subjective evidence-ofthe nature of symptoms which together with EEGfindings point to an epileptogenic focus in or near lim-bic structures. In one case or another, the words usedin describing the aura add up to a thesaurus of feelingsthat may be classified as basic, specific, and general af-fects.

It therefore seems surprising that so few booksdealing with affects and emotions look deeply into thesort of epilepsy under consideration. One contributingfactor may be the relative scarcity of places, such asthe Montreal Neurological Institute, that became soinfluential under Penfield's aegis. At any rate, it isunderstandable why someone without an extensivehands-on experience would be reticent to deal exten-sively with such a subject.

But analysts would need to feel no reticence onthat score, particularly if they were to join a researchproject designed to obtain more accurate and detailedhistories of limbic epilepsy patients. Two brief exam-ples illustrate commonplace deficiencies in historytaking at a seizure clinic. If, as in today's hurry-uppractice, questionnaire forms are used in taking thehistory, the words in the recorded history attributed tothe patient describing a seizure may be variations ofthose used in the questions. And in a second example,consider the important information that would be lostabout the sequential development of the aura thatcould supply information about the interconnectivityof brain circuitry. A factory worker whom I treateddescribed his seizures as beginning with a feeling inthe pit of his stomach that he characterized as a feelingof sadness and wanting to cry. This feeling was accom-panied by a welling up of tears and a sensation ofhunger.

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In the beginning, analysts, employing the methodof free association, developed a reputation for ob-taining detailed histories. It would be gratifying if sup-port could be found for respective analysts to followa single patient over a period of time, for the purposeof learning what additional information the use of ana-lytic methods might contribute to the affective phe-nomenology of limbic epilepsy.

One might think of such a project in broader per-spective: It is said that colors per se do not exist inthe outward universe. They only exist subjectively inourselves after being generated by the brain's algo-rithms. Given these considerations, what other nonex-isting products of mind are waiting to be uncoveredby our brain's algorithms?

References

Gibbs, F. A., Gibbs, E. L., & Lennox, W. G. (1938), Cere-bral dysrhythmias of epilepsy. Arch. Neurol. Psychia-try, 39:298-314.

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Jones, E. (1953), The Life and Work of Sigmund Freud.New York: Basic Books.

MacLean, P. D. (1952), Some psychiatric implications ofphysiological studies on the frontotemporal portion ofthe limbic system (visceral brain). Clin. Electro-coencephalogr. & Clin. Neurophysiol., 4:407-418.

--- (1990), The Triune Brain in Evolution: Role in Pa-leocerebral Functions. New York: Plenum Press.

Panksepp, J. (1981), The ontogeny of play in rats. Develop.Psychobiol., 14:327-332.

--- (1998), Affective Neuroscience: The foundations ofHuman and Animal Emotions. New York: Oxford Uni-versity Press.

Papez, J. W. (1937), A proposed mechanism of emotion.Arch. Neurol. Psychiatry, 38:725-743.

National Institute of Mental HealthCBDB, Neuropathology SectionBuilding 36, Room 3A2435 Convent Drive, MSC 4091Bethesda, MD 20892-4091

Ongoing Discussion of J. Allan Hobson (Vol. 1, No.2):Commentary by Lawrence Kunstadt (New York)

This letter has three goals. The first is to examine thephysiological evidence related to the Solms-Hobsondebate over whether dreams are caused by wishes orby brain mechanisms. The second is to present an oldtheory concerning causality and apply it to this debate.The third is to specifically answer many of the objec-tions Hobson raises against psychoanalysis.

Physiology

The physiological aspect of the Solms-Hobson debateis nominally over whether there is a significant multi-or autogenic forebrain contribution to REM sleepdreaming (Solms) or whether the pontine contributionto REM sleep dreaming is sufficient alone to causedreams (Hobson). The former would be consistentwith the Freudian notion of dreams as fulfilling wishesbecause it is known that the forebrain is involved in

Lawrence Kunstadt, Ph.D., is a neurobiologist on the faculty of theNew York University Psychoanalytic Institute.

higher order thinking. There being no evidence that thepons underlies higher order thinking, the latter allowsdreams to be explained away as mere physiology orepiphenomena, just something the brain does.

While this may seem to be an angels-on-a-pin-head debate, what is at stake is the underpinning ofthe psychoanalytic edifice. Make no mistake about it,this is a case of two world views colliding: psycho-analysis versus reductionism, and an intelligent reduc-tionism at that.

Hobson's challenge to psychoanalysis is bold andthreatening: "Because [Freud's] dream theory is sofoundational, its renunciation forces a major reformu-lation upon the whole field" (p. 158). "Insofar as psy-choanalysis remains committed to Freud's view ofdreaming ... the new results do not provide the faint-est modicum of support" (p. 157). It is therefore, touse Freud's apposite phrase, incumbent upon us tomake "perspicacious and clear" the evidence, as-sumptions, and reasoning underlying these two views.Each side's argument rests on three components: em-pirical data, interpretation of these data, and conceptu-alizations of the issues.

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