What does an Austrian, an Italian and the Liqour baron have in common ?

Farce India F1 team.. Sorry, I meant Force India F1 team.

No Indian driver ?!? Are we entering the truely professional age or are we still suffering from a post colonial hangover ? Or was Chandok just not available. With Sachin advertising for Fiat, I wonder which Itialian sponsors would want their Indian presence to increase. It can't just be Sonia Gandhi's pull either.

PR finalising the driver line up

Force India F1 finally has a website

The URL for the Image gallery, however, still states that it's a spyker gallery - link

There is a small but very serious following of F1 in India, the ones who think that Kimi was very lucky to win the championship, eventhough they are die hard Ferrari fans. Results are what count, Mr. Mallya (He's a Dr. btw, atleast on the website anyway !!). There are lots of peolpe watching you. If being the liquour baron isn't enough, this certainly will add some more pressure on, what seems to be an increasingly rotund Mr. Mallya, specially since I last saw him a few years ago in Bangalore.

Sawariya Vs Om Shanti Om

I don't know why there was such a hype about comparing these two movies. The only commonality is that, in both movies, the 'Hero' doesn't get the Heroine. Apart from that comparing Sawariya to Om Shanti Om is like comparing an Apple to an Orange. Yes they are both fruit, but they have different tastes. Sawariya is like a stage adaptation of the short story 'White Nights', and no I hadn't read it till I saw the movie. Om Shanti Om, on the other hand is what can only be described as a very well made tribute to both, Shah Rukh Khan and the Indian Film Industry. More importantly it is a discovery of the inspiration behind many of Bollywood's actors. Yes, both movies had debutants in them, but that doesn't mean you start comparing them. Ofcourse, Sawariya will flop in the box office and Om Shanti Om will set records.

Shah Rukh has found a role that allows him to overact without appearing to overact, and Padukone Jr., does a very good job of playing both roles. The dialogue is witty, the story detailed and it always helps to pass the time trying to guess why certain actors appeared in Deewanagi deewanagi. Shah Rukh does a YMCA on the poster which sells with the CD and Dj Aqeel has, perhaps, made the best re mix of his career with Dard-e-Disco. I am most impressed with Farah Khan and the production quality of the movie. I look forward to Deepika Padukone's next movie. Some of the memorable scenes are 'Apahich Pyar' and 'Yennaaaaa Rascala'.

Kevin '07 - A New direction for Australia.

It is 8.45 pm in Melbourne, ABC's polling computers have given the federal two party vote to the Labour and it seems, Kevin Rudd is going to be the next Prime Minister of Australia. His plan for a 'New Australia' seems to be a fabulous way forward (link). There is a federal budget surplus which will support his endeavours. The picture will become clearer within the next few weeks when the ministries will be finalised. The stock market will likely correct from here based on a perceived negative reaction of an all in all Labour govt., both federally and at the state level, something that hasn't happened in Australian history since 1969. There will be some negative elements in the market that would want to welcome a Labour govt., pressurising them to be lenient against any reform that would reduce their profitability, by shorting the broader market.

Howard, seems to be losing his seat in Bennelong, which means that even if the liberals were to win, Howard wouldn't be the Prime Minister. Michael Turnbull, in his acceptance speech, is focussing on the 'egalitarianess' of Australian society, something that the liberals are not known for. New messages already. Labour has been given an extraordinary mandate, hopefully they will not abuse it. With a booming economy, it should not be that difficult to do.

Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal

After seeing the movie, I had to see which league Southall Football Club plays for...

This is the 'general history' page where the results are tabbed. link

This is their current standing. Link

So they took a bit of poetic license... The acting was reasonable. Bipasha Basu looked like she was in an ad for H & S during the one and only 'item #'. She got her supergirl moment after being 'Clarkedale Kent' through out most of the movie. Jon Abraham looked athletic and though he can't act, he atleast seemed the part. Boman Irani had a few of his usual outbursts which were badly dubbed and I'm tired of seeing Raj Zutshi playing a Surd (unless ofcourse he is a surd, which when I saw him on the sets for a serial in the Hauz Khas ruins he wasn't). In general the supporting cast lacked depth. They could have given the rest of the team some dialogue, instead of using the same extras over and over again. I felt bad for the crying Bangladeshi who gets hit and beaten up. However, the storyline was good, in the sense that, it touched upon themes that any Indian sports person wannabe would be familiar with. I'm not talking about the racism aspect, but the total dysfunctionality in the team. Similar to what they showed in Chak de India. But why is the movie special enough for me to enter a blog entry about it?

There is a very important part and that is the apathy towards sports in India was very well portrayed. Not by the movie, though the movie did a good job but by the viewing public. Indian cinema is very interactive in that sense. You immediately know the public's response within a few minutes. Though it took only 5 minutes for the desi senti dialogues to start in the movie, it took a while for our small audience to start commenting. Show Bacchan getting shot 10 times and surviving, 'oh so very realistic' but show a football club topping their league and we become deconstructionists and realists. Someone should mention to them, that SHFC topping their league has more of a chance than surviving multiple gun shot wounds. Belief, about sporting achievement doesn't exist. There were 'ye kya hai' comments, singing with disbelief as we approached the finals, whilst we won our league matches.

The intermission allowed us to ponder the drawback of sports infrastructure in Delhi and it's schools , not to mention the psychological aspect of sports..ooohh... and I regaled everyone with my Baichung Bhutia stories. (He was a junior playing for the senior team when he studied in TNA Gantok. He looked good even then).

Good to see Dalip Tahil as the OCD clean freak, hat wearing, Johnny Bakshi aka 'dunne' (dung ? no 'done'), he did a good job of playing a sleaze ball. Some one should put him in a heroes role for a change. Also good to see some hindi speaking, with some ascent, BBCD actors bringing up the eye candy in the movie. Good though that they can speak hindi, not the eye candy part, though that isn't a bad thing.Unless they were Indian actresses, putting on an ascent ? I would be impressed by their dedication to their craft, but these days everyone has an ascent in India, so nothing new there.

So the plot was sort of cliched with Jon Abhraham having some BBCD moments, but ultimately showing his 'indianess' by seeking his father's blessing whilst on the field. We beat 'Aston' and the club is saved. I can only assume the evil financier (wanting to build a mall over the field) behind the white women was a Patel...

All in all prognosis ?

Immigrants over 40 will like it
Immigrants below 25 won't

I'm happy they are making movies about sport in India...

Now if only the Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and Indians could get together and defeat Australia in cricket... now that would be worth watching !!

The 7 am post on blah blah blah

I have returned from my friend's wedding, and I must admit there must be some degenerative changes in my liver which has forced me to sleep for the last few days endlessly. Ok for a medical doctor to be saying such nonsensical things is tantamount to negligence but let's face it, I'm being funny and this isn't a legally established forum for medical advice.

