Talk:Thought loop

Neurological analysis

Thalamic function disruption may play a role in this effect

"Thus, Evarts emphasized that the prominence of internal feedback loops increases with the size and complexity of the nervous system. He cited:

'Hassler's (1966) comments on the evolutionary changes in thalamic function. in which it is pointed out that only one-eighth of the human thalamus serves as a part of somatosensory patterns. with the remaining seven-eighths serving as relay [feedback] stations for other systems.' " (Evarts. 1971. p. 97).

The clinical importance of these internal feedback loops is, incidentally, demonstrated by the efficacy of pharmacological and neurosurgical treatments in human movement disorders; the therapeutic effects of these treatments are achieved by interrupting disturbed feedback loops."

"Formal thought disorder

Disturbances of the organization of thinking (formal thought disorder) could be another consequence of impaired internal feedback, for such feedback would be crucial for the hierarchical and sequential programming of thought processes. Clinical experience indicates that delusional behaviour and degree of formal thought disorder are not highly correlated. The mechanisms postulated here could account for this lack of correlation, because the particular symptoms produced would depend upon the locus of the deranged feedback loops, as discussed below."

"Graybiel goes on to introduce the notion of cognitive pattern generators. It is well established that the CNS contains structures at many levels that are organized to generate motor patterns. These generators are innate; they require only normal developmental conditions to become functional. The basal ganglia have been shown to control brainstem pattern generators and also to participate in the motor planning of frontal cortical areas. Graybiel suggests that cognitive pattern generators exist in the motor systems of thought and that the basal ganglia, with their loop circuits involving frontal cortex and thalamus, "influence the acquisition, retention and expression of such cognitive structures" (p. 462)."

Psychedelic Observationalist 63's trip report

So I've experienced this twice now. The first time was when I combined LSD with cannabis, the second them was only cannabis. The first time I experienced it, I wrote it down and referred to it as an explanation loop, the next time I remembered referring to it s a paradoxical explanation, even though I actually just came up with that on the spot. I experienced this situation as trying to explain something in a manner such as this: introduction leads to conclusion, however only if the introduction is explained by point a, but point a can only explain the introduction if it also explains point b, point b can only explain point a if it also is explained by point c, but point c can only explain the introduction which would therefore explain the conclusion if it is explained by point a, which has to be explained by point b and so on. In other words, it was like an essay that has three points to explain an argument, but the three points were codependent in an infinite circular manner, prohibiting them from ever actually explaining the conclusion. Then, these loops started expanding to the extent that I would have to get to point z in order to get to point a again, making seemingly incoherent ramblings somehow all part of the same thought process. The scary part though was how hypnotic and infections it was. It sent my mind into a rotating looping pattern which I could visualize, and that pattern started manifesting its self in everything. When I noticed the explanation loop, I would try to explain the phenomena from an external perspective, but and explanation loop would manifest in my attempt to explain said explanation loop. Then it got even scarier, when my less high skeptical friend who was trying to work me down and make me see reason, saying that I was blowing this out of proportion, started having involuntary explanation loops himself in his attempt to disprove them. Then we started having collective group explanation loops. Keep in mind, during this whole thing we were trying to have like a Socratic logic/ law type perspective about conversations and language. It was one of the weirdest thought experiences I've ever had