Elena's Legacy. Texts written by Elena, excerpts from texts she liked, her artworks.

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

Many have seen the t-shirt with the caption: Stressed, Depressed but Well-Dressed. The following short essay looks at ways of reducing stress and also depression, by ways additional to pharmacotherapy. For example, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a program and technique that is aimed at reducing the symptoms associated with depression, stress and anxiety. Goldin and Gross (2010) explain that the effect is achieved by a change in cognitive-affective processes. MBSR was developed by Kabat-Zinn around 1990.

Thus, mindfulness training is increasingly important in the clinical setting, as it helps with symptomatology of many disorders. For instance, in depression or schizophrenia, a combination of medication with other therapy, such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) gives the best results. MBSR seems to have a positive impact on Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD).

Stress Reduction. Photo by Elena

MBSR is distinct from other therapies and interventions, and includes meditation as well as hatha yoga. Meditation practices involve breath and body focused attention, being present in the moment, shifting between sensory modalities and realizing the transient nature of sensations. Walking and eating meditation are also part of the techniques employed by MBSR. Formally, MBSR includes focused attention and open monitoring.

The literature appears in agreement that the intervention is effective at reducing stress, anxiety and depressive states; however, there remains a debate as to how this is achieved since emotion regulation covers a vast array of strategies. Five clusters of emotion regulation strategies emerge, including:

situation selection
situation modification
attentional deployment
cognitive change
response modulation

Accordingly, MBSR seems to involve attentional deployment. In individuals with SAD, MBSR appears as effetive or more effective than Cognitive Behavioural Group Therapy (CBGT). Goldin and Gross (2010) conducted a study to view the effects of MBSR on SAD symptomatology. The study showed that MBSR significantly reduced social anxiety, negative self-views, increased self-esteem and decreased rumination, as well as, depression.

Social Psychology and Socializing

We often hear the phrase that humans are social animals. Indeed, social psychologists have often shown that human beings show interest in interpersonal interaction and exert effort to attain social rewards. Furthermore, the fairly recent advent of social networking Websites and their subsequent popularity has demonstrated how important social interaction is to human beings.

Notwithstanding, some experts criticize social media and social networks, and say that because of them people have stopped socializing in the ways they should, or in person. In fact, many people now only have online social lives. For example, some individuals only interact through their social personas, they maintain online profiles and have a lot of online friends, but are in reality friendless and lonely. Along these lines, some writers believe people are actually more isolated than ever because of social media and social networking platforms.

According to social psychologists, people prefer to hang out with those who express positive emotions rather than negatives ones. Image: Megan Jorgensen (Elena)

Moreover, from an evolutionary perspective, socializing and forming groups and societies may even have conferred an evolutionary advantage. However, we know from sociology that groups have group norms, and societies have societal norms. The way we learn about these and how to interact with others and how to behave in social and other situations, is learned by such mechanisms as Theory of Mind (ToM) and social cognition. Social cognition includes learning by observation, such as mirroring of actions and emotions.

From a neuroscience perspective, mirror neurons have been found. Mirror neurons fire both when a person performs an action and when a person observes that same action being performed. Neurons are brain cells; they are composed of a cell body called a soma, a projection called an axon, dendrites and terminal buttons. Axons are often myelinated to speed up transmission (myelin is a fatty substance covering the axon). Between axons are located synapses and neurotransmitters are discharged into the synaptic cleft. From a social psychology viewpoint, friends often mirror each other’s postures, body language and positioning.

Fantasy and Mythology

The word fantasy has several meanings. In the present short essay, fantasy is meant as the literary and artistic genres, incorporating fantastic, magic, paranormal and supernatural elements into productions.

Aside from being a literary and movie genre, fantasy is also a type of art – fantasy art. In films and books, fantasy represents imaginary worlds, with many magic and other surreal elements. Such mythical fiction has captivated the minds of many throughout human history.

Recurring characters include witches and warlocks, elves, trolls, goblins, pixies, fairies, dwarfs, gnomes and dragons. The magical component is so strong that there are many words relating to the phenomenon: witchcraft, sorceress, sorcerer, sorcery, enchantress, enchantment, spell, trick, magician, and so on…

Mythology is part of our culture. Photo by Elena

In television, in 2011 alone, many shows appeared or continued to run (Merlin, Once Upon a Time, The Legend of the Seeker and Camelot). Interstingly, the legend surrounding Morgan or Morgana le Fay, Merlin (the famous illusionist and witch, and wizard, respectively), King Arthur, Excalibur (enchanted sword predestined to belong to the true ruler of England) and, last but not least, the Lady of the Lake.

