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Facing the experience of pain: A neuropsychological perspective
... The ability to mental traveling in time seems to be underpinned by a variety of neural regions involved in memory (e.g., the hippocampus) and in the aware perception of the self (e.g., mid-line prefrontal and parietal regions, Schacter et al., 2007). The capability to mentally travel in time, an ability linked to the task-unrelated thoughts that characterize mind wandering, probably appeared more than one million years ago in the genus Homo habilis and is possibly at the basis of building lithic tools (Corballis, 2012;Fabbro and Crescentini, 2014). Importantly, the mind may wander not only in time by also in others' mind. ...
... At any rate, the awareness of self in time constitutes the typical existential dimension of life that ultimately allows human beings to become aware that death is unavoidable (Heidegger, 1972;Fabbro and Crescentini, 2014). Although some capacity for episodic, self-referential memories has been demonstrated in other species, such as certain species of birds (Clayton et al., 2003), the mental dimension of mortality, and all that implies, does not seem to be present in any other living species (Suddendorf and Busby, 2003) and it might have been crucial for human cultural evolution (Tulving, 2002b). ...
... Although some capacity for episodic, self-referential memories has been demonstrated in other species, such as certain species of birds (Clayton et al., 2003), the mental dimension of mortality, and all that implies, does not seem to be present in any other living species (Suddendorf and Busby, 2003) and it might have been crucial for human cultural evolution (Tulving, 2002b). The construction and conservation of tools (lithic) may be possible only in the light of their possible future utilization (Fabbro and Tomasino, 2012;Fabbro and Crescentini, 2014). Moreover, verbal structures indicating past and future cannot develop without a subjective awareness of time. ...
Although most aspects of world and self-consciousness are inherently subjective, neuroscience studies in humans and non-human animals provide correlational and causative indices of specific links between brain activity and representation of the self and the world. In this article we review neuroanatomic, neurophysiological and neuropsychological data supporting the hypothesis that different levels of self and world representation in vertebrates rely upon (i) a "basal" subcortical system that includes brainstem, hypothalamus and central thalamic nuclei and that may underpin the primary (or anoetic) consciousness likely present in all vertebrates; and (ii) a forebrain system that include the medial and lateral structures of the cerebral hemispheres and may sustain the most sophisticated forms of consciousness [e.g., noetic (knowledge based) and autonoetic, reflective knowledge]. We posit a mutual, bidirectional functional influence between these two major brain circuits. We conclude that basic aspects of consciousness like primary self and core self (based on anoetic and noetic consciousness) are present in many species of vertebrates and that, even self-consciousness (autonoetic consciousness) does not seem to be a prerogative of humans and of some non-human primates but may, to a certain extent, be present in some other mammals and birds.
... As already mentioned in the present response and in the target article [7], it is known that humans react to the experience of suffering in very different ways. One of the most typical responses, as suggested by Masataka in his commentary [4], consists in the construction of stories; a phenomenon defined by clinical psychology as "rationalization" and considered as one of many defense mechanisms of the personality [23]. ...
... Often, these stories are built in the complete ignorance of the real reasons that lead an individual to feel specific emotions and/or perform certain actions. As shown in our target article [7], mindfulness meditation, and in particular vipassana meditation, trains the individual to face pain with an attitude as much neutral (non-judgmental) as possible and also helps to reduce, or at least observe at the right distance (nonattachment or letting go), the continuous evaluative processes of the mind that seeks verbal explanations and solutions to the experience of pain [10,[26][27][28]. ...
... Thus, increased effort and brain activation are required at the beginning of skill learning relative to what happens at higher levels of proficiency. Overall, recent researches investigating the neurofunctional mechanisms of pain modulation through mindfulness, as summarized by Gard [5], contribute to a point that we raised in our original target review [7], namely that stand mindfully in the face of pain is a difficult task that requires a long and constant meditation practice. However, despite the challenges that this task requires, the studies also suggest that the effort can be fully justified. ...
... For all these reasons, mindfulness meditation has proven effective in the treatment of chronic pain and of some autoimmune diseases, as well as useful as a form of psychological support for cancer patients and in many forms of psychopathology in adulthood and childhood. Furthermore, mindfulness meditation is taught in many Western hospitals to improve the doctor-patient relationship and to promote 155 the humanization of hospitals (Chiesa and Serretti 2009;Fabbro and Muratori 2012;Fabbro and Crescentini, 2013). ...
... background for an authentic study of the self is that of vipassanā, with a particular focus to the awareness of sensations and emotions, while the practice of samatha, which recommends peace, is the most appropriate for the second phase of the work where attention is focused on behavior and development of virtue. (Naranjo 1994, 272) 355 According to many schools of clinical psychology, the main components of personality, which are mainly represented in implicit memory systems, consist of a set of patterns of automatic responses to pain conditions (Horney 1950;Grisby and Hartlaub 1994;Schacter 1996;Feist and Feist 2006;John, Robins, and Pervin 2010;Fabbro and Crescentini 2013). Therefore, any automatic response to a state 360 of danger or pain leads to a strengthening of the ego. ...
This contribution aims to illustrate Claudio Naranjo's approach to meditation from the point of view of modern cognitive neuroscience and psychology. After a short historical introduction on meditation, we briefly describe the main forms of meditation and the psychological and neurobiological effects of mindfulness meditation. The contribution continues with a description of the characteristics of meditation in pairs and with music and with a discussion of the relationship between meditation and personality, within and beyond the psychology of the enneagram. Claudio Naranjo's ideas about the role of meditation in personal growth are also discussed.
... In their review, Fabbro and Crescentini suggest that expectation and extensive training associated with mindfulness meditation may help in dealing with pain [1]. While we recognize that perception of pain and other negative feelings can be reduced through the engagement of various regulatory processes (ranging from behavioral avoidance or escape, to attentional distraction, cognitive reappraisal and attempts to inhibit overt responses) [41,42] and that meditation practice may promote the mindful acceptance of one's own pain and reduce its perception [1,43,44], here we also propose the role of social bonds in pain regulation. ...
... In their review, Fabbro and Crescentini suggest that expectation and extensive training associated with mindfulness meditation may help in dealing with pain [1]. While we recognize that perception of pain and other negative feelings can be reduced through the engagement of various regulatory processes (ranging from behavioral avoidance or escape, to attentional distraction, cognitive reappraisal and attempts to inhibit overt responses) [41,42] and that meditation practice may promote the mindful acceptance of one's own pain and reduce its perception [1,43,44], here we also propose the role of social bonds in pain regulation. We lend further support to our focus on the social dimensions of pain by highlighting one implication of the conspicuous overlaps between physical pain, social pain and empathy: i.e., the latter phenomena can affect the former. ...
