[Paleopsych] inner judges on the rampage

Richard Metzger metzger at disinfo.com
Thu Dec 16 06:28:06 UTC 2004


I have a similar regimen with these same amino acids mentioned here and 
it works great for me too. One feels *quite* peppy during the day, 
especially l-phenylalanine taken with coffee. It's like rocket fuel and 
it works quite well at staving off depression, I wholeheartedly agree. 
It's all I need to do, in fact.

Richard



On Dec 15, 2004, at 9:43 PM, Christian Rauh wrote:

> Does phenylalanine really have an effect or is this just a joke? I 
> mean, diet coke?
>
> Christian
>
> Steve Hovland wrote:
>> The amino acids l-phenylalanine and l-tyrosine
>> are precursors to catecholamines.  At this time of year I am 
>> supplementing with both of those to overcome winter blahs.  I'm doing 
>> very well.
>> I take 500m of tyrosine at breakfast and 500mg
>> of phenylalanine at lunch and finish the day
>> with high energy.  Tyrosine is also supposed to boost dopamine.
>> Phenylalanine combined with too much coffee
>> shatters my ability to concentrate.
>> Tryptophan is a precursor to seratonin, but at this time of year that 
>> is not good for me.
>> I tend to be high at midyear and take tryptophan
>> then to smooth me out.
>> Steve Hovland
>> www.stevehovland.net
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From:	Geraldine  Reinhardt [SMTP:waluk at earthlink.net]
>> Sent:	Wednesday, December 15, 2004 7:50 PM
>> To:	The new improved paleopsych list
>> Subject:	Re: [Paleopsych] inner judges on the rampage
>> I certainly hope so because my research is coincident to that of 
>> Ross.  Low catecholamines  is worth investigation as in low serotonin 
>> yet my bottom line is how to increase both chemicals.  Is this done 
>> physically or psychologically?
>> Gerry Reinhart-Waller
>> Independent Scholar
>> http://www.home.earthlink.net/~waluk
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Steve Hovland" 
>> <shovland at mindspring.com>
>> To: "'The new improved paleopsych list'" <paleopsych at paleopsych.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2004 6:18 PM
>> Subject: RE: [Paleopsych] inner judges on the rampage
>>> Ross- do you think you will be able to find
>>> some hard science to confirm your theories
>>> about 2 forms of depression?
>>>
>>> Steve Hovland
>>> www.stevehovland.net
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Ross Buck [SMTP:ross.buck at uconn.edu]
>>> Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2004 8:36 AM
>>> To: 'The new improved paleopsych list'; HowlBloom at aol.com
>>> Subject: RE: [Paleopsych] inner judges on the rampage
>>>
>>> Howard:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I agree with that control (competence) is a key determinant of 
>>> whether one
>>> is of value or not, but it is only half the picture. The other is 
>>> being
>>> loved.  Effectance/competence motivation and attachment-love are the 
>>> two
>>> great biomotivators of higher-level emotions/motives in human beings 
>>> (and
>>> other creatures), and I think they are fully dissociable.  I have
>>> hypothesized that a lack of control is associated with Type A major
>>> depression (associated with low catecholamines) and a lack of love is
>>> associated with Type B major depression (associated with low 
>>> serotonin).
>>> These are ancient mechanisms: serotonin will turn on threat displays 
>>> in
>>> lobsters, and SSRIs are effective for many (not all) depressions.  
>>> All else
>>> equal, men may be more susceptible to Type A depression and women to 
>>> Type B,
>>> and there is recent evidence that depression is associated with
>>> right-hemisphere mechanisms in men and left-hemisphere mechanisms in 
>>> women.
>>> I think the LH is particularly associated with prosocial emotions 
>>> (including
>>> the emotions/motives underlying the learning, teaching, and use of 
>>> language)
>>> and the RH with individualist emotions/motives.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Cheers, Ross
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> References:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>     Buck, R. (1999). The biological affects: A typology.  
>>> Psychological
>>> Review. 106(2), 301-336.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>     Buck, R. (2002).  The genetics and biology of true love: 
>>> Prosocial
>>> biological affects and the left hemisphere. Psychological Review.  
>>> 109(4).
>>> 739-744.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Ross Buck, Ph. D.
>>>
>>> Professor of Communication Sciences
>>>
>>>     and Psychology
>>>
>>> Communication Sciences U-1085
>>>
>>> University of Connecticut
>>>
>>> Storrs, CT 06269-1085
>>>
>>> 860-486-4494
>>>
>>> fax  860-486-5422
>>>
>>> buck at uconnvm.uconn.edu
>>>
>>> http://www.coms.uconn.edu/docs/people/faculty/rbuck/index.htm
