Foun er - * uits anti-' @)si OR. A--- @N FRONTIE'RS OF RESEk1?ClI THE'ORY AND PRACTICE December 19, 1977 Volume 3. Number 3 HEW approves educClLion project to explore transpersonal realm The fedcral government will sponsor a project designed to explore the farther reaches of humati capability, Mary F. Berry, assistant socretary for education of the Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare, approvod the project, titled TheLitnits ofEducabilitv, early in December. It will inqu ire into such topics as altered states colisclou 0 f sness, values, cultural 'visions,' emotional blocks to learning, new scientific paradigms, creativity, synergy, V P@ir myths of tratisformation," psychic phenomena, paradox, ion-lincar processing capabilities, extraordinary human capa- bilitics, "superhealth" and the politics of personal growth. The project will culminate in articles, a book atid a conference. "In any absolute sense we can probably never know what the 'limits of educability' are," the project description states. "Yet we can specify areas wherewe believe there are great disparities between what is being achieved by cutrent educational practice and either known linlitsachieved through optimal use of current practices or achievable limits through known alternative practices." Various federal agencies will participate in the project, but half its $300,000 cost is to be raised privately. Jerry Fletcher of IIEW told BrainlMind Bulletin that co-sponsors are eagerly sought. "We'd like tile participation of as many organizations, large or small, as possible," he said. The Institute of Noctic Sciences already has become a co-spolisor. F'or information: Fletcher, Education Division/HEW, 200 Independence Ave. Room 317-11, Washington 201-01, (202) 245-8266. nn a i @@Ji Utz Marcello Truzzi of Eastern Michigan Uni- versity, founding editor of the journal Zetci- ics and co-founder of tile controversial Com- mittee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranornial. has resigned his editorship, co-chairmanship and member- ship. Truzzi charged that the conirnittue's executive council is interested only in dc- bunking-not invcstigating-psychical phe- nomena. Under his editorship. Zetetics was a forum for critical reviews of parapsychological re- search. Truzzi said he deplored "the media blitz," tile committee's recent attacks oil the report- ing of unusual phenomena in newspapers and on television. Paul Kurtz, co-chairman of the committee, had held press confer- ences in recent months urging the media to quell reports of psychic phenomena. More recently, after Truzzi's resignation, Kurtz filed the commit- tee's complaint with the Federal Trade Commis- sion on the airing of NBC's Exploring the Unknown, a 90-minute special oil psychic plic- nomena, hypnotic regression and related topics. NBC was accused of presenting controversial material that "may result in harm to the public." The network's "fre- quent disclaimers" were considered "inade- quate protection." The committee demanded equal time for "the critical scientific viewpoint" in re- sponse to this and all other programs, network and local, that may deal with sychic phenomena. It said that possible onscquences of such programs may be Continued on Page 2 Pri&am at AHP seminar Fuft.lre to brinrl 'hard - nosled' work in 'soft' sciences ii Stanford ueuroscientist Karl Pribram has pred,'ctcd ih@.' -.vi*hin aunc'hor !0 or 15 .years "all of the really hard-rioscd scien- tific work will be going on in fields that arc k, now considered soft." Under the auspices of the Assn. for Hu- nianistic Psychology, Pribraw led two sniall, @ay-long invilational symposia in San FrIan- Cisco earlier this month to discuss his theory of holographic brain function in universc whose matrix, "tile frequency do- rnalu,- is expressed in holographic principles. (See BIMB special issue, July 4, 1977.) Pribl-anl has suggested that the model is part of a major shift it) the sciciltific description of reality. It a!tvnll)ts to explain phetioniena of nornial perception, aCC01111titig for remarkable laboratory data, and SiT11111cancously he-1ps to explain marty events previously categorized as paranormal. A nu rnber of persons well-known in psychology were invi@(,,d. as well as specinfists in other fields: education, medicine,, philosophy, religion, ph 'ysics