... Pain is a phenomenologically complex experience whose sensory and psychological dimensions are deeply intertwined . In their perspective article, Fabbro and Crescentini [1] review the physiological and neural mechanisms underlying nociception and its cognitive modulation within the broader concept of suffering, which includes psychological pain [2] in its culturally mediated and existentially nuanced forms. The tight link between affective and cognitive processes, on the one hand, and pain, on the other, is illustrated by examining in turn the placebo effect, empathy for other people's afflictions, clinical depression, and the role that mindfulness-based practices may play in alleviating suffering. ...
... Another critical feature of PEM is that these predictions include an estimate of how much trust should be placed on the ensuing mismatch with the sensory input, i.e., an expectation of the precision of prediction error: the gain of prediction error units (and thus the weight of prediction error) is modulated accordingly and such precision adjustments are identified with processes of attentional deployment. Fabbro and Crescentini [1] rightly remark on the crucial role played by beliefs and anticipatory processes in psychological suffering, relating it ultimately to our capacity for foreseeing our own death, and more generally to a fear of loss engendered by our realization of the impermanence of things. The importance of expectation, of either suffering or relief, in determining the phenomenology of pain has been shown recently to fit quite well with the PEM scheme for placebo hypoalgesia [13], where the subject's belief about the efficacy of treatment with respect to painful stimulation is cast in terms of a Bayesian prior that is factored in probabilistically with the intensity and expected precision of the stimulation to determine the actual experience. ...
... The reduction of verbal productivity in our sample may reflect a decrease in the participants' need to protect themselves from eventually facing psychologically painful mental thoughts. Such a possibility is in line with the teachings of MM that propose to maintain an accepting and non-reactive attitude towards all present-moment experiences [56]. ...
We propose an innovative approach to study Mind Wandering (MW), and we present an application of this methodology to study the effects of a Mindfulness-Oriented Meditation (MOM) training. We assessed individuals’ MW through a free association task and an attentional task with thought-probes combined with a questionnaire for the phenomenological characteristic of each MW episode. We used the Temperament and Character Inventory to assess participants’ personality traits and their associations with measures of MW. Our study was limited by the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and only nine healthy young individuals completed the testing sessions, which were carried out before and after the MOM training. After MOM, participants showed fewer repetitive and self-relevant thoughts and indices of better performance in the attentional task; the linguistic analysis of participants’ free associations showed lower verbal productivity and a decrease in utterances that expressed anxiety/stress. Overall, we foresee that future studies could replicate our preliminary findings with larger samples and in a period without a global health emergency. This multilevel approach to the study of MW may allow researchers to gain a broader view of the phenomenon, considering its occurrence, qualitative characteristics, impact on cognitive tasks, malleability via mindfulness or other psychological interventions, and relations with personality traits.
... In fact, the term "pain matrix" was coined to describe different brain areas involved in pain processing connecting the major three systems, which are usually affected by pain signals: the lateral and the medial system as the two main afferent pain pathways, and the descending system involved in pain modulation. Cortices mainly involved in pain processing are represented by PFC, amygdala and medial insula as concerned the cognitive and emotional appraisal of pain, and by the sensory cortex S2 and lateral insula concerning the discriminatory sensory component of pain (Henry et al. 2011;Fabbro and Crescentini 2014). It was shown that greater functional connections between the dorsal medial PFC-amygdala-accumbens circuit contribute to risk of chronic pain in subacute back pain patients (Vachon-Presseau et al. 2016). ...
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been used to reduce pain in range of chronic pain states. The aim of this review is to evaluate the effectiveness of tDCS on pain reduction and related disability in patients with non-specific chronic low back pain (CLBP). A computer-based systematic literature search was performed in five databases according to PRISMA guidelines. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that assessed the effects of tDCS on pain and related disability in patients with non-specific CLBP were included. Modified Jadad scale and Cochrane's risk of bias assessment were used to determine the studies’ quality and risk of bias. Meta-analyses were performed by calculating the standardized mean difference (SMD) at 95% confidence interval (CI). Nine RCTs (411 participants) were included in the systematic review according to inclusion criteria, while only five studies could be included in the meta-analysis. The primary motor cortex (M1) was the main stimulated target. The meta-analysis showed non-significant effect of multiple sessions of tDCS over M1 on pain reduction and disability post-treatment respectively, (SMD = 0.378; 95% CI = − 0.264–1.020; P = 0.249), (SMD = 0.143; 95% CI = − 0.214–0.499; P = 0.434). No significant adverse events were reported. The current results do not support the clinical use of tDCS for the reduction of pain and related disability in non-specific CLBP. However, the limited number of available evidence limits our conclusions on the effectiveness of these approaches.
... The nociceptive signal from the peripheral nociceptive fibers is directed toward a second order neuron into the spinal cord, and then the electrical signal is conducted to the brain cortex mainly through the antero-lateral pathway tract where the signal is interpreted as a painful sensation (Snider and McMahon, 1998;Steeds, 2009;Fabbro and Crescentini, 2014). In fact, several sensorial components such as stimuli identification, location, and emotional components are codified in the cortex (Albe-Fessard et al., 1985). ...
Background: Marijuana extracts (cannabinoids) have been used for several millennia for pain treatment. Regarding the site of action, cannabinoids are highly promiscuous molecules, but only two cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) have been deeply studied and classified. Thus, therapeutic actions, side effects and pharmacological targets for cannabinoids have been explained based on the pharmacology of cannabinoid CB1/CB2 receptors. However, the accumulation of confusing and sometimes contradictory results suggests the existence of other cannabinoid receptors. Different orphan proteins (e.g., GPR18, GPR55, GPR119, etc.) have been proposed as putative cannabinoid receptors. According to their expression, GPR18 and GPR55 could be involved in sensory transmission and pain integration.
Methods: This article reviews select relevant information about the potential role of GPR18 and GPR55 in the pathophysiology of pain.
Results: This work summarized novel data supporting that, besides cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptors, GPR18 and GPR55 may be useful for pain treatment.
Conclusion: There is evidence to support an antinociceptive role for GPR18 and GPR55.
