As a reminder, like all the other Filters discussed (i.e. the instincts, behavioral preferences, default ways of interpreting our environment and the way we interact with it, etc.), the Libido Personality Spectrum Tapestry, is not likely to be accurately understood as a function or trait due solely to the expression of a single gene. Rather, multiple genes, in concert with multiple other filters are likely required in order to completely understand the mechanism of actions and functionalities of the Libido Ensembles. It is the result of an ensemble of components - their presence and their expressions. Including the environment itself.

Specifically, increasing evidence suggests that the various components enabling Libido (e.g. Interest, Desire, Lust, Attraction, Sexual arousal, Pursuit, Conquest, etc.) are genetically heterogeneous. ConserveLiberty suggests that such findings would be expected for the various components of the Libido Tapestry, the Ensembles that make up the Tapestry, and the Filters that make up the Ensembles (all, generally referred to collectively as the Libido Filter.)

And, while Libido would be an advanced (higher complexity) function, something simpler (still advanced) such as Desire is likely a "behavioral" trait that extends through the lineage of life all the way to the very beginning of the phenomenon of "the living". Thus, in the abstract, "fundamental desire, attraction, and pursuit" behaviors would have existed prior to the evolution of Libido. For example, from the very beginning, it would have been absolutely essential that the living process:

• continue to "acquire" nutrients to sustain itself as "alive",
• reproduce, if for no other reason than that all organization, of any sort, has a finite length of time that it Is What It Is until variation of one sort or another renders it "expired",
• maintain whatever processes (in ensemble) that rendered the collection of biochemically "active" material "alive" as effectively and synergistically functional as possible. Long enough to find additional sustenance and to reproduce, and
• Respond appropriately to make sure the above happen.

It is not known what would have driven those earliest of "appropriate responses to relevant detections." Without whatever those drivers were, even as randomly accidental as they may have originally (or not) occurred, then whatever was the "first" arrangement of chemistry that constituted the first example of "alive" (either within the universe or upon the earth) would have eventually expired sometime afterward, and probably sometime 3.5 billion years ago or before. Thus, anything here alive today is in part due to the fundamental attraction and pursuit functions (e.g. filters) that unfolded very early on. Pursuit (execution of a decision (or, detection / response)) to get closer to and integrate with "whatever" was selected by sole virtue of its rendering of a tendency to continue. Anthropomorphically speaking - "driven."

As it is, The Living on this planet, taken all together as one very complex and extended lineage with its start in the very beginning, and extending onward through time and location to the millions of extensions in existence today, has been very resilient through all sorts of environmental changes, ranging from gradual to catastrophic. Quite a bit of extinction has occurred, but the variance with which the Living Lineage is able to generate within itself, and its nearly irresistible fundamental attractions and pragmatic pursuits enabling extended living and repeated reproduction, has resulted in the living lineage continuing on Earth for at least 3.5 billion years.

Eventually, in more complex life forms with a mental decision control architecture, we find Libido.

For many "higher" organisms, (e.g. humankind, others,) the behaviors selected for Libido may or may not actually be selective for survivability at an individual level. While individually helpful, the real advantage is seen when individuals with optimum expressions of Libido Tapestry behaviors are integrated within larger communities that can take advantage of the benefits of the behaviors without everyone having the optimum Libido Tapestries themselves.

Nature has its own way for taking care of "unfortunate mistakes" that can be made. In this case, libidos having deleterious consequences. Nature's solution is "Evolution", and evolution eliminates "unfortunate mistakes" eventually via "death before procreation". While that may not sound like comfortable news for an individual whose priority may be to maintain one's own life for as long as possible, the fact of the matter is that nature's way of culling "deleterious mistakes" has worked out wonderfully for maintaining the current lineage on this planet for 3.5 billion years.

That's quite a success record!

Recurrence risk data are also consistent with monogenic inheritance of libido characteristics in a proportion of people with various identified types of libidos, but with different alleles for different families. Except for a very few gene products, however, it has been difficult to identify very many of the actual players in the "Formation of Libido".

Focusing (for brevity) here just on one of the components enabling Libido - Age Preference - a few identified genetic components impacting Interest, Desire, Lust, Attraction, Sexual arousal, Pursuit, Conquest, etc. have been identified, and thus are candidates as part of the Libido Personality Spectrum Tapestry. Selected links to representative research on these and others will be added in subsequent versions of this chapter.

Important → ConserveLiberty cautions that while some experiments suggest genetic linkages between some genes or gene systems and some paraphilias, other research (with other groups and methods) often fail to confirm these linkages or fail to see any relationships at all. This is typical of research in its early stages when multiple genes are involved in assembling the ensembles expressing traits, and especially so when environment may have a large impact on the phenotype generated. Thus, at this stage, any genetic loci suggested as potential candidates for participation in behavioral influence are simply that - suggestions having likelihood above nominal background significance. ← Important

• PGRN (Progranulin) - Heterosexual Pedophilia in a Frontotemporal Dementia Patient with a Mutation in the Progranulin Gene - The R177H mutation in the Progranulin (PGRN) gene was found related to a patient's late-onset heterosexual pedophilia. The PRGN gene is traditionally expressed in neurons in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum, and has been implicated in several processes including neurodegeneration and neural development.
  