and tile arts. As historic c%amples of 'soft' disciplines becoming central and 103126: CIA-RDP96-007"- I - com cites mitteel M I D @N 110 bulletin scientifically rigorous, lie cited the shift in emphasis from behavioral to cognitive psychology that bq2,an in the late 1950s as well as the increasingly non-niaterial world of quantum physics: "relationshi s p between observations-not observables." According to the holographic theory of brain function, the fre- quency domain is important in ficural processes, just as it is in sub- atonlic physics. Stimuli Ire perceived by the senses via complex mathematical transforms, an interpretation of interference patierns, much as a hologram is reconstructed by its light source, Pribrarn presented data on his laboratory findings indicating that the visual system responds lo spatial frequencies. Other evidence iiidicatt.@.s that all sensory system* obtain their information by "reaOing otit" information from a frequency doinain, Synthesizing his and otber findings supporting holographic brain prhiciples with speculation 11 'v physicists that the universe itself may be holographic in nature (111al is. interference patterns of frequencies), Pri0rain suggests that coil- crete reality is apparent railier than fundamental. Mystical insights may be a type of "Iensless knowink," a more ol less direct perception of the hologriphic state. Pribram noted %% r ,Nly. "I think it must be a very compassionate uiiivcrse-.-it g;lvc 0-S C-1611twd m. 1,.Nv Approved For Release 2001/03/26 : CIA-RDP96-00787ROO02000800 113-0 4- atain/mind Pulletin-2 Approved For Re 2001103/26 : CIA-RDP96-0078ZB000200080013-0 New findings: valium, marijuana, alcofiol, heroin MarUuana research updatet Cannabinoids do not cause tnuta- tion in human cells, according to Arthur Zimmerman of the Uni- versity of Toronto dcpartnient of zoology and Hans Stich of the Cancer Institute, University of British Columbia.... Marijuana causes constriction of the pupils, not dilation ,is popularly believed, according to Brian Brown of Smith Kettlewell Institute, San Francisco, and his fellow research- ers. But they found no pupil changes in subjects using alcohol-or marijuana in combination with alcohol I ... Tetrahyd rocannabi not, the active principle in marijuana, supresses luteinizing#* hormone in rats, judging from tests at Duke Uni- versity by Lee Tyrey and his associates, The close equivalent of one or two marijuana cigar- ettes for humans suppressed all Llf secretion. The therapeutic virtues of heroin and marijuana will get a serious look by the National Cancer Institute and other federal agencies by virtue of a memorandum from Peter Bourne, President Carter's special assistant for health. Health undersecretary Julius Richmond was directed to evaluate the potential medical benefits of the drugs, which are classified as "dangerous." One study comparing heroin and morphine for terminal cancer patients had indicated that heroin caused less nausea, was less constipating, increased the appe- t1te, was less soporific and more mood-enhancing. Heroin is effective in smaller doses, and it is more soluble. Marijuana, in debunking' committee... Of Oregon, acknowledged that lie and Truzzi were at the "far end of the spectrum" in that they did not automatically equ ate belief in the paranorinal with irratio'nality. Hyman said, "I believe that our job is to present the skeptical point of view-responsibly. But some of the others believe that we can't get attention if we argue in an academic journal or if we qualify our statements. They feel we have to paint things in black and white or the media won't pay attention, "So far they've been right in getting pub- licity-but at the price of embarrassing people like Marcello, who didn't want his name associated with what they're doing. .X- I Truzzi quii[Zi Continucd from Page I worse than those resulting from excesses Of violence, rigging of sports presentations and ganie shows or biased news reporting. Copies of the complaint were sent to the Senate and House subcommittees on coni- munications. Truzzi said that the committee's by-llws allow voting only by its executive council, The other 35 members, ternied 'fellows' (including B. F. Skinner and Carl Sagin), can advise but cannot vote, Truz7i said lie refused to continue editing Zetelics when the board voted to