... Chronic pain is associated with diverse symptoms and severity, and both functional and structural changes in the central nervous system (CNS) as observed in recent neuroimaging studies (see Figure 1). Pain signals are processed in different brain regions and affect various brain networks, and the term "pain matrix" has been established to describe three major systems commonly affected by pain signals: the lateral and the medial system as the two main afferent pain pathways, and the descending system involved in pain perception [6,7]. Due to the vast efferent and afferent connections of thalamic nuclei it was assumed that chronic back pain patients may show alterations in these subcortical areas. ...
The genesis of chronic pain is explained by a biopsychosocial model. It hypothesizes an interdependency between environmental and genetic factors provoking aberrant long-term changes in biological and psychological regulatory systems. Physiological effects of psychological and physical stressors may play a crucial role in these maladaptive processes. Specifically, long-term demands on the stress response system may moderate central pain processing and influence descending serotonergic and noradrenergic signals from the brainstem, regulating nociceptive processing at the spinal level. However, the underlying mechanisms of this pathophysiological interplay still remain unclear. This paper aims to shed light on possible pathways between physical (exercise) and psychological stress and the potential neurobiological consequences in the genesis and treatment of chronic pain, highlighting evolving concepts and promising research directions in the treatment of chronic pain. Two treatment forms (exercise and mindfulness-based stress reduction as exemplary therapies), their interaction, and the dose-response will be discussed in more detail, which might pave the way to a better understanding of alterations in the pain matrix and help to develop future prevention and therapeutic concepts.
... Mindfulness is also aimed to achieve "de-automatization"; improving awareness and attention towards things that occur in the present, it brings people to behave in a more controlled and conscious manner. Finally, another important dimension of mindfulness concerns the experience of pain; the attitude of meditation suggests to simply stand in front of suffering, observing what is happening in our mind, being aware of all the sensations of pain, without reacting or running away [21]. At this point, it becomes possible to see and accept the present moment for what it is. ...
The aim of the present review is to investigate previous studies concerning the effects of meditation and dispositional mindfulness on conscious and implicit or non-conscious attitudes. First we present a brief perspective on conscious and non-conscious states of mind. Then we introduce the fundamental bases of mindfulness meditation. Third we review studies on dispositional mindfulness and meditation that employed either direct or indirect measures to assess explicit and implicit attitudes. Finally, we briefly present how meditation has been associated with the psychotherapeutic practice of psychoanalysis and, hence, as a therapeutic technique to access the unconscious. Until now, few studies have investigated the impact of meditation on non-conscious states of mind and personality; nevertheless, both scientific studies involving implicit measures and reflections from psychotherapy have underlined the importance of meditation in promoting psychological well-being, leading to de-automatization of automatic patterns of responding and to higher levels of self-awareness.
... Inoltre, anche gli effetti della meditazione in ambito psicologico e clinico hanno richiamato l'interesse sul ruolo che la spiritualità potrebbe avere nei processi di guarigione. In generale è stato osservato che la pratica continuativa della meditazione mindfulness anche solo per un periodo di 2 mesi può portare ad aumenti percepiti di spiritualità e ad un aumento delle esperienze spirituali quotidiane Crescentini et al., 2014b;Greeson et al., 2011;Geary e Rosenthal, 2011;Wachholtz e Pargament, 2008). Ancora di maggior rilevanza, alcuni studi recenti dimostrano anche che la spiritualità è un meccanismo fondamentale attraverso il quale la meditazione mindfulness porta a miglioramenti nei sintomi medici e psicologici Greeson et al., 2011). ...
La presente rassegna mette in luce le evidenze finora ottenute relativamente ai correlati neurali della meditazione e spiritualità umana. In particolare vengono passati in rassegna studi di neuroscienze cognitive relativi a popolazioni eterogenee: dagli esperti in pratiche spirituali e meditative, ai non esperti valutati mediante test di spiritualità autoriferita o spiritualità implicita, fino a pazienti con patologie neurologiche acquisite. Il costrutto della spiritualità, basilare nell'esperienza umana, risulta caratterizzato da peculiari pattern di attivazione cerebrale e da importanti risvolti concernenti la salute individuale. Ulteriori studi in questo ambito potranno così avere implicazioni utili non solo a livello teorico, ma anche clinico e terapeutico.
... The thalamus is a key structure for the generation of perceptual aspects of pain (for reviews see REFS [51,52], for involvement of the insular cortex and somatosensory cortices in the processing of pain see, e.g., REFS [53,54,245 55]). For example, microstimulation of the posterior part of the ventromedial nucleus of the thalamus (VMpo) in awake humans elicits discrete pain sensations (microstimulation of this area can also elicit thermal and visceral sensations) [56,57,58,51]. ...
... In their thought provoking perspective article, Fabbro and Crescentini [1] review the neuropsychological mechanisms of pain, encompassing physical and psychological pain. An underlying assumption of the article is that experiences, ranging from physical pain to the feelings that accompany thoughts of one's own death, can all be subsumed under the banner of pain. ...
... A core of neurobiological mechanisms is implicated in different forms of pain. Fabbro and Crescentini (2014) show that this fact is significant both on the scientific level and on the philosophical level. Their main philosophical claim is that the existence of a neural circuit devoted to the experience of time suggests that time might not be real. ...
The paper is a commentary on a study by Fabbro and Crescentini concerning the experience of pain, the effects of meditation on pain, the neurological underpinning of those phenomena and the clinical deployment of meditation techniques. The paper discusses the importance that conception of reality hold by subjects might have on their conceptualization of pain, and the epistemological consequences thereof.
... It first emerged in ancient India and since then has been practiced up to the present, possibly as one of the most prevalent methods. There is a general consensus that the practice of such meditation can lead to a reduction of perceived pain most effectively, as argued by Fabbro and Crescentini [1]. As a first step of the attempt to practice such meditation, one is required not to defend oneself when faced with a painful experience, or to avoid or withdraw from the experience. ...
