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Neurophenomenology and Its Applications to Psychology pp 115–148Cite as

Psychoneurointracrinology: The Embodied Self

Abstract

This chapter introduces a psychoneurointracrine model of the embodied self and examines the interrelationship between psychological, neurological, and intracrinological processes forming a mind-brain continuum within the person. Psycho (psychological) refers to constructs variously referred to as psyche, self, soul, mind, and consciousness. Neuro (neurological) refers to the composition and reactions within the nervous system. Intracrine (intracrinological) refers to the intracellular biosynthesis of steroids, the binding of receptors, and the formation of enzymes that catalyze the creation of hormones within the cell. It is argued that self has neural correlates in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axes of the body, which are responsible for enactive engagement and the development of meaning through their connections to the higher-order functions of the brain. Two theories of enactive cognition explore this hypothesis: (1) the theory of psychoneurointracrine autopoiesis examines how the regulation of a steroid’s receptor is modulated by the person’s perception of experience, and (2) the theory of emergent global states explains how corticolimbic projections from the HPG-HPA axes integrate prereflective, autonomic, and subliminal experience in the development of meaning and emergence of self. This model depicts the growth-oriented dimension of the person or neurophenomenological self.

Keywords

  • autopoiesis
  • psychoneurointracrinology
  • neurophenomenological self
  • intracrine
  • existential-phenomenological state
  • prereflective
  • HPG-HPA axes
  • embodiment
  • sense of self
  • no-self
  • growth-oriented dimension of the person
  • mythopoesis

The spiritual or value life falls well within the realm of nature, rather than being a different and opposed realm. It is susceptible to investigation at once by psychologists and social scientists and will eventually become also a problem for neurology, endocrinology, genetics, and biochemistry as these sciences develop suitable methods. (Maslow, 1971, p. 320)

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  1. Department of Psychology, National University, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Susan Gordon Ph.D.

  2. Southbury Clinic for Traditional Medicines, 900 Main Street South, Southbury, CT, 06488, USA

    Susan Gordon Ph.D.

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    Susan Gordon

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Gordon, S. (2013). Psychoneurointracrinology: The Embodied Self. In: Gordon, S. (eds) Neurophenomenology and Its Applications to Psychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7239-1_5

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