What is going on these days ? There is Kevin 07 currently in Australia. For those of my imaginary readers that know where Aussie land is, I desperately want labour to win, to I regain some self respect in what used to be one of my favourite countries. No disrespect for the US, but a population of 20 million, coal or no coal, exports to 'Chindia' or not, cannot afford to go the US way as far as privatisation is concerned. Howard and the liberal shave systematically sold the country to the highest bidder, and the benefits of our booming economy are in the hands of non-Australians.

The conspiracy against Sub continental cricketers continues. Murali didn't make his record amidst and media blackout, that's right, media blackout. Shane Warne seems to forget that he owes his record to Murali who didn't come to Australia, in 2004, he would've overtaken Warne's tally then and could easily have beaten Walsh's record before Warne. However, his recent immortality post retirement affords him to forget his past and now that he is such a celebrity who can do no wrong, he doesn't see any problems in raking the mud against Murali, that too during a series which is named after both of them. Some one should tell him that it's poor form to make comments like that, during an inaugural series, but lets face it, Australians aren't one for tact, and the Australian cricket team as successful as it is, isn't the best at being gracious losers, or gracious for that matter. Gilchrist is an exception, maybe the bowler Clark(e ?).

Call Symonds a monkey and its racism, call Murali a monkey and it's friendly banter, I'm sure you get the idea. The problem is that no one can beat them right now. Anyway, call Symonds a monkey and he plays better, call Murali a 'chucker' and he avoids the country... Mental strength, the sub continental players need to develop a bit more of it, I think.

It's like the US, no one in the world can say or do anything against the US, or won't, for whatever reasons. The same way no one can beat the Australians, and as much as Australians love their cricket, 20 million Australians can't compete with 1 Billion third world Indians in revenue generation. I just wish the Indians didn't realise that and actually beat Australia for a change. However, pigs don't fly, at least not in India, not yet :)

Farce # 1 ?!? - India's presence in F1

I wonder who comes up with these names ? Mr Mallya how many Rupees did you pay the person who came up with the name for your minority holding in team "Force India" ? I agree having an Indian presence above that of our beloved 'I must only come third from the bottom' Karthikeyan is a good thing. However, shouldn't we come up with a better name than 'Force India' for an F1 team carrying our national colours ? OK shall we be referred to as 'Force India' or 'Force India F1 Team' ? Is it a play on Formula 1 ? With Spyker's poor performance in 2007, don't we run the risk of being 'Farce F1 team' ? Let's try an maintain a perspective that is balanced. All new teams in F1 face a tough challenge and Force India is no exception. I agree we shouldn't short sell ourselves and it makes sense for a marketing ploy (for this is what is really is, there isn't a car manufacturer backing Force India) to milk this opportunity to overcrowd the Indian airways with slogans of 'Force India'. Since Indian advertising has no base in reality what so ever, Ads claiming Force India to take F1 by storm (get it Force / Storm ) will fit well into the landscape. So where is the authentic Indian F1 fan left ?

Fairy Floss F1 Flukey Farce India ? However, there is one unassailable fact, which may have been literally translated into the name which will accompany the tri-colour... The Indian economy is booming, so much so, that the frivolous circus that is F1 now has an economic presence that is distinctly Indian. With a track being made in Delhi, (?) There seems to be a lot of spare money floating around within the subcontinent which isn't going into cricket nor into Bollywood. It is yet to be seen who the sponsors or the drivers of the team will be. With Chandok testing for Redbull and Ralf testing for Force India (really you need to have a two syllable name) we have to wait and watch to find out if Force India will be piloted by two foreign drivers. If so, I wonder how successful their marketing campaign will be. If Ferrari continues to supply the engine then we will be 'Force India Ferrari F1 Team'

This reminds me of the Sanskrit conjunctions we used to do in school. Let's see who can come up with the longest name so that for a given space we have the smallest font. Fox Force Five anyone ?

The International Dark Ale of choice - Pindi Nation

What ? No more Guinness ?!?!

Searching... part 2

The 'search' has taken a more serious turn than the light hearted anti corporation mumble that was 'Searching Part... 1'

Why such an ominous turn of tone ?

The 18 month scenario with the Dow and Gold charts is simplistic (given below). In that they view, an upward rise for the Dow based on the 'breakout' from the upward directed channel starting from 2003. It is true that the falling dollar will increase US exports and that the rising currencies of the world will make US manufacturing more attractive. However, what is it that will take the Dow to new highs ? In other words how does one increase the purchasing power of the consumer that is already burdened with debt ? Lowering the value of debt via liquidity is one way to go as suggested in this very interesting article on the 'Global Research' website...

"How Far Will the Crash Go and What Do we Do Now?"
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=6575

We are not going to see an increase in interest rates to balance the trigger happy printing presses as individual's stretched by debt cannot afford higher rates. However, this is just a part of the scenario. With an increase in liquidity, resources come into the picture as do resource grabs. The hunt for resources is an ugly business which has involved war on many occasions, and as recently as the Iraq war by the US Govt. There is no other credible reason left for the US Govt's decision to go to war with Iraq apart from Oil and saving the further devaluation of the USD by Iraqi oil being sold in Euro. There were no WMD's, Iraq wasn't buying yellowcake from Niger and there were no links of Saddam's regime to the ex-CIA trained Mujahidin A.K.A. Osama Bin Laden' Al-Qaeda, the database of Muslim Extremists... I cannot put the result of US' interventions in the middle east better than a recent video on Jon Stewart's Daily Show.
http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/?lnk=v&ml_video=91998

So, as all of you may have guessed, this was all a build up to writing about the US' annoyance with Iran. With the Bush administration's rhetoric reaching new highs, as evidenced by Greenwald's internet petition video.

http://foxattacks.com/blog/10777-fox-attacks-iran

For those who want to know why Fox is being trumped as the voice piece of the GOP should watch 'Outfoxed' http://www.outfoxed.org/

Now, this is beginning to sound like an anti republican and anti globalisation piece. It isn't, (this might be anti-establishment though) I'll explain why later. Let's get back to Iran. Why is there such a strong rhetoric surrounding Iran ? I would like to warn the war mongers , that though the American Air force is fresh, as is the Navy, fighting a war on three fronts is really a stupid idea. Can it be, that they want to increase pressure on Iran forcing them into a deal akin to the deal with N. Korea ? i.e. decrease Iran's isolation, allowing them to trade internationally. Possible... the new Turkish Govt. has opened up to Iran, though it's a conservative Govt. which has been traditionally opposed by the Turkish Military (who have strong ties with the US) Or could this rise in rhetoric simply be the dear Straussian philosophy trying to distract the public from what is really a horrendous economic system. How dare I attack the Capitalist bastion ? Capitalism ? Mmm will the real Capitalist please stand up ? I'm not sure how a Congress decreed minimum wage, international sanctions, federal bail outs and, my personal favourite, Bankers controlling Monetary Inflation, is Capitalism. It definitely isn't free market economics, it really is Corporatism. Politics and Big Business, always in bed together. This story is really very old. Gandhi came up with a way of dealing with the 'company' back in the 20's and 30's and that, still is, the only way to deal with corporations today. Self Sufficiency. However, let's be honest, there are practical applications of being self sufficient and then there are impractical applications. I mean, I could build a plane for myself, but it doesn't make sense, resource wise, for everyone to have a plane. Not yet anyway :)