The chapter begins with a brief description of the evolution of the nervous system in vertebrates, spanning from the least complex life forms to Homo sapiens. In humans the development of the neocortex is driven by the need to live in increasingly complex social groups. The chapter introduces a description of the distinctive features of Homo sapiens: bipedal gait, construction of tools, the ability to travel mentally through time, the theory of mind, self-regulation, verbal language and the capacity for symbolisation. Some of these characteristics (as well as the invention of weapons such as bows and poisoned arrows) probably contributed to the extinction of large animals and other hominid species, several tens of thousands of years ago. The chapter then focuses more specifically on the invention and the origin of languages by discussing how they contributed to the “cognitive revolution” and subsequent expansion of Homo sapiens in all continents. Languages foster human cultures and facilitate relationships among the members of a group. However, linguistic and cultural differences also contribute to separate a community from other communities leading to increasing violence and human aggression. The invention of agriculture, which led to the transition from hunter-gatherer societies to larger, sedentary and hierarchically organised human groups also contributed to a surge in human violence. The authors discuss the current tendency towards globalisation and emphasise some risks connected with it, such as the progressive decline of linguistic diversity, the rising of inequality and the effects on social and psychological distress, including loneliness. The authors conclude by suggesting educational and social interventions aimed at finding the right balance between identity and universalistic tendencies. Furthermore, the authors discuss the possibility to promote educational schemes allowing young children to learn and practise different languages and religions. Finally, the emphasis is put on the importance of self-growth as a means to apprehend and cope with suffering and violence, inherent aspects of the human condition.
The present work introduces the neuropsychological paradigm as a new approach to studying ancient literature. In the first part of the article, an epistemological framework for the proper use of neuropsychology in relation to ancient literature is presented. The article then discusses neuropsychological methods of studying different human experiences and dimensions already addressed by ancient literatures. The experiences of human encounters with gods among ancient cultures are first considered, through the contributions of Julian Jaynes and Eric R. Dodds. The concepts of right and left in the Bible, and that of soul are then discussed. Ecstatic experience in Paul of Tarsus is also presented, with a particular focus on glossolalia. Neuroscientific differences between mindful and unitive meditative practices are then described referring to ancient Buddhist literature, and finally a brief description of dreams in ancient Greek literature is proposed. Neuropsychology variously enables a more profound understanding of themes characterizing human experiences that ancient literature has already explored; these investigations prove that the collaboration of neuroscience and humanistic studies can return fruitful and interesting results.
La meditazione mindfulness costituisce il settimo passo dell’ottuplice sentiero, un programma psicopedagogico per liberare dal dolore fisico e psichico messo a punto piu di 2500 anni fa da Siddharta Gautama, un principe indiano conosciuto come il Buddha. La mindfulness e stata descritta nel ‘Grande discorso sui fondamenti della presenza mentale’ di Gautama. Questa forma di meditazione consiste nell’imparare a diventare consapevoli del respiro, del corpo e nella capacita di osservare i contenuti della mente. Il metodo di meditazione orientata alla mindfulness (MOM), sviluppato dagli autori, consiste in otto incontri settimanali, composti ciascuno da tre momenti: i primi 30 minuti vengono dedicati alla presentazione di un tema rilevante per la mindfulness; a cui seguono 30 minuti di pratica della mindfulness (10 minuti di attenzione al respiro, 10 minuti di contemplazione del corpo, 10 minuti di osservazione della mente); alla fine della meditazione vengono dedicati circa 60 minuti alla discussione delle eventuali difficolta e dei risultati raggiunti. Il training di meditazione MOM e stato utilizzato dagli autori in 7 ricerche sperimentali pubblicate e in altre 5 ricerche in preparazione o in via di pubblicazione. Dopo una parte introduttiva sulla meditazione mindfulness e sul metodo MOM, nella seconda parte dell’articolo vengono discussi i principali risultati ottenuti dagli studi neuropsicologici e clinici sugli effetti della meditazione orientata alla mindfulness.
Streszczenie
Students’ individual characteristics, beliefs about language learning among them, are nowadays perceived as important factors influencing both the increase of knowledge and student’s personal engagement in the learning process. This is especially important when we consider teaching students with special educational needs, deaf and hard of hearing students (D/HH) among them. The better foreign language teachers know their students, the more effective the process of learning is. The aim of this paper is to provide empirical data on D/HH secondary school (liceum) students’ beliefs on foreign language learning. The empirical study was conducted among 90 D/HH students of several Polish special secondary schools. The data was collected using the “Beliefs About Language Inventory” (Horwitz 1999). The results show both the potential of the students and areas for teachers’ intervention, thus providing important input for surdo-glottodidactics.
Objectives To evaluate pain and other early adverse events associated with different regimens of medical abortion up to nine weeks of amenorrhoea. Methods The literature was searched for comparative studies of medical abortion using mifepristone followed by the prostaglandin analogue misoprostol. Publications, which included pain assessment were further analysed. Results Of the 1459 publications on medical abortion identified, only 23 comparative, prospective trials corresponded to the inclusion criteria. Patients in these studies received different dosages of mifepristone in combination with different dosages of misoprostol administered via diverse routes or at various intervals. Information on pain level was reported in 12/23 papers (52%), information regarding systematic administration of analgesics in 12/23 articles (52%) and information concerning analgesia used was available for only 10/23 studies (43%). Conclusions Neither pain nor its treatment are systematically reported in clinical trials of medical abortion; this shortcoming reflects a neglect of the individual pain perception. When data are mentioned, they are too inconsistent to allow for any comparison between different treatment protocols. Standardised evaluation of pain is needed and the correlation between the dosage of misoprostol and the intensity of pain must be assessed in future studies.
Pain is a fascinating yet frightening subject, from wherever and however it is viewed. It has emotional features and medical features. Pain in itself is not life threatening, but it decreases the quality of life. Understanding pain and its causes is both interesting and challenging. These important aspects of pain are discussed in this book, which is now in its second revised edition. The book discusses many aspects of pain such as how pain can affect people. The book explains how many types of treatment of pain works; it discusses the efficacy and side effects of surgical treatments as well as that of treatment with medications including some new little known treatments. Pain relief from administration of non-pharmacological substances such as Omega 3 and the active substances in cannabis are discussed. The role of inflammatory processes in many forms of pain including low back pain is discussed. Chronic neuropathic pain is discussed in detail including the role of neuroplasticity in causing the symptoms and the suffering. The role of the immune system in many forms of pain is discussed. Although the book is written for neuroscience students, medical students and professionals in pain management, the informed patient may find that this book provides valuable information about many forms of pain. The book is based on many years of teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses on the " Biology of Pain " in the Neuroscience Program of the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences The University of Texas at Dallas.