make it a "hard-hitting" popular publication. lie had founded Zetet- ics as a newsletter before the committee was organized in 1976. -I felt we should keep_ the debate in a scholarly framework," Truzzi said. "Except for Ray Hyman, the other members of the executive council are primarily debunkers," Hynian, 2-LIS-Yehologist at the University - Future research. . . Conrinuccl from Page I physics so we could understand what those other people who didn't have physics at- readv knew." lie acknow1cdged his own difficulty in rcally compre fiend in g the idea of holo- gr@ap@ic mind in a fundainentally finicless, spaceless universe. "But when the next generation conics along it won't be so hard for them." An abridged version of the proceedings will appear at a ftiture date in Re- Visions, a nc%, journal (see Too/s and Resources, page 4). Tapes will not be avaiiable. addition to its promise in the treatment of glaucorna, reportedly has been helpful in relieving nausea from cancer chemotherapy. Acupuncture cases withdrawal pain in heroin addiction, Wen Hsiang4ai of Tung Wili Hospital, Hong Kong, reported. Fifty- one per cent of the addicts treated by acupuncture were drug-free a year after treatment, compared to 28.5 per cent on methadone. The National Institute of Mental Health his granted Wen $100,000 for further research, Valium may reinforce alcoholism, say J. A. Deutsch and Nancy Walton of the Univer- sity of California-San Diego. Thirty-two alco- holic rats showed an increased craving to drink when they were given Valium during their drying-out period. Librium, structur- ally similar, may have the same effect.... David Warburton, a psychologist at the University of Reading, England. charged that Hoffmann-LaRoche has spent more than $400 million on the promotion of Valium and Librium. lie said that 19 per cent of the women and seven per cent of the men in Great Britain were prescribed tranquilizers in any one year. Barbiturates cause 5,000 deaths a year and are "probably not effective" in the treatment of insomnia anyway, The National Institute on Drug Abuse has asked the FDA to take appropriate action, such as requiring manufacturers to note on the labels -unless they can meanwhile prove otherwise-that the drugs are not effective on a longterm basis. Subjective reports contradictory 'frigid' note.-A.. Ph sical arousal It is possible that women who never or rarely experience orgasm actually undergo normal physical arousal that they either refuse to acknowledge or fail to recognize. In a study conducted by Julia I leiman and Pa- 'w tricia Morokoff, State V % University of New York, -4 1A I I non-orgasmic women and 55 controls were in- structed to fan(asize about sex, then listened to an erotic five-ininute tape, fantasized again for three minutes, watched a filni, then fan- tasized for another three minutes. Their Subjective reports of noti-arousal (lid not correlate with the physiological measurements. There was no significant It's a question of tactics." Hyman said he agreed with the complaint against the NBC special, "but some of the things our committee protests arc just sense- less, pointless, a lot of noise." Truzzi said he had objected to Zetetics' continued association with The Humanist (which has an anti-religion stance) and to Kurtz's frequent television talk-show ap- pearinces purporting to represent the corn- mittec. lie said he felt Kurtz was unfamiliar with the parapsychology literature and also presented the experiments of authors pub- lished in Zetetics as if they were investiga- tion3 done by the committee. women in difference in the criterion of arousal-vaso- congestion in the vagina-between the clini- cal group and tile controls, who were women from the surrounding community. The mean age of the non-orgasmic women ww: 28, that of the controls 30. Surprisingly, the women whose physio- logical response. was greatest were those who reported the least arousal during inter- courseat home. Heiman suggested that they may not have learned to recognize early stages of sexual excitement, may hold dif- ferent cxl)ecta1ion% of what arousal should feel like or may harbor negative feelings that Short-circuit the awarciiess of arousal. Heiman: Dept. of psychiatry, SUNY School of Medicine, Stony Brook, N. Y. t 1790. Approved For Release 2001/03/26 : CIA-RDP96-00787ROO0200080013-0