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Decades ago, Desmond Morris brought us The Naked Ape, plumbing the depths of our evolutionary heritage. Today, Richard Restak brings us The Naked Brain, plumbing the depths of our cerebral soul, if I can use such an oxymoron.

I use it intentionally: How can we find our soul if not in the depths of our brain? Social science research has begun a new dependency—on neuroscience, where PET scans and fMRIs reign supreme in the discovery of what makes us tick when it comes to our emotional and motivational selves. What better arena to uncover the semipermeable membrane between everyday mind and the hidden unconscious, between ego and id, between Persona and Self ! We’ve always wondered what went on behind the bony structure that envelopes the three-pound mass of soft tissue that recently had its own TV slot. Descartes thought the pineal gland was the window to the soul. He may not have been that far off.

What is our soul if not the consolidation of memory, habits both known and unknown, and the tendency to go one way or t’other when it comes to what are known as moral decisions? If you doubt this perspective, how do you feel when someone suffers brain injury and loses the qualities we refer to as character and personality? When the frontal lobes of our brains are destroyed, we can be diagnosed as having “theory of mind disorder.” They might as well say “theory of soul disorder.” We can no longer make social or moral judgments as well without this part of our brain.

We pride ourselves on being in control of our lives. Yet if we get too thoughtful about everyday decisions, we become stymied, nay, even neurotic, in our “paralysis of analysis.” “That’s because,” writes author Restak, “acts of conscious self-control in one area interfere with our ability to exert control in another.” And here—I give it all away in a single quote—is the essence of what we humanists are challenged by: “We are all continuously in the process of trying to explain ourselves to ourselves by coming up with plausible causes for our actions. This is especially true in regard to our emotional responses.”

CONSCIOUSLY IMPOSING REALITY
What! Now what did you do with our soul? We look for explanations, you say, merely to explain ourselves to ourselves? But where’s the deep truth? Replies Restak: “Any of the ‘explanations’ we wind up accepting as true may merely reflect an arbitrary selection by our left hemisphere [the logical thinker in this cerebral game] among many various possibilities.” O quantum mechanics, where are you, now that we need you?

Now here’s the kicker. Says Restak: “Conscious intention and behavior often function quite independently of each other.” Here’s the brief history of this statement: Wilder Penfield operated on the brain while the patient was fully awake and, probing the brain with an electrode, awoke memories “buried deep within the temporal lobes of the brain.” Roger Sperry found that “each of the hemispheres processes different aspects of the environment.” His student, Michael Gazzaniga, found that the left hemisphere “imposes explanations and meaning” on all we see and do.

So, as the trite question goes, how do you feel about that? Well, according to the world of neuroscience, that depends on your medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), ‘cause that’s where all the stuff we humanists care about is happening. “The MPFC,” writes Restak, “is responsible both for our concept of how we feel from moment to moment and for our ability to intuit the feelings of other people.” That is where, we’re told, the awareness of the world and our empathic sensibilities reign supreme. But, and listen carefully here, since this part of the brain can override the fearmongering amygdalae, then, admits Restak, “thanks to the frontal lobes of our brain, we have the power to create for ourselves a new and more empowering reality.”

Wait! There’s more: “If social neuroscience has one basic tenet, it is this: Since we spend most of our time either thinking about or engaging with others, our brain’s most important function is to free us from the prison of our own minds …” Hallelujah! Free at last! From our own minds. Now, if that’s not soul, then what is!

Soul involves connecting deeply with others. “The prison of our own minds,” in Restak’s thinking, is the isolation of the brain absent social interaction. After all, the brain does not physically interact with the world, except through the senses, which are not always infallible. Most of the brain’s functions work to engage with the outside world. Otherwise, we would indeed be in “the prison of our own minds.” Thinking about others all the time, on the other hand, as in romantic obsession or neurotic need for constant attachment, is a different sense of prison. Restak refers to the first meaning of it.