The evolutionary story can be read as indicating that a version of Brown’s (2000a) musilanguage
may have emerged with H. ergaster, perhaps restricted to the exchange of social information, with
a further development of a capacity for more general reference with H. heidelbergensis. It seems
likely that the divergence between music and language arose first in modern humans, with
language emerging to fulfil communicative, ostensive and propositional functions with immediate
efficacy.Music, operating over longer timescales, emerged to sustain (and perhaps also to foster)
the capacity to manage social interactions, while providing a matrix for the integration of information
across domains of human experience.We propose that music and language enabled the
emergence of modern human social and individual cognitive flexibility (Cross 1999).We regard
both music and language as subcomponents of the human communicative toolkit—as two
complementary mechanisms for the achievement of productivity in human interaction though
working over different timescales and in different ways.
The subjective experience of one's environment is constructed by interactions among sensory, cognitive, and affective processes. For centuries, meditation has been thought to influence such processes by enabling a nonevaluative representation of sensory events. To better understand how meditation influences the sensory experience, we used arterial spin labeling functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess the neural mechanisms by which mindfulness meditation influences pain in healthy human participants. After 4 d of mindfulness meditation training, meditating in the presence of noxious stimulation significantly reduced pain unpleasantness by 57% and pain intensity ratings by 40% when compared to rest. A two-factor repeated-measures ANOVA was used to identify interactions between meditation and pain-related brain activation. Meditation reduced pain-related activation of the contralateral primary somato-sensory cortex. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify brain regions associated with individual differences in the magnitude of meditation-related pain reductions. Meditation-induced reductions in pain intensity ratings were associated with increased activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula, areas involved in the cognitive regulation of nociceptive processing. Reductions in pain unpleasantness ratings were associated with orbitofrontal cortex activation, an area implicated in reframing the contextual evaluation of sensory events. Moreover, reductions in pain unpleasantness also were associated with thalamic deactivation, which may reflect a limbic gating mechanism involved in modifying interactions between afferent input and executive-order brain areas. Together, these data indicate that meditation engages multiple brain mechanisms that alter the construction of the subjectively available pain experience from afferent information.
It has now become widely accepted that economic decisions are influenced by cognitive and emotional processes. In the present study, we aimed at disentangling the neural mechanisms associated with the way in which the information is formulated, i.e., framing effect, in terms of gain or loss, which influences people's decisions. Participants played a fMRI version of the Ultimatum Game (UG) where we manipulated bids through two different frames: the expression "I give you" (gain) focusing on money the respondent would receive if she/he agreed with the proponent, and the expression "I take" (loss) focusing on the money that would be removed from the respondent in the event that she/he accepted the offer. Neuroimaging data revealed a frame by response interaction, showing an increase of neural activity in the right rolandic operculum/insular cortex, the anterior cingulate, among other regions, for accepting the frame "I take" vs. rejecting, as compared to accepting the frame "I give you" vs. rejecting. In addition, the left occipito-temporal junction was activated for "I take" vs. "I give you" for offer 5, corresponding to the equal offer made unpleasant by the presence of the frame "I take," where is the proposer that takes the money. Our data extend the current understanding of the neural substrates of social decision making, by disentangling the structures sensitive to the way in which the information is formulated (i.e., framing effect), in terms of gain or loss.
Chronic pain is one of the most prevalent health problems in our modern world, with millions of people debilitated by conditions such as back pain, headache and arthritis. To address this growing problem, many people are turning to mind-body therapies, including meditation, yoga and cognitive behavioural therapy. This article will review the neural mechanisms underlying the modulation of pain by cognitive and emotional states - important components of mind-body therapies. It will also examine the accumulating evidence that chronic pain itself alters brain circuitry, including that involved in endogenous pain control, suggesting that controlling pain becomes increasingly difficult as pain becomes chronic.
Placebos and placebo effects have held an ambivalent place in health care for at least two centuries. On the one hand, placebos are traditionally used as controls in clinical trials to correct for biases. Among other factors, these include regression to the mean, the natural course of the disorder, and effective co-interventions. In this context, the placebo effect is viewed as an effect to be factored out in order to isolate and accurately measure the specific effects of the treatment. On the other hand, there is mounting scientific evidence that placebo responses represent complex psychoneurobiological events involving the contribution of distinct central nervous system as well as peripheral physiological mechanisms that influence pain perception, clinical symptoms, and substantially modulate the response to active analgesics.
In this review, we bring together three perspectives of placebo research including psychological mechanisms, neurobiological pathways and molecular substrates of placebo analgesia and their contribution to active pain medications. The emphasis is particularly on recent studies illuminating mechanisms underlying individual differences in placebo responsiveness.
Today, quantum field theory (QFT)–the mathematical and conceptual framework for contemporary elementary particle physics–is the best starting point for analysing the fundamental building blocks of the material world. QFT if taken seriously in its metaphysical implications yields a picture of the world that is at variance with central classical conceptions. The core of Kuhlmann's investigation consists in the analysis of various ontological interpretations of QFT, e.g. substance ontologies as well as a process-ontological approach. Eventually, Kuhlmann proposes a dispositional trope ontology, according to which particularized properties and not things are the most basic entities, in terms of which all other entities are to be analysed, e.g as bundles of properties. This book was chosen for the 2009 ontos-Award for research on analytical ontology and metaphysics by the German Society for Analytical Philosophy.
What is morality? Where does it come from? And why do most of us heed its call most of the time? In Braintrust, neurophilosophy pioneer Patricia Churchland argues that morality originates in the biology of the brain. She describes the "neurobiological platform of bonding" that, modified by evolutionary pressures and cultural values, has led to human styles of moral behavior. The result is a provocative genealogy of morals that asks us to reevaluate the priority given to religion, absolute rules, and pure reason in accounting for the basis of morality. Moral values, Churchland argues, are rooted in a behavior common to all mammals--the caring for offspring. The evolved structure, processes, and chemistry of the brain incline humans to strive not only for self-preservation but for the well-being of allied selves--first offspring, then mates, kin, and so on, in wider and wider "caring" circles. Separation and exclusion cause pain, and the company of loved ones causes pleasure; responding to feelings of social pain and pleasure, brains adjust their circuitry to local customs. In this way, caring is apportioned, conscience molded, and moral intuitions instilled. A key part of the story is oxytocin, an ancient body-and-brain molecule that, by decreasing the stress response, allows humans to develop the trust in one another necessary for the development of close-knit ties, social institutions, and morality. A major new account of what really makes us moral, Braintrust challenges us to reconsider the origins of some of our most cherished values.