So we come back to the original few lines of this piece. What happens to an economy which runs on credit when credit runs out ? This isn't just America's problem. I don't know anyone in the developed/developing world that doesn't own a credit card. The idea of buying on credit itself is really a concept which defeats the consumer in every way. I am told that my purchasing power is increased, that would be true if the price of what I'm buying is static. It never is. You don't need to be a economic whiz to understand supply and demand. If you increase purchasing power of the consumer you also drive up prices because ppl who couldn't afford that 4 bedroom house are now able to buy that 4 bedroom house, who's value has been trumped up because everyone can now get a loan and buy. In other words the conditions that force you to take a loan are forcing subsequent generations to live in debt. How is this possible ? Liquidity and expansion...

No we are not going back to the stone age, if we change the system. There is plenty that can be done and business can be self sustainable too. There will always be need for large businesses but they can be Co-op... more on this soon.

Another act of self sufficiency is brewing beer. I have now bought my own beer brewing kit, Cooper's. I must admit that these guys made a great kit and it really simplifies beer brewing. Cost advantage ? 23 litres of beer for under AUD 80 + cost of water and you get a kit which is robust enough for further use. Subsequent batches can be brewed for under AUD 20 + cost of water.

Lake Mead - July 2007

Lake Mead Water Levels

Spring

Tomato - Basil - 10 days

Dow Gold - 18 month scenario ?

This is the daily chart of the DOWClick Image to enlarge.

I don't believe what the chart is telling me. However, as you can see the Dow has broken out from its channel. I have used that breakout as a 'primary impulse move' and I applied the Fib. levels. The recent peak was at the 161 % level as seen in the chart. The 261 % target it 16000.

This is a chart of the DOW in terms of gold. However, it is an inverse chart. It looks very bullish.

Click Image to enlarge.

In other words it's a bearish chart. That bull flag is actually a bear flag. The fib projection is to the 10 levels. Meaning that the Dow will be able to buy 10 oz of gold.

If you combine both those charts we are looking at gold trading at around the 1600 hundred levels !!!

We know that we have entered an inflationary economy, but is this going to be the result of the trigger happy printing press ? I don't know. Time will tell...I, however am long on 'Gold'.

-Maximegalon

Searching... part 1

The last few years have been interesting to say the least. I've gone from being a medical student to a casual worker in the Australian workforce, I'm a full time investor, researcher (I still can't say that with a straight face) and now budding Psychiatrist... I make more money investing so I've left being a casual worker. It was mainly for finding out what the big deal was. Working for a big company. It's the most redundant thing I have done so far. It's inefficient and everyone is self serving, no wonder nothing gets done. They are so redundant, they have to hire 10 people to get the job done. Anyway....

In other words I've covered a lot of ground. I have also decided to get married/am married. That in itself is a story. Civil ceremonies are the only ceremonies that matter legally. Religious, not so much in the eyes of the law, but society, well I'm not married according to society, I'm engaged according to society;legally married. Why not a societal/religious marriage ? Too much co-ordination. It's a problem when your family lives all over the world. It doesn't really bother me, society is self conforming and I refuse to conform.

Incredibly, I'm approaching 30. In my mind I certainly don't feel 30 but I do think about being 30 and what should it mean being 30. I've come to the conclusion that it means absolutely nothing. So let's move on.

The recent 'Sub Prime Meltdown' has got me thinking about things, global economy etc... I think banks and private enterprises are self serving greedy individuals. Nothing wrong with that, but I think the customer so often forgets that.Banks have a monopoly on fiat currency (no intrinsic value), for which, individuals work. Because most work is rubbish people don't enjoy their work. Why is work rubbish anyway ? Well the 'division of labour' causes a person/group to focus their attention on one aspect, boring the death out of him/her so that companies can make a profit. Employers have to cater to the common denominator when it comes to employees. Yes we all try to hire the best, but lets face it, if everyone was hiring the best, then were would the rest of us slackers work ? After all, one has to fill in the gaps. And so the cycle continues.

Why do we work anyway ? We need to earn that fiat currency. We don't have time for raising crops (we are working) so we work to buy food. I hope I'm sounding ridiculously stupid because that is my intention. I'm trying to prove to you (my imaginary readers) that we should all become self sufficient in our needs and stop making other individuals rich through our blood and sweat. Ok, so that's a bit dramatic... but let me explain further...

What do humans want ? Food, Shelter, Sex (very important), Social Interaction and Creativity. Now what do these things have to do with working for a big company ? If the 'system' (here we go big anarchist word) wasn't so skewed, we wouldn't have to work for the big company. What system ? It's a bit complex. Let's see... Big companies eat out competition and take up resources for the profit of its shareholders and to pay that dashing CEO millions of dollars. It would be easy if I started dropping names but that is so cliché that I can't. Companies exist within society and have all the interactions of society without the shortcomings. Ok it s much easier to name names. If a Walmart opens up in your neighbourhood, what does it mean ? Cheap stuff. Stuff that doesn't last much. Smaller stores are unable to compete and will shut down. Yes we will get minimum wage employment. In the long run though a Walmart type super chain is detrimental for individuals as it makes them reliant on the super chain for everything... See a Walmart doesn't source locally. More importantly, a big company like Walmart forces the 'vendors' to become like a 'walmart'. In other words big enough to subsidise its product to who ever is buying. However, isn't a Walmart making life easy for us individuals, freeing up our time ? A one stop shop ? I mean we have so much choice anyway, so why should we bother about going to 10 small stores when we can go to that 1 big Walmart ?

Ok, lets back track for a bit. The argument is 'we have more time if we don't have to bother about being self sufficient'. We have more time to do what exactly ? 'Anything thing you want' would be the reply. The most common of those replies however, would be that you would have time to work, build a career, work towards your retirement, have a family, work to provide for your family... Hello !?! I can have a family and feed it, if I was self sufficient, why do I need a Walmart for that ? (not walmart per se, but a system that is personified by a walmart) I'll tell you why you need a Walmart. You need a Walmart, because you are lazy. You are too preoccupied with yourself and your needs. You are so, because the society that you live in, has made you so. Why did it do that ? Well, 90 % of society really is controlled by 10 % of it, socially, economically, politically etc... But who gives the venerable 10 % the power to do so. I'm sure the clever individuals reading this would have already guessed. The 90 % that are too worried about themselves to bother about where the human race, where they as a group, are headed. I have heard the argument about modern technology and money required to do research blah blah... I know what is involved in research and I know big corporations are redundant so you that is an oft used but untrue argument. Technology is a self fulfilling beast in itself but I will talk about technology later. We don't need big corporations to produce technology.