HOW TO DEVELOP EMPATHY
Now what about empathy, to which a whole chapter is dedicated? Nothing much new here, except the research on how we recognize and interpret faces, thanks to “a facial recognition center that exists on the underside of the temporal lobe in the … fusiform face area.” And this area comprises the IOG (focusing on makeup, etc.), the RFG (to recognize), and the ATC (activating memory). Does it matter at all what the initials stand for? Point is, they’ve got this thing down to a science—irrefutable neuroscience, in this case.

But there is some fascinating stuff, even for us humanists cynical of their approach. As associate editor of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, I’ve occasionally come across article authors convinced of the idea that if we imitate our clients in some physical, behavioral way—walking like them, adopting their expressions, mimicking their postures—then our empathy suddenly becomes superb. Now we have the neuroscientific research to validate such experience. As researcher Marco Iacobini of UCLA puts it, “The way we understand the emotions of other people is by simulating in our brain the same activity we have when we experience those emotions.” Or, as primatologist Frans de Waal, says, “Try to mimic it a bit, and you will feel internally what other people feel.”

MEDITATION DEVELOPS THE BRAIN
Compassion and mindfulness are not ignored, you’ll be glad to hear. The left frontal lobe, again, is where this happens. Referred to as “lovingkindness- compassion meditation,” it involves positive emotions, maternal love, “our own experience of pain. . ‘moved by compassion’.” Neuroscientist Richard Davidson concludes; “Achieving this brain state is a skill that can be learned.” Experienced meditators show greater activity in the frontal-parietal cortex, where focus of attention takes place. Without such experience in meditation, the brain activity lasts no more than three minutes. So, it turns out, practice does make for better results.

Finally, the neuroscience take on reappraisal: UCLA scientist Golnaz Tabibnia reports that merely by labeling a disturbing emotion by name, “activates the prefrontal areas, leading to a decreased response from the amygdala. . . . That’s why emotion- labeling may help reduce emotional responses in the long term.” So, rather than worry and obsess about the details of the challenges in our lives, we may be better off just labeling the tendency to ruminate as “worry,” and put that activity off for—oh, I don’t know—let’s say 6:30 that evening. Why not call it Transcendental Worry and spend a half hour each evening totally immersed in worrying about all those concerns we accumulated during the day, just to postpone them till 6:30? Let the amygdalae go crazy for half an hour, and then back to the left frontal cortex for that great sense of control that makes us feel on top of things. As Restak puts it: “Change your thoughts and you change your brain; change your brain and you change your feelings.”

ROMANTIC LOVE: AN ADDICTION
How can we end without addressing the neurophysiology of romantic love, especially that hellish experience of being dumped and then having our amygdalae wreak havoc over our mental domain? Anthropologist Helen Fisher of Rutgers University, just having been dumped herself, shared, “It’s involuntary, difficult to control, and generally impermanent.” Her research shows a strong resemblance of this experience to that of addicts. “In these instances, rejected men and women continue to feel attachment for their abandoning partner, as well as craving and romantic love.” This, she adds, often leads to stalking, and hatred either of self (suicidal depression) or the other (homicidal thoughts and, occasionally, actions). Here, the limbic system seems to be out of control, overwhelming the otherwise staid frontal lobes with unstoppable waves of intense emotion. Here’s where we see the victory of old brain over new brain.

Much better to flood the poor brain with oxytocin, the “cuddle” chemical that comes from being held with love. How to do so? “By creating an atmosphere of trust,” writes Restak, “we enhance the oxytocin levels of the brains we come in contact with, and vice versa.” Much better than testosterone, with its fight-or-flight responses.

So, ladies, treat your men with trusting affection. Hopefully, it’ll get them on the right footing for openness and relaxation. That’s what female love is all about—embracing and holding. Men, on the other hand, need action, at least if their testosterone levels predominate. But, then, what do they know? Their naked brains need to be covered—with trust, love, and oodles of oxytocin. At least that’s the sensibility that appears to be emerging in this new neurosociety. Now we have the technology to go out and change how we live, work, and, most importantly, love.

DAVID RYBACK is an associate editor of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology and the author of Putting Emotional Intelligence to Work. His naked brain is currently involved in helping others attain more social intelligence, while not neglecting his own. He can be reached at EQassoc@aol.com.

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