Having identified early material that goes back to the Buddha himself, the author argues that the two teachers of the Buddha were historical figures. Based on the early Brahminic literature, namely the early Upanishads and Moksadharma, the author asserts the origin of the method of meditation learned by the Buddha from these teachers, and attempts to use them to identify some authentic teachings of the Buddha on meditation. Stimulating debate within the field of Buddhist Studies, the following claims are put forward: • the Buddha was taught by Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta, as stated in the literature of numerous early Buddhist sects, is historically authentic • Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta taught a form of early Brahminic meditation • the Buddha must consequently have been trained in a meditative school whose ideology was provided by the philosophical portions of early Upanishads Shedding new light on a fascinating aspect of the origins of Buddhism, this book will be of interest to academics in the field of Buddhist studies, Asian religion and South Asian studies.
This book proposes a novel view to explain how we as humans-contrary to current robots-can have the impression of consciously feeling things: for example the red of a sunset, the smell of a rose, the sound of a symphony, or a pain. The book starts off by looking at visual perception. Our ability to see turns out to be much more mysterious than one might think. The eye contains many defects which should seriously interfere with vision. Yet we have the impression of seeing the world in glorious panavision and technicolor. Explaining how this can be the case leads to a new idea about what seeing really is. Seeing is not passively receiving information in the brain, but rather a way of interacting with the world. The role of the brain is not to create visual sensation, but to enable the necessary interactions with the world. This new approach to seeing is extended in the second part of the book to encompass the other senses: hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Taking sensory experiences to be modes of interacting with the world explains why these experiences are different in the way they are. It also explains why thoughts or automatic functions in the body, and indeed the vast majority brain functions, are not accompanied by any real feeling. The "sensorimotor" approach is not simply a philosophical argument: It leads to scientifically verifiable predictions and new research directions. Among these are the phenomena of change blindness, sensory substitution, "looked but failed to see", as well as results on color naming and color perception and the localization of touch on the body.
Editor's Note: There is probably no modern scientist as famous as Albert Einstein. Born in Germany in 1879 and educated in physics and mathematics at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich, he was at first unable to find a teaching post, working instead as a technical assistant in the Swiss Patent Office from 1901 until 1908.
Early in 1905, Einstein published “A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions,” a paper that earned him a Ph.D. from the University of Zurich. More papers followed, and Einstein returned to teaching, in Zurich, in Prague, and eventually in Berlin, where an appointment in 1914 to the Prussian Academy of Sciences allowed him to concentrate on research.
In November of 1919, the Royal Society of London announced that a scientific expedition had photographed a solar eclipse and completed calculations that verified the predictions that Einstein had made in a paper published three years before on the general theory of relativity. Virtually overnight, Einstein was hailed as the world's greatest genius, instantly recognizable, thanks to “his great mane of crispy, frizzled and very black hair, sprinkled with gray and rising high from a lofty brow” (as Romain Rolland described in his diary).
In the essay excerpted here, and first published in 1936, Einstein demonstrates his substantial interest in philosophy as well as science. He is pragmatic, in insisting that the only test of concepts is their usefulness in describing the physical world, yet also idealistic, in aiming for the minimum number of concepts to achieve that description.
In 1933, Einstein renounced his German citizenship and moved to the United States, where he lived until his death in 1955. A recipient of the Nobel Prize in physics in 1921, he was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 1924.
The most diffuse forms of meditation derive from Hinduism and Buddhism spiritual traditions. Different cognitive processes are set in place to reach these meditation states. According to an historical-philological hypothesis (Wynne, 2009) the two forms of meditation could be disentangled. While mindfulness is the focus of Buddhist meditation reached by focusing sustained attention on the body, on breathing and on the content of the thoughts, reaching an ineffable state of nothigness accompanied by a loss of sense of self and duality (Samadhi) is the main focus of Hinduism-inspired meditation. It is possible that these different practices activate separate brain networks. We tested this hypothesis by conducting an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. The network related to Buddhism-inspired meditation (16 experiments, 263 subjects, and 96 activation foci) included activations in some frontal lobe structures associated with executive attention, possibly confirming the fundamental role of mindfulness shared by many Buddhist meditations. By contrast, the network related to Hinduism-inspired meditation (8 experiments, 54 activation foci and 66 subjects) triggered a left lateralized network of areas including the postcentral gyrus, the superior parietal lobe, the hippocampus and the right middle cingulate cortex. The dissociation between anterior and posterior networks support the notion that different meditation styles and traditions are characterized by different patterns of neural activation.
Approaching intelligence as a biological phenomenon, the author has developed some unique and perhaps controversial, theories about the nature of intelligence, based on the evolution of the 400 million year record of the brain cavities of vertebrate fossils. The book presents the full scope of the organic evolution of the vertebrate brain, beginning with the earliest endocasts from late Silurian and early Devonian times, up to the evolution of the hominids and, most recently, modern man about 250,000 yr ago. The author examines such things as the trend towards an increase in relative brain size and its relevancy to intelligence as an evolving behavioral capacity; the evolution of cognitive capacities for representing reality, which is treated as a necessary consequence of neural organization; and the selection pressures associated with the major evolutionary transitions (from water to land, to the air, to nocturnal and fossorial niches, and finally to the elaborate social worlds,) delineating their significance to the brain's development.
The emotional power of music may have strong linkages to the evolution of basic motor and emotional systems of the brain. Most movements have distinct rhythms and basic emotions are characterised by distinct affective sounds in all mammalian species, and these sounds may have been critically important pre-adaptations for the emergence of the melodic stream of music in humans. If so, the social emotions (playful joy, sadness, maternal care, sexual lust, and territorial/dominance imperatives) surely had more influence than the non-social, self-preservative emotions such as anger and fear, providing a substrate for harmony and discord. For instance, our capacity for separation-distress (substrate for primary-process sadness) may prepare the brain for chill-thrill reaction to aesthetic renditions of grief, providing one robust link to social-biologic foundations of music. Emotion mediating subcortical regions are robustly aroused in humans listening to especially moving musical selections such as those that provoke chills. Indeed, it is possible that the communicative intent integral to social emotional vocalizations, and gradual utilization and musical reutilization of such communications in group-activities, prepared the way for the emergence of linguistic competence within largely general-purpose association cortex. From this perspective, there may be no “music instinct” nor “language instinct” evolutionarily programmed into the higher reaches of the neocortex — our preeminent organ of cognitive intelligence — that is developmentally independent of our emotional urges. The evolutionary infrastructure for music may be largely subcortical, and the emergence of emotional proto-musical communications in our species (e.g., motherese) may have set the stage not only for the eventual discovery of music but also for the emergence of propositional language.