Where are we headed ? Mmm I wish I knew, I would make a killing in the stock market.

All these questions really got me thinking and the end result was my paper, which is posted on the blog. What did I find out. Well interestingly enough, if an individual thinks about himself, he is really using the circuits which are designed for the flight or fight response. The by product of which is anxiety. If he is thinking about other people, being altruistic, he is using the 'non flight or fight response' circuits. I have to confirm this so wait till I get some references for the latter statement, with regard to the specific circuits in use.

In other words the shift from being self sustaining is causing us to be unhappy... When one is unhappy one is mentally incapable of performing to one's best cognitive capacity. I'm not suggesting that working for a company is a sign of being retarded.... far from. However, what I am suggesting is that the world is filled with many opportunities and working for big companies, though safe, is a self defeating endeavour for society at large. And this is where it gets tricky. Good for the individual, bad for society. But it isn't a static equation. There isn't just one generation that we need to think about. What happens to subsequent generations ? so Let me put it this way. Good for parents, bad for society at large, bad for their children. Even though it was their children that they would have been thinking about. (they maybe thinking about themselves too, that's a psychoanalytical debate which I don't want to have here)

ok more about this later... but I don't want to leave you empty handed, without a suggestion.

1. Start thinking about what self sufficiency means.
2. Grow some tomatoes and basil, make your own bread and have more bruchetta. If you grow the basil near the tomato, it will keep a lot of the insects away from the tomato.

This simple experiment in self sufficiency, in itself, will get you thinking about what powers an individual has within society.

more soon,

dn

The Sculpting Effect of Emotion on the Plasticity of the Human Brain

I received a 70 % on this paper which is a part of my Masters by Research program. Parts of this paper are speculative and one can view the suggestions and discussions as foot steps towards the understanding of happiness with respect to connectivity in the brain. The topic at hand deserves more that the word limit I was given and hence there are a few things which are implied rather than explained... hence the 70 % The footnotes are at the end of the paper in this version.

Enjoy !


INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this paper is to explore the sculpting effect of emotion on the interactions between internalised objects; ‘object relations’. This paper will use a framework which involves the psycho analytical theory of ‘object relations’ in conjunction with current research in neuroanatomy and related disciplines. Conscious effort has been made to use recent, peer reviewed, articles in reputable journals. This research will be used as evidence, describing the mechanism (where possible) and effects of the emotional interactions between internalised objects.
Another important aspect that will be used in this essay is the awareness and the perception of the human mind (with special regard to emotion). This is important as a lot of the brain’s functions happen without our actual perception or awareness of its functioning. The autonomic nervous system, certain aspects of vision1 and loss of motor control in hysterical paralysis, are all examples of functions/dysfunctions that are beyond the awareness and perception of the individual.
A prototypical hypothesis will be presented to suggest how ‘objects’ are created. The relevance of this hypothesis will be discussed along with implications of tying emotion and object relations together. The associations (relations) of the different facets2, with which, these objects are associated, is being postulated to form the basis of interconnectivity (of a certain type) in the brain3.
The connectivity of a certain type, being a source of happiness4 as it is the closest resemblance to the original state of the undifferentiated brain. The infantile brain is postulated to be a happy brain5. Relevant aspects of this shall be discussed at the end of the paper.



OBJECT RELATIONS
The reason why the framework of ‘object relations’ is being used is, that by definition, ‘Objects’ are introjections of the environment. This makes it relevant to the topic of mind and society. Another reason to use the theory of ‘object relations’ is that, the description of the formation and interaction of objects in this theory resemble the description of the way mirror neurons work in the brain. This makes research on mirror neurons relevant to the functioning of ‘internalised objects’.
Mirror neurons, as the name suggests, are a group of neurons which fire in the presence of a particular action irrespective of whether the action is being performed by the individual or if it is being witnessed by the individual(Rizzolatti, Fadiga, Fogassi, & Gallese, 1999). The difference is in the perception of these actions. The underlying circuitry6, which is beyond the perception of the individual, remains the same for both actions(Jackson & Decety, 2004). In other words mirror neurons set up a virtual reality inside the mind7. This is similar to Klein’s ‘shadow play’8, that continuously runs alongside events occurring outside the individual’s mind. Mirror neurons also, help humans gauge the intention and actions of other humans(Iacoboni et al., 2005; Gallese et al., 2004).
Klein and Fairbairn both used the mother child dyad to describe initial object attachment. This initial ‘imprinting’, Mitchell and Black suggest, is what resonates within subsequent object attachments.9 The mother child dyad is used as the mother and her emotions are the initial object that the child interacts with. The child learns everything from his primary care giver. Winnicott’s ‘subjective self’10, also, originates from this concept (relevance at the discussion part of the paper).
One could view internal objects as versatile (ever changing) memories11 of the combined inputs from the mirror neurons and our senses along with a splash of emotion. Ubiquitous emotion evaluates what needs to be remembered and the mirror neurons register the action and intention of what we see; our senses providing us with relevant information to perceive the particular object. Using memory and ‘internalised objects’ as synonyms is a speculative part of this paper. The reason for doing so, is that memory is the only subjective way to describe internalised objects from our awareness. This also brings relevance to studies on emotion and memory.
There is another aspect of objects that is important. It is the capacity of internalised objects to interact with each other12, in other words object relations. There are events which involve the ‘internalised object’ that occur only in the mind of the individual. These events and interactions have associated memories and emotional underpinnings. For example, It has been found that the fear of pain is more crippling that the pain itself (Crombez, Vlaeyen, Heuts, & Lysens, 1999). Empathy for pain involves affective areas of pain perception and not the sensory areas. In other words one is feeling empathy not by sensing the other’s pain but by the stimulation of the affective areas associated with pain (Singer et al., 2004). There is an interesting facet of emotion that comes into play here. Emotion being neuromodulatory(Fellous, 1999)13; has the capacity to alter perception. If a fantasised interaction went badly leaving negative undertones, the reality of the interaction will already be altered by that negative emotion. Cognition and perception are already disadvantaged.
Another aspect of ‘internalised objects’, is that they don’t need the external environment to generate themselves. An object which is fantasised can be created within the mind with a full range of relations (e.g. imaginary childhood friends). Creation of imaginary internalised objects in itself, is a fascinating study. However it is beyond the scope of this paper to discuss the reason why imaginary objects are created. The reason for introducing this concept is, that fantasised objects or object relations could skew the correct interpretation of the external environment using the above mechanism. However, this mechanism can be used in a ‘protective’ way as discussed below.
Fairbairn deviates from Klein and suggests that internalised objects exist due to inadequate parenting. Adequate parenting results in a child which is in tune with the external environment.
"Healthy parenting result[s] in a child with an outward orientation, directed towards real people, who would provide real contact and exchange.” The question to ask here is what happens to the internal environment when things go bad in the external environment. The individual engaged with the external environment will be forced to change the dynamic of the internal environment seeking an escape from the source of his woes. If said individual has the capacity to alter the internal environment to reflect a more favourable ‘reality’ then he will do so in the interest of self preservation. If he cannot, then he will suffer. How this is achieved, is up to the capacities of the individual. For example, when presented with a ‘flight or fight’ situation one can run away from the source of fear. When one is presented with a less ‘noxious’ external threat (e.g. human suffering in the form of beggars on the road) one can easily dismiss the unpleasant thought from one’s mind. However, situations will arise, where one cannot alter the internal environment. One can speculate that continuous forms of trauma, or severe trauma, would be inescapable. An escape from such an environment would have severe dissociative effects on the mind. Faced with a traumatic situation, one could use this framework in two ways.

