Whether through bilateral reverberating excitatory
afterdischarges, as in the prey capture of Clione, or triggering the multi-phasic feeding motor programs of Aplysia, GABAergic signaling can generate prolonged responses to brief stimuli.
Additionally, due to the
afterdischarge effect noted by Mandell, this pattern progressively increases the body's tolerance for higher levels of energy.
Mandell (1980) discusses the physiology of transcendence, suggesting that a variety of altered states, including mystical, ecstatic, and spiritual experiences, may be manifestations of a brain-wave pattern featuring high-voltage, slow-wave hippocampal-septal hypersynchrony (HSHH) that lasts for long periods of
afterdischarge. Winkelman (1986) also verifies that the SSC is a state of parasympathetic dominance featuring the HSHH pattern.
Motor and sensory nerve conduction studies are usually normal, but repetitive
afterdischarges following the compound muscle action potential (M-wave), H-reflex, or F-wave may be observed (3,8,10).