Elves are mythical creatures present in many such works, and increasingly popular in computer games. According to stories, there are dark and light elves, different by not only appearance, but likewise in character. Still, most elves are easily spotted by their pointy ears (slightly different, and customarily more pronounced, than those of the Vulcans – an alien race popularized by the science fiction franchise Star Trek). Usually, an elf is particularly apt at playing musical instruments and crafting silver.

Other fantastical beings are fairies, pixies (pixie dust), dwarfs, trolls (predating the Internet comments, forums and posts variety!), dragons and all sorts of witches, warlocks, enchantresses, magicians, sorceresses and sorcerers. Witchcraft, also called the craft, sorcery and magic, has long been the center of such worlds.

Incidentally, magical powers, and related elements, have even been intertwined with religion. For example, many pagan religions, including the Old Religion (practiced in Europe before the advent of Christianity) and Wicca encompass many magic components. Of course, during the Middle Ages all such faiths were eradicated in the remnants of the Roman Empire, often through ruthless persecutions and witch hunts.

Evidently, some of the best known publications on the subject include The Lord of the Rings trilogy (J. R. R. Tolkien) and the Harry Potter book series (J. K. Rowling). Both works have resulted in derivative movie sequels. Other honorable mentions center on the musical Wicked, Sabrina (movie, TV show and animated series star), the witches of Salem and plot based horror movies. While scary storytelling has associated spell casting with negativity, good and benevolent enchantment casters are similarly encountered in such and other fiction.

Interestingly, The Lord of the Rings has apparently been inspired by German and Norse mythology stories about the Nibelung (Der Ring des Nibelungen), a people whose origins are believed to be Germanic or Scandinavian.

Legends, fairy-tales, folklore and other myths are a significant source for the literary and art genre. However, fantasy art has also been seen as including portrayals of science fiction, a literature category in its own right.

Memory: Hippocampus, Perirhinal Cortex and Striatum

Memory: Hippocampus, Perirhinal Cortex and Striatum

Song and colleagues (2011) propose nonlinear relationships between activity in the hippocampus and perirhinal cortex during time of encoding and memory strength; and also that the two are dissimilar. The fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) study they conducted supports the statement.

Using the same neuroimaging method, Duncan and others (2011) highlight the importance of hippocampal area CA1 in match/mismatch detection. The way the structure records an event depends on whether what takes place corresponds to expectations. The authors believe that, precisely, the CA1 neurons perform this calculation.

La douleur. Memory plays a role in most aspects of learning, even in skill games and cue sports, such as pool (i.e. two types retention are involves, explicit memory: one must remember the rules, and implicit memory: one needs to know how to hold the cue stick). Young woman on billiards table. Image: Copyright © Megan Jorgensen (Elena)

Clearly, the hippocampus is important for memory. However, the striatum also plays a role. Sadeh and coauthors (2011) explain how cooperation between the two regions ensues during episodic encoding. Continuing with BOLD (Blood Oxygen Level Dependent) signals methodology, the group was able to demonstrate that successful information recording was linked to higher activity in both: the hippocampus and the striatum (putamen).

Hypothalamus & Food

The major inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA (γ-Aminobutyric acid or Gamma-AminoButyricAcid) is often associated with energy regulation and eating. So is the hypothalamus, located at the base of the brain. For instance, hypophagia and resultant weight loss caused by cobalt protoporphyrin in mice, is related to diminished activity of nitric oxide synthase in that part of the brain (Li et al. , 2006). Further, the link (via the pituitary gland) between the endocrine and nervous systems is also hypothalamic in nature.

Moreover, Williams & Elmquist (2011) write that the optogenetic placement of nutrition intake related actions, corresponds to the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus. More precisely, the pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) and agouti-related peptide (AGRP) neurons would be responsible for this regulating mechanism. Furthermore, the roles played by the two cell types appear contradictory. POMC activity decreases food intake, while AGRP elevates it.

Along these lines, leptin orOBprotein expression in the hypothalamus, has also been said to reduce appetite in rats (Schwartz et al., 1996). Clearly, the structure is crucial for metabolism.