1. The individual cannot create an effective internal environment and hence cannot block the external environment from influencing it. Depersonalisation then forms the only escape, which is mediated via the limbic system(Sierra & Berrios, 1998). The violence and trauma associating itself with the person in such a way that all emotional valences are overcome by this external event.
2. The individual can create an effective internal environment, a total escape from the surrounding reality, warding off the external influence, to save the mind14. Mind altering substances can be used to great effect in these situations (Koob & Le Moal, 1997). Addiction to substances and addictions in general15 are relevant to modern society and its dynamic, both social and economical.

Another aspect which needs to be viewed, within the framework of ‘object relations’, is repression. Repression is intimately linked to memory. “Fairbairn considered the object relationship to be repressed, for if exposed would expose the dangerous object ties.” 16 Fairbairn describes repression; that takes place along the relationships within internalised objects and the emotional valence of each object. Disconnecting, that part of the internalised object that we don’t like. Repression is a mechanism allowing us to modulate our internal environment.

An object has an emotional link to it1718. Emotion, both positive(Ashby, Isen, & Turken, 1999) and negative(Touryan, Marian, & Shimamura, 2007), influence cognition and hence can skew the way external reality is interpreted. The above studies indicate that positive affect allows us to concentrate on (non threatening) peripheral details, whereas negative affect focuses on a specific source of threat as evidenced by memory studies.(Mara & Mathers, 2007)
Fairbairn also describes an emotional valence related to internalised objects: the split between the "alluring (exciting object)" aspects of the internalised object versus the "frustrating (rejecting object)" features of the same19. One can assume a net emotional balance is associated with the object. The collective sum of object valence would give the brain a net emotional valence. This is strikingly similar to the net result of interactions between married couples resulting in divorce. The more negative the interaction (reflective of negative affect) per unit time, the greater the chances of divorce.(Carrere & Gottman, 1999)

Emotional valence exists within our interactions with external as well as internal objects. A problem arises when this emotional valence is tipped in favour fantasised interactions, rather than that of externally reflected interaction.20 This is the importance of reality testing; to maintain an accurate representation of the external environment. However this serves its purpose only when we want to continuously interact with the external environment. It is this interaction and its imbalances that shape our internal environment, or our inability to adapt to the external environment. This is the relevance of object relations to the external environment. The internal object has the capacity to interfere with correct interpretation of the external object. "each of us shape [our] relationships to the patterns internalised from [our] earliest significant relationships." 21If emotional valence exists then one must talk more about emotion and its relevance.

EMOTION
Emotion is used for memory. Depression reduces short term memory and effects recall of long term memory. Treating it, results in better recall of long term memory but memory for events during depression remains compromised(Frith et al., 1983). Within memory, similar experiences are grouped together. In one study, “participants in elated mood states preferentially reported pleasant events and happy experiences, and participants in depressed mood states preferentially reported unpleasant events and unhappy experiences (Snyder & White, 1982). Emotion has the capacity to block areas of the brain from the individua’ls awareness both permanently22 and temporarily23.
Expressing emotion is the equivalent of feeling emotion(Dimberg & Thunberg, 1998). Curbing the display of emotion is the equivalent of blocking the emotion itself and causes measurable changes to heart rate (which is a ‘barometer’ for the ANS) (Gross & Levenson, 1997). In other words if one is to express a negative emotion without perceiving first, one will perceive the negative emotion as a result of the expression. The mechanics of emotion are a two way street.
Ambiguous negative emotion results in our brain looking for an external threat (Murphy & Zajonc, 2007). Negative emotion fills us with anxiety and we want to escape the cause of that emotion. Our mind, a part that we are not aware of, brings to our attention that which needs attending to and removes that which doesn’t require our conscious attention24. We want to remove the cause from our perception.
Let us examine the temporary nature of this disconnection. Studies show that negative affect, in particular anxiety, has influence on connectivity within the brain as evidenced by the reduced capacity for problem solving. Problem solving relies on connecting different areas of the brain. Negative affect reduces motor co-ordination, it effects learning and performance(Ashcraft & Kirk, 2001).
Anxiety25 is a disconnecting force. It disconnects us from our surroundings in such a way, that all we want to do is run away from the source of anxiety. Our attention is removed from normal activity and focussed simply on escape. It is a basic survival response, because the only thing we really want to do is get away from the source of the negative emotion. 26
However there are permanent effects in the above situation too. In the above situation, the loss of associated details surrounding the ‘life threatening’ event are lost.(Mara et al., 2007) In other words if one overreacts to a given threat one is not performing to one’s optimum performance. The brain that is ‘wired’ to respond to noxious stimuli by a ‘flight or fight’ response shouldn’t respond to non lethal stimuli in the same way.
Positive emotion has the reverse effect, the focus is external and it has an integrating effect. “experiences of positive affect prompt individuals to engage with their environments and partake in activities, many of which are adaptive for the individual, its species, or both” (Fredrickson, 2001). Studies show that positive affect is responsible for better cognitive performance(Ashby et al., 1999), improved creativity(Isen, Daubman, & Nowicki, 1987) and enhances decision making(Isen, 2001). The common underlying aspect of all the above situations is that they rely on the interconnectivity of the brain. If “internal dynamics of information processing” are “facilitated” positive affect is induced (Winkielman & Cacioppo, 2001). This is another example of the two way functionality of emotion. In other words focussing on the external environment (or on the objects that are associated with the external environment) will induce positive affect. They connect different parts of the brain to each other in such a way that positive affect is induced. How is this emotion induced and why should a certain type of connectivity induce a positive affect?
The more negative emotion we encounter, the more we have to remove from our perception and the more associated memories and areas of the brain are blocked. This doesn’t mean to say that we don’t recall bad experiences. However, we do have the capacity to ‘forget’ negative experiences and the associated memories. The more inter related the object is, that we need to remove from our perception, the more difficult it will be to remove from our perception. From an object relational point of view, all the associated object relations would have to be blocked. All the associated emotional valences would have to be overcome.
Subliminal stimuli, which we are not aware of, cause us anxiety (Murphy et al., 2007). Could we view sustained subliminal exposure to produce a cumulative effect (by virtue of a net emotional valence) and resemble the side effects (disconnection) akin to the response of lethal stimuli? Except that we don’t know why the disconnection has occurred and we don’t have any particular source to run away from. In other words we just feel miserable, always having to suppress the emotion for its inappropriateness, suffering the consequences from an unknown source, trying to escape it somehow. This is an extreme example but plausible none the less.
All these facets of emotion, result, in it being a sculpting force on the plasticity of the human brain. We have established that emotion is perceived via mirror neurons and emotion has a sculpting effect on the brain. What would the sculpting brain effect of emotion be on the infant brain? Could the combined influence of emotion and mirror neurons create internalised objects in the first place? Just as emotion binds memory, could emotion bind the facets of an internalised object too?