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a neurosurgical intervention whose efficacy, safety, and utility have been shown in the treatment of movement disorders. For the treatment of chronic pain refractory to medical therapies, many prospective case series have been reported, but few have published findings from patients treated during the past decade using current standards of neuroimaging and stimulator technology. We summarize the history, science, selection, assessment, surgery, and personal clinical experience of DBS of the ventral posterior thalamus, periventricular/periaqueductal gray matter, and, latterly, the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (Cg24) in 100 patients treated now at two centers (John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK, and Hospital de São João, Porto, Portugal) over 12 years. Several experienced centers continue DBS for chronic pain with success in selected patients, in particular those with pain after amputation, brachial plexus injury, stroke, and cephalalgias including anesthesia dolorosa. Other successes include pain after multiple sclerosis and spine injury. Somatotopic coverage during awake surgery is important in our technique, with cingulate DBS considered for whole-body pain or after unsuccessful DBS of other targets. Findings discussed from neuroimaging modalities, invasive neurophysiological insights from local field potential recording, and autonomic assessments may translate into improved patient selection and enhanced efficacy, encouraging larger clinical trials.
Physicists speak of the world as being made of particles and force fields, but it is not at all clear what particles and force fields actually are in the quantum realm. The world may instead consist of bundles of properties, such as color and shape
Modern medicine has progressed in parallel with the advancement of biochemistry, anatomy, and physiology. By using the tools of modern medicine, the physician today can treat and prevent a number of diseases through pharmacology, genetics, and physical interventions. Besides this materia medica, the patient's mind, cognitions, and emotions play a central part as well in any therapeutic outcome, as investigated by disciplines such as psychoneuroendocrinoimmunology. This review describes recent findings that give scientific evidence to the old tenet that patients must be both cured and cared for. In fact, we are today in a good position to investigate complex psychological factors, like placebo effects and the doctor-patient relationship, by using a physiological and neuroscientific approach. These intricate psychological factors can be approached through biochemistry, anatomy, and physiology, thus eliminating the old dichotomy between biology and psychology. This is both a biomedical and a philosophical enterprise that is changing the way we approach and interpret medicine and human biology. In the first case, curing the disease only is not sufficient, and care of the patient is of tantamount importance. In the second case, the philosophical debate about the mind-body interaction can find some important answers in the study of placebo effects. Therefore, maybe paradoxically, the placebo effect and the doctor-patient relationship can be approached by using the same biochemical, cellular and physiological tools of the materia medica, which represents an epochal transition from general concepts such as suggestibility and power of mind to a true physiology of the doctor-patient interaction.
Objective
Mindfulness meditations (MM) are an important group of meditative practices which have received growing attention. The aim of the present paper is to systematically review current evidence on the neurobiological changes and on the clinical benefits related to MM practice in psychiatric disorders, physical illnesses and in healthy subjects.
Methods
A literature search was undertaken using MEDLINE, ISI web of knowledge, the Cochrane collaboration database and references of retrieved articles. Controlled and cross-sectional studies with controls published in English up to November 2008 were included.
Results
Electroencephalographic studies found a significant increase in alpha and theta activity during meditation. Neuro-imaging studies showed that MM practice activates the prefrontal cortex, the anterior cingulate cortex and that long term meditation practice is associated to an enhancement of cerebral areas related to attention. From a clinical point of view, Mindfulness based Stress Reduction showed efficacy for many psychiatric and physical conditions as well as for healthy subjects, Mindfulness based Cognitive Therapy was mainly efficacious in reducing relapses of depression in patients with 3 or more episodes, Zen meditation significantly reduced blood pressure and Vipassana meditation showed efficacy in reducing alcohol and substance abuse in prisoners. However, given the low quality designs of current studies it is difficult to establish whether clinical outcomes are due to specific or non specific effects of MM.
Conclusion
Despite encouraging findings, several limitations including small sample size, absence of randomization and inappropriate control groups affect the significance of current evidence and further better designed studies are required.
Oxytocin (OXT), a nonapeptide hormone of posterior pituitary, reaches the central nervous system from systemic blood circulation with a difficulty because of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The interest has been expressed in the use of the nasal route for delivery of OXT to the brain directly, exploiting the olfactory pathway. Our previous study has demonstrated that OXT in the central nervous system rather than the blood circulation plays an important role in rat pain modulation. The communication tried to investigate the interaction between the OXT and pain modulation in Chinese patients with headache to understand the OXT effect on human pain modulation. The results showed that (1) intranasal OXT could relieve the human headache in a dose-dependent manner; (2) OXT concentration in both plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) increased significantly in headache patients in relation with the pain level; and (3) there was a positive relationship between plasma and CSF OXT concentration in headache patients. The data suggested that intranasal OXT, which was delivered to the central nervous system through olfactory region, could treat human headache and OXT might be a potential drug of headache relief by intranasal administration.
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) emphasizing a nonjudgmental attitude toward present moment experience are widely used for chronic pain patients. Although changing or controlling pain is not an explicit aim of MBIs, recent experimental studies suggest that mindfulness practice may lead to changes in pain tolerance and pain intensity ratings.
The objective of this review is to investigate the specific effect of MBIs on pain intensity.
A literature search was conducted using the databases PUBMED and PsycINFO for relevant articles published from 1960 to December 2010. We additionally conducted a manual search of references from the retrieved articles. Only studies providing detailed results on change in pain intensity ratings were included.
Sixteen studies were included in this review (eight uncontrolled and eight controlled trials). In most studies (10 of 16), there was significantly decreased pain intensity in the MBI group. Findings were more consistently positive for samples limited to clinical pain (9 of 11). In addition, most controlled trials (6 of 8) reveal higher reductions in pain intensity for MBIs compared with control groups. Results from follow-up assessments reveal that reductions in pain intensity were generally well maintained.
Findings suggest that MBIs decrease the intensity of pain for chronic pain patients. We discuss implications for understanding mechanisms of change in MBIs.
