The discussion in the previous chapter regarding neurological background of dissociation might have been too theoretical and complicated. In this chapter we will focus on the issue of switching mechanism which is so crucial in dissociative pathology. Before I start, I would like to stress that if we try to understand the biological basis of dissociation, it is not enough to study the brain, as dissociative phenomena involve physical changes of many levels throughout our entire body. They involve spinal cord which sends signals to motor organs and receives sensory input from sensory organs. They also influence autonomic nervous system which is in charge of gastrointestinal and cardiovascular systems. Dissociation is a very complicated phenomenon on the stage of entire mind and body. As we discuss the switching mechanism in dissociation, the shift from one state to the next occurs not only in some localized area of the brain, but also our entire body.
Human mind possesses a sort of momentum and a state of mind tends to linger for a while until it moves onto the next condition. Take, for example, depressed mood, irritability, or anxiety. They do not disappear abruptly, but tend to stay unless any obvious sources of these conditions are suddenly removed. Few exceptional phenomena include wakefulness and panic-like symptoms which occur rather suddenly upon relevant stimulus. Dissociation can be counted as one of these exceptional phenomena. They occur in such an abrupt way that they were often believed to be feigned or intentionally produced by the subjects. Thus hysterical symptoms used to be considered to be “all in one’s head” without any medical or physiological evidence.
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