THE INFANT BRAIN
The infant brain is disorganised. This can be shown using an MRI of the infant brain(Madrid & Crognale, 2000). There is no white matter. White matter is laid down due to stimulation of the brain(Stevens, Tanner, & Fields, 1998). White matter is the architecture which forms the differentiation in the infantile brain. The adult structure of the brain (white matter) forms by the age of 1 yr. Before that, there is a complete disorganisation of the sensory input (and other inputs and outputs e.g. motor) in the infant mind. It has been seen that areas of the brain that are considered to be auditory in normal brains light up in individuals that are deaf in response to visionary stimulus (Finney, Fine, & Dobkins, 2001). Using the example of the visual system, researchers have found that interfering with the endogenous neural activity within the brain, neural activity which "is critical for sculpting the intricate circuits of the nervous system from initially imprecise neuronal connections" changes ocular dominance(Penn & Shatz, 1999). Infants are exposed to emotion and can respond to it before the time their brains fully develop their adult white matter architecture (Malatesta & Haviland, 1982). This demonstrates that we have a brain that develops in response to external stimuli and that the brain is plastic. Areas that resemble cortical centres develop as a result of these activities.27

Can the concurrent perception of differentiated senses in synaesthesia be used as a prototype for the infant brain? It is the intention of the author to present this teleological argument. The adult brain has distinct senses. We are able to perceive distinct inputs of vision, hearing, touch, taste and smell. The adult brain differs from the infant brain in its ‘white matter architecture’. White matter ensures that signals from one area of the brain reach specific areas of the brain. The condition where these senses are muddled up, and are perceived, is synaesthesia. Synaesthesia should be a ‘window’ into infant brain architecture. A further discussion of Synaesthesia will strengthen this argument.

SYNAESTHESIA
There are various types of synaesthesia. The underlying similarity between different types is that there is a crossover of the sensory circuitry, at some level. There are individuals who see colour along with hearing sound. There are individuals that see colour by reading letters. There are people who see colour in response to an emotional stimuli(Ward, 2004). In this case study, the patient reported developing colour associated with a person as she gradually began to know that person. This suggests that it is an ongoing capacity which is generated by emotional association of that person to the patient. This is a subjective relationship of synaesthesia and emotion.
Synaesthesia could be a failure of the organisation process (failure of differentiation) or it could be an awareness of this ability which is latent in all of us. Normal individuals aren’t aware of this synaesthesia, they don’t perceive it. Synaesthetes may perceive this, partially, depending upon what types of synaesthete they are. This might indeed be the case as studies suggest that all of us are mildly synaesthetic (Ramachandran V.S. & Hubbard E.M, 2001). Higher tones of music are associated with lighter colours, lower tones with darker colours (Hubbard, 1996). Higher tones of music are associated with happiness and lower tones with unhappiness (Collier & Hubbard, 2001). Brighter colours are associated with happiness and darker colours with unhappiness (Boyatzis & Varghese, 1994). The significance of emotion in synaesthesia is emotion’s ubiquitous nature, in relation to synaesthetic experience, which is present in all individuals. This strengthens the case for inducing positive affect, due to certain object relations and configurations.

CONCLUSION
It is the intention of the author to suggest that the concurrent sensation of emotion and sensory input is a remnant of the infantile brain organisation. Hence, just as adults have discreet senses which have been differentiated from a synaesthetic whole, so too, discreet, internalised objects, could have formed from an undifferentiated whole.
In other words, we have a mind/brain that is a blank slate. Object representations are created within the mind that fractures it into, discreet, interconnected entities. These entities form a lattice of connections and disconnections within the brain. It is more complex than just the perceived sensory inputs that synaesthesia provides. But synaesthesia can be used as a prototype disorder to show this fragmentation. The association of emotion, since it is a two way street, will result in the reciprocating nature of emotion and connectedness in the brain. The objects form a fractal associated with emotion. They resonate with the external environment. The fractal that resembles our earliest associations with emotion will cause us to experience those emotions28. It is difficult to state when the infant brain would have awareness, or when it would have the capacity for emotion. However, for the purpose of this paper, the first year of life has been identified as the time frame where the infant recognises emotion and associates subjective feelings with concrete environmental input. One could also argue, that objects formation in itself, is the disconnecting force. This is a moot point, though as the brain is exposed to the environment and is hard wired to form objects. We don’t have a choice in the matter. We do however, have a choice about our environment (where possible) and the objects and situations we choose to associate ourselves with. This idea isn’t new. Winnicott’s ‘subjective self’ is used to form the basis of human interactions with other humans. The creation of internalised objects via emotion remains speculative in the author’s mind. Emotion certainly binds objects. It can bring them to the awareness of the individual and brings relevance to the object. However the relevance of object relations to the functioning of the human mind is evident.
What is the relevance of using this framework, of tying emotion and object relations? As this paper describes processes common to many situations, below are a few examples (relevant to mind and society) where this framework can be used.
If we are forced to suppress our emotions we force ourselves to disconnect from the external reality. If the cumulative effect of negative affect becomes permanent in some way, then do we fail to recognise positive emotion? For example, would severely depressed individuals fail to respond to positive affect not because they are depressed but because positive affect doesn’t register as positive affect? Could they have blocked the circuitry which recognises positive affect? Wouldn’t this be a situation where one increasingly becomes isolated and depressed? Would that explain why depression of this sort can only be cured by drugs such as SSRI’s and Electric shock therapy?
Internal objects, when they have no external reality, can cause havoc to our perception and forms the basis of bias, prejudice and misunderstanding. This framework also provides evidence for the mechanism of group behaviour, both positive and negative.
Escapism in the form of religious extremism has great relevance in today’s world. Turning to religion when one is unhappy is a common trait. However, sustained isolation (in the form of continuous negative affect or physical isolation causing negative affect) can have severe dissociative results. The internal environment is skewed so severely that one is easily manipulated into becoming a weapon itself.
Apathy can be viewed as disconnection with the environment. Health care providers, those under constant strain of negative affect cannot function to their best. Once recognised, this view should be taken into consideration with reference to clinical errors and over all patient management.
Situations that require our brain to be connected (learning, creativity, problem solving etc...) are hindered under the influence of negative emotion. Would the isolatory effect of negative emotion be the reason why children of ethnic minorities (or those that face negative affect) perform poorly in school?
If synaesthetic colours and sounds can induce affect, then tools can be developed to induce these affects (positive) where required, especially in large public gatherings, public schools or places that require individuals to perform at their best.
The most significant aspect of this paper (according to the author) is that once it is recognised, that negative affect has an isolatory impact on the brain; individuals need to be taught how to overcome this disability. However, since it is disconnecting, one may not be aware of the disconnection and hence it would prove difficult to realise. Since post hoc intervention is difficult and untimely, a preventative approach should be taken. Individuals should be encouraged to increase the net positive valency of their minds to prevent isolatory effects and ward of prolonged periods of unhappiness. How this can be done is open to debate.
In a globalised world competing for resources, this framework provides evidence that we as a race need to pay more attention to our environment and the effect of human actions on other individuals.










