This is a forthcoming slide presentation on the "Neuroscience of Vipassana" to the Shri-Yoga group on May 2, 2021 at 8 pm (EST) by Vinod D Deshmukh.

1. NEUROSCIENCE OF VIPASSANA
Vinod D Deshmukh

2. Humane Act of Kindness
(Please notice different vantage-points of observation-action, attentional vectors and possible mindsets)

3. VIPASSANA
INSIGHT
MINDFULNESS
ATTENTIVENESS
PRESENCE
It is presymbolic. (Pre-speech and pre-thought)
Interlocked with reality. (Oneness, Wholeness)
Reflects exactly what is happening now. (Reality-as-is)
Nonjudgmental observation. (Fresh, unbiased Look)
Impartial watchfulness. (Just witnessing without interfering)
Nonconceptual bare awareness. (awareness-itself)
Present moment awareness. (Presence of mind)
Nonegoistic alertness. (selfless, loving attentiveness)
Awareness of change. (Itself remaining unchanged)
Participatory observation. (Holistic, global perception)
Mindfulness in Plain English by Gunaratana BH (2002) pages 137-141. (Words in bracket are added).
Ten Features of Vipassana:

4. Attentional separation foreground
from background to identify and
name
an object or a person.
Conscious Emergence
and Mergence
Consciously
predicting and managing
what is out there,
In the unknown world.

5. An Ambiguous Figure
A young girl or an old woman?
Both are in the picture.
What we experience
Depends on our momentary
attention and perspective.
The classic example in Vedanta,
“Is it a rope or a snake?”

6. Mark Solms. The Hidden Spring
(2021)
Brain’s neuro-electric
activity patterns to a visual
stimulus.
EEG spike trains and higher
frequencies are evoked
from the resting
background of 6Hz to an
activated state of 30 Hz
followed by conscious
perception and experience.

7. Merker B. BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN
SCIENCES (2007) 30, 63–134
We are Embodied and
Embedded in the
Natural and Human World.
Attentional Vector creates
and specifies the
subject-object duality.
Attentional matrix is
a holistic, universal
background of reality.

8. Merker B. Frontiers in Psychology 2013
The central
self-perspective of
all attended experiences.
The Vantage point at the center of
the head controlling our gaze, face,
head, body-movements, sound-
perception, voice production and
initiating
holistic movements.
The Behavioral Decision Triangle:
Superior Colliculus (sensory input),
Periaqueductal Gray (affective,
feeling) and Substantia nigra and the
reticular activating system
(behavioral motor output)

9. An inward journey.
Body in the external world
as seen through one eye.
Self-introspection with
both eyes closed, going to
the center of our
being, which is presumed
to be about 5 cm behind
the bridge of the nose
(Bhru-madhya) as
indicated by the cross.
Merker B. Frontiers in
Psychology 2013

10. The Behavioral Decision Triangle
Superior Colliculus (multisensory input
from the external and internal bodies in
the world including vibrations,
graviception, electroception and
magnetoception),
Periaqueductal Gray
(homeostatic and provoked emotions
and feelings with
Dorsal Pain and Ventral Pleasure)
Substantia nigra and
the reticular activating system
(holistic motor output and behavioral
action)
Merker B. BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN
SCIENCES (2007) 30, 63–134

11. Excitation and inhibition
of the antigravity
muscles
That is how an elephant,
and many other animals
can stand on
their hind legs!

12. Kandel ER. The Age of Insight
(2012)
Regulation of
Emotion and
Empathy
Dopamine,
Norepinephrine
and serotonin
Pathways.
Other major
neurotransmitters
include Acetyl choline,
Glutamate and GABA.
Serotonin
Norepinephrine
Dopamine

13. Brainstem and Subcortical
Nuclei involved in
decision and
action selection process
Nested Hierarchy
Cerebral Cortex
Basal Ganglia
Limbic system
Reticular Formation
Midbrain
Pons
Medulla

14. Per Brodal.
The Central Nervous System
(2004)
Extended Reticular
Activating System
Ascending and
Descending pathways
Nested
Hierarchy of
Conscious
organization and
control

15. Kandel ER. The Age of Insight (2012)
Multisensory input to the
Cerebral Cortex
Integration in the cortical
association areas and the
brainstem-subcortical
circuits
Retinotopy (Vision)
Somatotopy (Touch)
Tonotopy (Sound)
olfaction (Odor)

16. Kandel ER. The Age of Insight (2012)
Functionally Specific
Cortical Areas
Hearing
Smell
Expression of Intonation (Voice)
Motor Control
Touch and Pressure
Taste
Body Awareness
Comprehension of Intonation
Reading
Vision
Face recognition

17. Kandel ER. The Age of Insight (2012)
Social Perception
Self-Other Interaction
Motor and Sensory
Mirror Neuron areas
Motion detection areas
Self vs Other processing
of voice, gestures, images
and symbols

18. Kandel ER. The Age of Insight (2012)
Evolution of Prefrontal Cortex, The Voluntary Self-Organization
And the Sense of Self (Super-Ego)

19. Kandel ER. The Age of Insight (2012)
Emotional
regulation
Historical self
Self-monitoring
and judgement
Working
memory
and Time
Prefrontal Cortex

20. Kandel ER. The Age of Insight (2012)
Emotion Processing
Motivation, Evaluation,
Regulation and
Self-Organization
Four ‘A’
Arousal
Awareness
Attention
Agency
Pleasure and
Beauty
Voluntary control
Motivation and
judgement
Internal body state
Circadian control
& Instincts
Orchestration of
emotions
Pleasure, Reward
Motivatory
system

21. The Moment of Insight
or understanding in
Problem solving
About 3 seconds from start
Kandel ER. The Age of Insight (2012)

22. Kandel ER. The Age of Insight (2012)

23. Solms and Panksepp
Nested Hierarchy of
Primary, Secondary and
Tertiary Conscious
processes
Conscious state transitions
are dynamic, nonlinear and
unpredictable.

24. Mark Solms in Kandel ER. The Age of Insight (2012)
Freud’s Tripartite Model of
the Conscious-Unconscious
Psyche
Mapped on the Human Brain
as proposed by Mark Solms

25. Kandel ER. The Age of Insight (2012)
Pleasure areas in the
Striatum with release
of Dopamine
Haasya-Yoga
Whole-hearted and
unconditional smiling
or laughing also
releases dopamine and
it can make
one feel
joyous and happy.

26. ROAD TO NIRVANA
(SAMADHI, EGO-TRANSCENDENCE, PERFECT BLISS, INNER PEACE, STHITI-PRAJÑĀ,
SELF-SATISFACTION, EUDAIMONIA, WELLBEING, HUMANENESS, GODLINESS,
OCEANIC FEELING)
1Unconscious drive (preconscious arousal-energy)
2 Unconscious reflex (subconscious action-patterns)
3 Conscious affect (spontaneous homeostatic feelings)
4 Conscious cognition (intentional or voluntary thinking)
5 Unconscious cognition (unintentional, effortless being)
Mark Solms (The words in bracket are added)

27. Nirvana
Mark Solms.
The Hidden Spring (2021)
Nirvana
Sthita-Prajña
Loving Presence
Ease of Living
Feeling at-ease
with self and
at-home in
The world
Harmonious
Life-in-Nature
Feeling
Homeostasis
(Figure modified)
Negative
Feelings
Positive
Feelings