This section surveys the structure and function of the central nervous system in the various groups of vertebrates. Since it would be impossible to review all the available data on every species examined, we had to be selective. Our choices were based on the following considerations, (a) The species to be dealt with should represent all major groups, (b) Preference should be given to species in which the CNS has been extensively studied, both morphologically and physiologically, (c) The book should be useful as an introductory guide to experimental studies; thus, easily obtainable species should be selected whenever possible.
Contemporary philosophical and scienti .c discussions of mind developed from a 'proto-concept of mind ',a mythical,tradition- alistic,animistic and quasi-sensory theory about what it means to have a mind. It can be found in many di .erent cultures and has a semantic core corresponding to the folk-phenomenological notion of a 'soul '.It will be argued that this notion originates in accurate and truthful .rst-person reports about the experiential content of a special neurophenomenological state-class called 'out-of-body experiences '.They can be undergone by every human being and seem to possess a culturally invariant cluster of functional and phenomenal core properties similar to the proto-concept of mind. The common causal factor in the emergence and development of the notion of the soul and the proto-concept of mind may consist in a yet to be determined set of properties realized by the human brain, underlying the cluster of phenomenal properties described in the relevant first-person reports. This hypothesis suggests that such a neurofunctional substrate ed human beings at different times, and in widely varying cultural contexts, to postulate the existence of a soul and to begin developing a theory of mind.
Expanding the definition of disassociation in psychiatry, Ellert J. Nijenhaus presents a summary of the somatoform components of disassociation--how sensory and motor functions are affected by dissociative disorders. Founded in the current view of the mind-body integration, this book is essential reading for those engaged in the diagnosis, treatment, and study of dissociative disorders, PTSD, and other trauma-related psychiatric disorders. Nijenhaus takes a Janetian perspective, describing dissociation as arising from "mental stigmata" and the complexities of "mental accidents." Drawing on an empirical base of research, Nijenhuis links aspects of clinical dissociation with freezing in the presence of a predator illustrating the fundamental role of dissociation defenses in the face of overwhelming fear and danger. The author describes the assessment tools necessary to determine individual reactions. Nijenhaus discusses how trauma, somatoform dissociation and defense may work together, and how goals of assessment and therapy must include a thorough analysis of events and physical conditions as well as psychological and psychiatric techniques. Each chapter topic includes questionnaires and an assessment checklist. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This chapter is about the human sense of subjective time. To distinguish it from other time-related and time dependent achievements of the brain/mind, the author refers to it as chronesthesia, which is tentatively defined as a form of consciousness that allows individuals to think about the subjective time in which they live and that makes it possible for them to "mentally travel" in such time. In this chapter, the author attempts to explicate the concept of chronesthesia, suggests what it is (and what it is not), contrast it with other kinds of time-related mentation, discuss the origin of the concept, and, the main reason for the chapter's appearance in the present volume, speculate on chronesthesia's relation to prefrontal cortex. The author concludes the chapter by discussing the role of chronesthesia in human evolution and human culture. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Describes laboratory and clinical attempts to relate different memory systems (procedural, semantic, and episodic) to corresponding varieties of consciousness (anoetic, noetic, and autonoetic). The case of a young adult male amnesic patient is described. The S suffered a closed head injury that left him without autonoetic consciousness. This deficit is manifested in his amnesia for personal events and his impaired awareness of subjective time. Two simple experiments investigated recall and recognition by a total of 89 normal undergraduates to further examine autonoetic consciousness as the necessary correlate of episodic memory. Results show that the distinction between knowing and remembering previous occurrences of events is meaningful to people, that people can make corresponding judgments about their memory performance, and that these judgments vary systematically with the conditions under which retrieved information takes place. (French abstract) (71 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
[discusses evolution of the brain, emphasizing] inferences from allometric analysis of brain–body relations and encephalization, the latter being a complex trait often attributable to convergent evolution
the evidence [fossil brains, living brains] / qualitative analysis / quantitative analysis [uniformities in structure in living brains: allometry, diversity in living brains: cladistics] / quantitative analysis: fossils [vertebrate history, birds and mammals, neocorticalization] (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The question of consciousness is perhaps the most significant problem still unsolved by science. In
Inner Presence, Antti Revonsuo proposes a novel approach to the study of consciousness that integrates findings from philosophy, psychology, and cognitive neuroscience into a coherent theoretical framework. Arguing that any fruitful scientific approach to the problem must consider both the subjective psychological reality of consciousness and the objective neurobiological reality, Revonsuo proposes that the best strategy for discovering the connection between these two realities is one of "biological realism," using tools of the empirical biological sciences. This approach, which he calls the "biological research program," provides a theoretical and philosophical foundation that contemporary study of consciousness lacks. Revonsuo coins the term "world simulation metaphor" and uses this metaphor to develop a powerful way of thinking about consciousness as a biological system in the brain. This leads him to propose that the dreaming brain and visual consciousness are ideal model systems for empirical consciousness research. He offers a comprehensive overview and critical analysis of consciousness research and defends his approach against currently popular philosophical views, in particular against approaches that deny or externalize phenomenal consciousness, or claim that brain activity is not sufficient for consciousness. He systematically examines the principal issues in the science of consciousness--the contents of consciousness, the unity of consciousness and the binding problem, the explanatory gap and the neural correlates of consciousness, and the causal powers and function of consciousness. In
Inner Presence, Revonsuo draws together empirical data from a wide variety of sources, including dream research, brain imaging, neuropsychology, and evolutionary psychology, into the theoretical framework of the biological research program, thus pointing the way toward a unified science of consciousness. Applying imaginative thought experiments,
Inner Presence reaches beyond the current state of the art, revealing how the problem of consciousness may eventually be solved by future science. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Presents an integrative framework for understanding the interface of the brain and the social environment through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. The author addresses fundamental questions about mental health and dysfunction as he explores the ways that interpersonal relationships influence the genetically programmed unfolding of the human mind.
The volume synthesizes current knowledge from independent, usually isolated areas of research, including attachment, memory, emotion, neuroscience, genetics, and psychopathology. The chapters focus on how specific mental processes and cognitive abilities are fueled by emotional relationships throughout life. When attachment to caregivers is hindered or disrupted specific problems with memory, self-organization, and emotional regulation may result. Implications for adult states of mind, emotional competence, and relationship skills are considered, as well as links to such clinical problems as dissociation and depression. The book is intended to serve as a text for courses in psychiatry, clinical and developmental psychology, neuropsychology, and cognitive science. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)