Reference List

1. Ashby, F. G., Isen, A. M., & Turken, A. U. (1999). A neuropsychological theory of positive affect and its influence on cognition. Psychol.Rev., 106, 529-550.
2. Ashcraft, M. H. & Kirk, E. P. (2001). The relationships among working memory, math anxiety, and performance. J.Exp.Psychol.Gen., 130, 224-237.
3. Black, D. N., Seritan, A. L., Taber, K. H., & Hurley, R. A. (2004). Conversion hysteria: lessons from functional imaging. J.Neuropsychiatry Clin.Neurosci., 16, 245-251.
4. Boyatzis, C. J. & Varghese, R. (1994). Children's emotional associations with colors. J.Genet.Psychol., 155, 77-85.
5. Brown, T. A., Chorpita, B. F., & Barlow, D. H. (1998). Structural relationships among dimensions of the DSM-IV anxiety and mood disorders and dimensions of negative affect, positive affect, and autonomic arousal. J.Abnorm.Psychol., 107, 179-192.
6. Carrere, S. & Gottman, J. M. (1999). Predicting divorce among newlyweds from the first three minutes of a marital conflict discussion. Fam.Process, 38, 293-301.
7. Collier, W. G. & Hubbard, T. L. (2001). Musical scales and evaluations of happiness and awkwardness: effects of pitch, direction, and scale mode. Am.J.Psychol., 114, 355-375.
8. Cowey, A. & Stoerig, P. (1991). The neurobiology of blindsight. Trends Neurosci., 14, 140-145.
9. Crombez, G., Vlaeyen, J. W., Heuts, P. H., & Lysens, R. (1999). Pain-related fear is more disabling than pain itself: evidence on the role of pain-related fear in chronic back pain disability. Pain, 80, 329-339.
10. Dehaene-Lambertz, G., Dehaene, S., & Hertz-Pannier, L. (2002). Functional neuroimaging of speech perception in infants. Science, 298, 2013-2015.
11. Dimberg, U. & Thunberg, M. (1998). Rapid facial reactions to emotional facial expressions. Scand.J.Psychol., 39, 39-45.
12. Fellous, J.-M. (1999). Neuromodulatory basis of emotion. , . The Neuroscientist, v. 5, pp. 283--294.
13. Finney, E. M., Fine, I., & Dobkins, K. R. (2001). Visual stimuli activate auditory cortex in the deaf. Nat.Neurosci., 4, 1171-1173.
14. Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. Am.Psychol., 56, 218-226.
15. Frith, C. D., Stevens, M., Johnstone, E. C., Deakin, J. F., Lawler, P., & Crow, T. J. (1983). Effects of ECT and depression on various aspects of memory. Br.J.Psychiatry, 142, 610-617.
16. Gallese, V., Keysers, C., & Rizzolatti, G. (2004). A unifying view of the basis of social cognition. Trends Cogn Sci., 8, 396-403.
17. Gross, J. J. & Levenson, R. W. (1997). Hiding feelings: the acute effects of inhibiting negative and positive emotion. J.Abnorm.Psychol., 106, 95-103.
18. Hirstein, W. & Ramachandran, V. S. (1997). Capgras syndrome: a novel probe for understanding the neural representation of the identity and familiarity of persons. Proc.Biol.Sci., 264, 437-444.
19. Hubbard, T. L. (1996). Synesthesia-like mappings of lightness, pitch, and melodic interval. Am.J.Psychol., 109, 219-238.
20. Iacoboni, M., Molnar-Szakacs, I., Gallese, V., Buccino, G., Mazziotta, J. C., & Rizzolatti, G. (2005). Grasping the Intentions of Others with Ones Own Mirror Neuron System. PLoS Biology, 3, e79.
21. Isen, A. M., Daubman, K. A., & Nowicki, G. P. (1987). Positive affect facilitates creative problem solving. J.Pers.Soc.Psychol., 52, 1122-1131.
22. Isen, A. M. (2001). An Influence of Positive Affect on Decision Making in Complex Situations: Theoretical Issues With Practical Implications. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 11, 75-85.
23. Jackson, P. L. & Decety, J. (2004). Motor cognition: a new paradigm to study self-other interactions. Curr.Opin.Neurobiol., 14, 259-263.
24. Koob, G. F. & Le Moal, M. (1997). Drug abuse: hedonic homeostatic dysregulation. Science, 278, 52-58.
25. Madrid, M. & Crognale, M. A. (2000). Long-term maturation of visual pathways. Vis.Neurosci., 17, 831-837.
26. Malatesta, C. Z. & Haviland, J. M. (1982). Learning display rules: the socialization of emotion expression in infancy. Child Dev., 53, 991-1003.
27. Mara & Mathers (2007). Emotional Arousal and Memory Binding. Perspectives on Psychological Science, Volume 2, pp. 33-52(20).
28. Murphy, S. T. & Zajonc, R. B. (2007). Affect, cognition, and awareness: Affective priming with optimal and suboptimal stimulus exposures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.1993 May Vol 64(5) 723-739.
29. Penn, A. A. & Shatz, C. J. (1999). Brain waves and brain wiring: the role of endogenous and sensory-driven neural activity in development. Pediatr.Res., 45, 447-458.
30. Ramachandran V.S. & Hubbard E.M (2001). Synaesthesia - A Window Into Perception, Thought and Language. Journal of Consciousness Studies, Volume 8, 3-34.
31. Rizzolatti, G., Fadiga, L., Fogassi, L., & Gallese, V. (1999). Resonance behaviors and mirror neurons. Arch.Ital.Biol., 137, 85-100.
32. Shackman, A. J., Sarinopoulos, I., Maxwell, J. S., Pizzagalli, D. A., Lavric, A., & Davidson, R. J. (2006). Anxiety selectively disrupts visuospatial working memory. Emotion., 6, 40-61.
33. Sierra, M. & Berrios, G. E. (1998). Depersonalization: neurobiological perspectives. Biol.Psychiatry, 44, 898-908.
34. Singer, T., Seymour, B., O'Doherty, J., Kaube, H., Dolan, R. J., & Frith, C. D. (2004). Empathy for pain involves the affective but not sensory components of pain. Science, 303, 1157-1162.
35. Snyder, M. & White, P. (1982). Moods and memories: elation, depression, and the remembering of the events of one's life. J.Pers., 50, 149-167.
36. Squire, L. R. (2004). Memory systems of the brain: a brief history and current perspective. Neurobiol.Learn.Mem., 82, 171-177.
37. Stevens, B., Tanner, S., & Fields, R. D. (1998). Control of myelination by specific patterns of neural impulses. J.Neurosci., 18, 9303-9311.
38. Touryan, S. R., Marian, D. E., & Shimamura, A. P. (2007). Effect of negative emotional pictures on associative memory for peripheral information. Memory, 15, 154-166.
39. Ward, J. (2004). Emotionally Mediated Synaesthesia. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 21, 761-772.
40. Winkielman, P. & Cacioppo, J. T. (2001). Mind at ease puts a smile on the face: psychophysiological evidence that processing facilitation elicits positive affect. J.Pers.Soc.Psychol., 81, 989-1000.


