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Inner Faces Of Multiplicity:
Contemporary Look at a Classic Mystery
by Jacklyn M. Pia
Multiple Personality Disorder, or MPD, is an
extraordinary syndrome in which two or more integrated alter selves co-exist
simultaneously in a single body. It appears to have roots in severe child
abuse, and is puzzling and painful both for the persons who suffer from it -
who are called multiples - and for the therapists who treat it. Yet
researchers and expert observers of the field now say that multiple personality
may be the basis for a new understanding of the nature of the mind and its
elusive relation to body and brain function.
In a multiple, different personalities who sometimes have no awareness of
one another alternately control the physical body. The process by which control
of the body passes from one personality to another is called switching,
and when a multiple's personalities switch so do a variety of other features.
Alter personalities may differ in terms of voice, posture,
physiognomy, handedness and - if preliminary research studies are correct -
numerous physiological features such as brainwave patterns, immune status, and
skin electrical responses. Behavior patterns, reported life history and
(subjectively perceived) sex and age also tend to vary. Different personalities
have often mastered different physical abilities, interpersonal skills, and
intellectual subject areas. Some may even command entirely different languages!
The average number of alter personalities in a multiple is 8 -
13, although super - multiples may have more than 100 alternates.
By studying such changes and the mechanisms responsible for them
scientifically, researchers hope to illuminate a host of key topics in
psychology, psychiatry, and related fields such as psychosomatic medicine and
brain research. Studies of multiple personality are expected to shed new light
on such questions as:
- What are the mechanisms of conscious awareness, and how can multiple
streams of conscious activity occur in the mind at the same time?
- How do processes occurring outside of phenomenal awareness influence
experience or behavior?
- How do mental and emotional factors influence pain perception, immune
function, and other psychosomatic processes?
- What are the mechanisms of volition or "executive control" in
human consciousness? What are the mechanisms of "downward causation"
in patterns of brain activity?
- To what extent are personality traits or abilities such as intelligence,
sensitivity or creativity determined by genetic and environmental influences,
and to what extent are they consciously or unconsciously "chosen"?
Cases of multiple personality have always fascinated lay audiences, from
fictional accounts such as The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
to contemporary true stories such as Sybil or The Minds of Billy
Milligan. They have also intrigues professional observers from the 17th
century to the present. Until recently, however, psychiatrists considered MPD
to be extremely rare, and understood little of its scope or dynamics. Now,
known cases and new knowledge about MPD are growing at a rapid rate.
Based on clinical research encompassing hundreds of multiples, as well as on
preliminary findings from controlled research, a broad picture of multiplicity
is beginning to emerge.
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