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it 
>>> from
>>> religious conviction."
>>>
>>> -- Blaise Pascal
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _____
>>>
>>> From: paleopsych-bounces at paleopsych.org
>>> [mailto:paleopsych-bounces at paleopsych.org] On Behalf Of 
>>> HowlBloom at aol.com
>>> Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2004 12:21 AM
>>> To: paleopsych at paleopsych.org
>>> Subject: [Paleopsych] inner judges on the rampage
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> If the theory put forth in my first book, The Lucifer Principle: A
>>> Scientific Expedition Into the Forces of History, is at all correct,
>>> evolution has riddled us with self-destruct mechanisms, mechanisms 
>>> that do
>>> away with us when we are not a part of the solution, we are part of 
>>> the
>>> problem.  By shutting us down, our self-destruct mechanisms shunt 
>>> resources
>>> to those who have a handle on the crisis at hand and snatches the 
>>> goods away
>>> from those who can't get a grip on things.   She turns on those who
>>> contribute to the neural net, to the complex adaptive system, to the
>>> collective learning machine-just as she hands out bio-prizes to 
>>> useful
>>> citizens of the immune system, lymphocytes and bio-punishments to 
>>> citizens
>>> whose specialization is momentarily irrelevant. Evolution, biology,
>>> physiology, or whatever you choose to call our stress mechanism and 
>>> her grim
>>> reapers do this to maximize the intelligence of the collective 
>>> enterprise.
>>> In the case of the immune system, some are made wealthy and 
>>> vigorous, and
>>> some are made weak and imporvished so that the overall system can 
>>> defeat
>>> invaders.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The key determiner of whether you are of value or not seems to be 
>>> the extent
>>> to which you feel you have control.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Is the fact that,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "The pressure of meeting a work deadline can produce a sixfold 
>>> increase in
>>> the risk of suffering a heart attack over the course of the 
>>> following day.
>>> And competition at work could double the ongoing risk"
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> an example of a self-destruct mechanism at work?  Has evolution done 
>>> what my
>>> second book, Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind From The Big 
>>> Bang to
>>> the 21st Century, claims?  Has it seated inner judges within us to 
>>> determine
>>> who wins and loses the competition and who is and is not up to the
>>> challenge-of-the-day?  Howard
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Retrieved December 15, 2004, from the World Wide Web
>>> <http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996786>
>>> http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996786
>>>
>>> Stressful deadlines boost heart attack risk 00:01 14 December 04
>>> NewScientist.com news service The pressure of meeting a work 
>>> deadline can
>>> produce a sixfold increase in the risk of suffering a heart attack 
>>> over the
>>> course of the following day. And competition at work could double the
>>> ongoing risk, according to a new study.  Previous research has shown 
>>> that
>>> intense anger, sexual activity and emotional stress can all lead to 
>>> heart
>>> attacks. But this is the first time having an intense work deadline 
>>> has been
>>> singled out as a trigger for heart attack over such a short 
>>> timescale.
>>> "This is potentially important for patients and for Swedish work 
>>> law," says
>>> lead author Jette Moller of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, 
>>> Sweden.
>>> "Changes in the labour market organisation have created more stress 
>>> and
>>> people should be aware of the impact on health." She cites workload, 
>>> lower
>>> job security and increased competition in the workplace as factors.  
>>> The
>>> study questioned nearly 1400 heart attack survivors from the 
>>> Stockholm area,
>>> aged 45 to 70, about the period leading up to their first heart 
>>> attack. They
>>> were compared with a control group of about 1700 people who had not 
>>> had a
>>> heart attack.  The volunteers were asked questions about their work 
>>> over the
>>> last year and over the days immediately before their heart attack. 
>>> The
>>> questions included whether they had been criticised for their 
>>> performance or
>>> lateness, been promoted or laid off, faced a high-pressure deadline 
>>> at work,
>>> changed their workplace and whether their financial situation had 
>>> changed.
>>> Money worries  The results show that intense pressure over a short 
>>> period
>>> increased the risk of a heart attack more than a build up of stress 
>>> over an
>>> entire year, and that the heart attack can follow very soon after 