  Previous experimental animal studies (Roles of progranulin in sexual differentiation of the developing brain and adult neurogenesis) have suggested the PGRN gene plays a major role in establishing sexual dimorphic behavior in both developing and adult brains. PGRN was found to be sex steroid-responsible gene that may be involved in masculinization of the perinatal rat brain.
  
  
• Gts genes (Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (TS)) - Role of genetic factors in human sexual behavior based on studies of Tourette syndrome and ADHD probands and their relatives - A significant positive correlation to the presence of Gts genes, in the development of sexual behaviors and expressions, including a highly significant correlation with the presence of pedophilia. Further, 18.5% of pedophilic patients in this study admitted to having another pedophile in the family, compared to 3% of a psychiatric control group.
  
  
• Genes related to the development of Dopamine D1 and D2 receptors and Serotonin 5-HT receptors - The development of TS has been connected to genetic changes in serotonin and dopamine metabolism. Thus, a connection between these gene systems and the expression of normal and abnormal male sexual behavior is inferred although genetic validation has not occurred.
  
  Several studies have also reported at least some successful treatment of the urges or compulsions associated with paraphilias, including pedophilia, with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). SSRI's are known to decrease libido, and thus they would be expected to decrease libido associated with any of the paraphilias.
  
  
• Finally, various hormones are known to have an impact on libido, and thus various of the genes either related to the biological production of these hormones, the receptors for them, or the systems involving their transport, conversion, response, or biodegradation and elimination are also candidates for influence within the Libido Tapestry. Some of these are:
  • Dopamine
  • Phenethylamine
  • Testosterone (directly correlated) - and other androgens
  • Estrogen (directly correlated) - and related female sex hormones
  • Progesterone (inversely correlated)
  • Oxytocin (directly correlated)
  • Serotonin (inversely correlated)
  • Norepinephrine
  • Acetylcholine
  
  In addition, other factors than the above also impact the expression and experience of libido, including:
  • Psychological and social factors
  • Physical factors
  • Various medications and other drugs
  • Age - Males reach the peak of their sex drive in their teens, while females reach it in their thirties.

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Many of the filters and ensembles that we have already discussed, or may discuss in the future, may also interact with and contribute to the Libido Personality Spectrum Tapestry discussed in this chapter. Examples of such filters are:

• The various Cognitive Startup or Reboot Prerequisites - providing the basic cognitive operating system upon which all additional Cognitive Personality Ensembles are built.
• The Attachment Formation Personality Spectrum Ensemble - When it is dialed up sufficiently, our instinct or urge is to "maintain associations", to be "consistent", to minimize unexpected, uncomfortable or disappointing change.
• The Compatibility-Seeking Personality Spectrum Filter - When dialed up sufficiently, our instinct or urge is to "fit in", to be "agreeable", to lessen conflict or discomfort.
• The Habit Formation Filter - enables the perception of whether or not sufficient validation of a representation has occurred such that dialogue in search of the most accurate interpretation of what is being discussed can actually occur.
• Pattern Recognition Personality Filter - actively seeks to recognize patterns and discriminate between appropriate actions or conclusions as a result of habituated, repeated experience.
• The Faith (Requirement to Believe) Personality Filter - strong tendency to believe without additional rational confirmation. Paradigm challenge is not welcome.
• The Imaginative (or Creative) Personality Filter - enables the ability to craft novel explanations or proposals from learned material that is different from the explanations commonly given and accepted.
• Embrace of Indoctrinated Preferences Filter - hardens the embrace of (or commitment to) beliefs to the point that they will NOT be reconsidered when credible information is offered that is in conflict with those beliefs. Alternate views are simply dismissed, ignored. No reconsideration is ever attempted, or even contemplated to be made.
• Analytical Spectrum Personality Filter - actively seeks to break things down and verify what is actually present or meant in order to understand a thing
• The Fact Recognition Personality Filter - enables the ability to recognize actual facts as indeed actual facts, and actual consequences as indeed actual consequences. Some are better (more accurate) at it than others. To be clear, for some, true facts and truthfully rationally explainable consequences are not readily recognized as such by some and others recognize them as such more easily. Complicating matters, often a strong Imaginative Personality Filter, when present, leads to comfort that alternate consequences can unfold from various circumstances (even though, in fact, such consequences have never been seen to unfold from those circumstances.) Again, actual facts are not recognized as actual facts, and actual consequences are not recognized as actual consequences. This filter is different from the Embrace of Indoctrinated Preferences Filter, although the perspective impact can often be the same.
• Others not listed.

→ The Section above was last updated 23 Sep 2017 23:00 PDT ←

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