Posted by Jack Boyd (167.206.58.39) on October 08, 1999 at 13:23:56:
In Reply to: (im)balance posted by Ueli on October 07, 1999 at 20:40:59:
Proposition:
The Cluster mechanism occurs at the most primitive level of the brain - the autonomic nervous system
and that is why it does not really respond to biofeedback, and that is why it takes big time chemicals to prevent and abort, and that is why it appears to be so bizarre.
Webster's:
Autonomic - " that part of the nervous system that functions more or less independently of the will."
Atavism (GaryG's word) - "resemblance to remote ancestors raher than parents."
Hypothalmus - "the organ below the brain....."
This is really not news but it bears repeating.
The hypothalmus doesn't even get equal billing with our brains - it is "below" the brain both geographically and in the evolutionary scheme of things.
Don't let anyone give you any psychobabble about clusters being a result of some emotion or psychological state - they are much too primitive for that.