1There are components of vision that are beyond our awareness, the ‘old visual pathway’ (responsible for localisation in the visual field) as shown in the study of blindsight.(Cowey & Stoerig, 1991)
2 Here, facets refer to emotional attachments and associations with memory and experience. Experience and its memories will have sensory inputs associated with a specific memories or experience.
3 The human brain is a vast neural network. It is beyond the scope of this paper to identify exact areas of interconnectivity. Instead of the exact anatomical location, descriptive ‘regions’ will be used where appropriate.
4 Happiness is subjective. The association here can be better described as subjective well being. A reason for making this distinction is that it can be argued that addictive processes too can make one ‘happy’, however the associated negative affects related to addictions is absent in ‘subjective well being’. This is an important point to differentiate.
5 This is the default association of emotion and the infant brain. Arguably if the parents of a child are happy then the (non-pathological) child will be predominantly happy. Children can however be born to inattentive parents (inadequate parenting as Fairbairn called it) and this shall be taken up further in the discussion part of the essay.
6 The underlying circuitry refers to the connections with the Limbic system and the autonomous nervous system. The ANS reflects changes which can be measured.
7 “the human mirror neuron system ‘resonates’ in response to a wide... range of actions...”(Gallese, Keysers, & Rizzolatti, 2004)
8 "for Klein internal objects were fantasised presences that were an accompaniment to all experience" pg 116 Freud and Beyond: A History of Modern Psychoanalytic Thought. Stephen A. Mitchell and Margaret J. Black. Basic Books 1995
9 “Objects are desirable with respect to their resonance with attachments to old objects, avenues and tones of interaction laid down in early childhood as basic paradigms of love” Pg 116 Ibid.
10 Pg 127 Ibid.
11 Both declarative and non declarative, see(Squire, 2004)
12 "The fundamental motivational push in human experience [is] connect[ing] with others as a means in itself." pg 115 Freud and Beyond: A History of Modern Psychoanalytic Thought. Stephen A. Mitchell and Margaret J. Black. Basic Books 1995
13 The circuitry of the emotional connections is the same; however, impulses along that circuitry have different emotional outcomes and perceptions.
14 Something akin to what Roberto Benigni’s character does for his son in ‘Life is beautiful’. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118799/
15 Addictions have a common opiod pathway (Koob et al., 1997)
16 Pg 118 Freud and Beyond: A History of Modern Psychoanalytic Thought. Stephen A. Mitchell and Margaret J. Black. Basic Books 1995
17 Pg 120 Ibid.
18 Capgras syndrome(Hirstein & Ramachandran, 1997) The authors suggest that the patient in this study cannot recognise his parents because of the trauma to the fibres connecting the limbic and visual centres. He can recognise them when he hears their voices without seeing their faces,
19 Pg 120 Freud and Beyond: A History of Modern Psychoanalytic Thought. Stephen A. Mitchell and Margaret J. Black. Basic Books 1995
20 One could suggest that escaping from the external environment may not necessarily be viewed as a problem by the individual.
21 Pg 121 Freud and Beyond: A History of Modern Psychoanalytic Thought. Stephen A. Mitchell and Margaret J. Black. Basic Books 1995

22 Hysterical paralysis : The dysfunction of the motor cortex in hysterical paralysis (conversion hysteria) demonstrates the powerful effect of negative emotion on voluntary acts. “The authors suggest conversion disorder may be a functional deafferentation due to active inhibition of somatosensory processing by limbic areas concerned with emotion and attention” (Black, Seritan, Taber, & Hurley, 2004) Areas of the pre frontal cortex (having strong links to the amygdala) remove awareness of the motor area from voluntary control. This is an extreme example of the effect of negative emotion.
23 The authors report loss of visuospatial memory under the influence of anxiety. (Shackman et al., 2006)
24 For e.g. The old visual pathway evidenced in blindsight(Cowey et al., 1991)
25 Anxiety and negative affect share many structural components and hence can be used synonymously.(Brown, Chorpita, & Barlow, 1998)
26 This disconnection is a survival method which can be viewed as a, ‘all or none’ kind of response in certain conditions. Though, this is looking at it in its most basic form, it would be akin to the immune system where reacting to a foreign body is beneficial. However, if the response is disproportionate to that, that is required, there are severe adverse reactions that take place and cause more harm than good. So the temporary disconnection is good (allowing us to focus our complete attention to the source of threat), but if it remains in some way, or if it spills over to areas in the brain that are hindered by this block, then that is not good.
27 “precursors of adult cortical language areas are already active in infants, well before the onset of speech production” (Dehaene-Lambertz, Dehaene, & Hertz-Pannier, 2002)
28 It is interesting to note that, ecstasy (MDMA) and SSRI’s, increase the level of serotonin in the brain. The increased level of serotonin within the synapses, effectively short circuits the brain; which increases its connectedness. One is known for making us feel empathetic and the other used for treating depression.

Driving in Delhi