>>> this spell
>>> of increased pressure. Amongst the heart attack group, 8% had faced a
>>> significant event at work less than 24 hours before their attack.  
>>> However,
>>> long-term changes also play a part. Taking on extra responsibility 
>>> at work
>>> over the last year - if viewed negatively by the participant - 
>>> increased the
>>> chance of a heart attack by almost four times in women and over six 
>>> times in
>>> men. And a deterioration in financial situation tripled the risk of 
>>> a heart
>>> attack amongst women.  Subscribe to New Scientist for more news and 
>>> features
>>> Related Stories Downsizing raises risk of death in workers  23 
>>> February 2004
>>> Science graduates live long and prosper  01 August 2003  Unfair 
>>> bosses make
>>> blood pressure soar  24 June 2003 For more related stories  search 
>>> the print
>>> edition Archive Weblinks Social Epidemiology Research, Karolinska
>>> Institutet, Stockholm  George Fieldman, Buckinghamshire Chilterns 
>>> University
>>> College  Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health George 
>>> Fieldman, an
>>> expert in cognitive therapy and health psychology at Buckinghamshire
>>> Chilterns University College in the UK, says the sixfold increase in 
>>> risk
>>> caused by meeting a deadline is massive, but not surprising.  He 
>>> points out
>>> that previous research has shown that a person's chance of suffering 
>>> a heart
>>> attack is higher on a Monday morning. He adds these studies can help 
>>> to
>>> pinpoint the stress risk factors for heart attacks. "It is difficult 
>>> to
>>> unpick the details of what constitutes stress for different people in
>>> different situations," he says.  The study shows that stress at work 
>>> can
>>> pose a very real and immediate threat to health, Fieldman says, and 
>>> adds: "I
>>> must remember to take it easy." Journal reference: Journal of 
>>> Epidemiology
>>> and Community Health (DOI: 10.1136/jech.2003.019349) Katharine Davis
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ----------
>>> Howard Bloom
>>> Author of The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition Into the 
>>> Forces of
>>> History and Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind From The Big 
>>> Bang to
>>> the 21st Century
>>> Visiting Scholar-Graduate Psychology Department, New York 
>>> University; Core
>>> Faculty Member, The Graduate Institute
>>> www.howardbloom.net
>>> www.bigbangtango.net
>>> Founder: International Paleopsychology Project; founding board 
>>> member: Epic
>>> of Evolution Society; founding board member, The Darwin Project; 
>>> founder:
>>> The Big Bang Tango Media Lab; member: New York Academy of Sciences, 
>>> American
>>> Association for the Advancement of Science, American Psychological 
>>> Society,
>>> Academy of Political Science, Human Behavior and Evolution Society,
>>> International Society for Human Ethology; advisory board member:
>>> Youthactivism.org; executive editor -- New Paradigm book series.
>>> For information on The International Paleopsychology Project, see:
>>> www.paleopsych.org
>>> for two chapters from
>>> The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition Into the Forces of 
>>> History,
>>> see www.howardbloom.net/lucifer
>>> For information on Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind from the 
>>> Big
>>> Bang to the 21st Century, see www.howardbloom.net
>>>
>>> << File: ATT00029.html >>  << File: ATT00030.txt >>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> paleopsych mailing list
>>> paleopsych at paleopsych.org
>>> http://lists.paleopsych.org/mailman/listinfo/paleopsych
>>>
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>
> -- 
>
> ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
> A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over,
> their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight,
> restore their government to its true principles. It is true that in
> the meantime we are suffering deeply in spirit, and incurring the
> horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public debt......
> If the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have patience
> till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
> back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where
> principles are at stake.
>
>         - Thomas Jefferson, from a letter he sent in 1798 after
>                             the passage of the Sedition Act
>
> _____________________________________________________________________
> ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯°¤ø¤°¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
> _______________________________________________
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>
Richard Metzger
The Disinformation Company Ltd.
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