Intelligence – Neural Correlates

Intelligence is a significantly broad topic, and can thus be approached from different angles. On the one hand, Lefebvre (2011) maintains that innovation constitutes an ecological measure of intelligence in the wild. Along these lines, behavioral flexibility would allow animals to cope with their environments. However, the author also proposes that cognition should be viewed in general terms, rather than in modular, despite some components definitely being domain-specific. Interestingly, tool use may correlate with brain size. For example the New Caledonian crow, the non-human most apt at using tools, has a proportionately larger brain than its avian close relatives.

On the other hand, Geake (2011) centers on educational neuroscience and proclaims, “our brains did not evolve to go to school” (44). Interestingly, the researcher suggests that analogy making is central to acumen. Although the author introduces a distinction, since in creative thinking, fluid analogizing takes center stage. Therefore, more than one right answer is possible. Further, the experimenter found a correlation between the process and verbal IQ. IQ scores, despite being disputed as an absolute representation of sharpness, are a good predictor of academic performance. Again, the writer stresses that several brain areas are involved in higher cognitive processes, even though the frontal and parietal lobes have consistently been implicated. Further, Brodmann areas have similarly been indicated in the literature as candidates for explaining differences in astuteness between persons (Deary et al., 2010).

Finally, one must also keep in mind that the capability may be subdivided into several components, such as vocabulary, processing speed, memory, spatial ability and reasoning. However, general intelligence or ‘g’, means that those who perform well in one domain usually perform well across the board. Such a situation renders difficult defining neural correlates of intelligence, since even on domain specific tasks, level of g is important; g may compensate for any lack of ability – consequently – it’s hard to separate the parts from the whole.

To conclude, the idea that intelligence is highly heritable (genetically programmed) started with Galton’s paper in the 19th century. Also, national IQs have risen over time, at least in Western societies in the 20th century, a phenomenon dubbed the Flynn effect. Lastly, another significant theory on the topic (Multiple Intelligences) comes from Gardner, but lies outside the scope of the present short essay.

References:

Duncan, K., Ketz, N., Inati, S. J. & Davachi, L. (2011). Evidence for area CA1 as a match/mismatch detector: A high-resolution fMRI study of the human hippocampus. Hippocampus, 00 (0): 1-10.
Sadeh, T., Shohamy, D., Levy, D. R., Reggev, N.& Maril, A. (2011). Cooperation between the hippocampus and the striatum during episodic encoding. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, X (Y): 1-12.
Song, Z., Wixted, J. T., Smith, C. N. & Squire, L. R. (2011). Different nonlinear functions in hippocampus and perirhinal cortex relating functional MRI activity to memory strength. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS): Neuroscience, Early Edition:1-6.

Psychosis

The clinical term psychosis refers to a state of mind whereas a loss of touch with reality occurs. Psychotic features are present in several psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, psychotic depression and substance-induced psychosis. For psychiatrists, psychosis is usually seen as a symptom of a mental illness and not as a diagnostic per se. Psychosis typically involves delusions and hallucinations and may bring about other problems such as thought disorder, violence and difficulty in social interaction, as well as coping with daily tasks.

People with psychosis may lose touch with reality. The history of science is the back-and-forth movement of trial-and-error advances and retreats, punctuated by moments of brilliance and marred by periods of excess. (Robert A. Burton, A Skeptic's Guide to the Mind: What Neuroscience Can and Cannot Tell Us About Ourselves). Image: Elena

Many causes have been discussed as explanatory for psychosis, particularly psychosis seen in schizophrenia. For example, persons with schizophrenia have been demonstrated by studies as having different brain structures in terms of lateral ventricles, as well as a chemical brain imbalance in terms of dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter produced by the brain. Neurotransmitters are the brain’s chemical messengers and dopamine is the neurotransmitter involved in pleasure and reward circuitry. The right amount of dopamine must be produced by the body, with too much dopamine resulting in schizophrenic symptoms, and too little dopamine associated with Parkinson’s disease. However, researchers have debated this conclusion and some even cast it aside as being too simplistic. Catatonia may also be present in psychosis.

Psychotic delusions may mean one believes one has special powers. Image: Elena

Another problem in psychosis may be impairments in social cognition. Social cognition in broad terms refers to information we encode and store about other members of our species, or about our social world. Indeed, human beings are very social by nature and humans have been shown to exert great effort to obtain social rewards. Conversely, social rejection has been shown by neuroimaging studies to light up the same areas in the brain as physical pain. Rejection hurts and it is not anything new, as anyone who ever has gone through a heartbreak knows. Regardless, social cognition may be severely impaired in individuals with psychosis.