Discovering Self
and Other:
Neuroscience and
Interpersonal Processes
What is the Self?
á
The most widely
used term and most elusive concept in psychology
á
William James
(1890) said that itÕs the fundamental concept in psychology around which all
else revolves.
á
In psychotherapy
we talk about self-esteem, self-actualization, self-activation, self-concept,
self-image, self-regulation.
á
The Self has many
facets; In my fatherÕs
house are many rooms (John 14:2)
á
Both
psychologists and philosophers have made clear, the self is an
elusive concept at best.
á
As Joseph
Campbell said about God, itÕs difficult to use language to describe something
that is indescribable.
á
Perhaps the
ÒSelfÓ suffers from the same limitation.
Something so complex that simple descriptions
donÕt do it justice.
á
Exploring the
Self requires us to step outside our comfort zone.
á
ÒWho is the I who knows the bodily me,Ó
he asked, Òwho has an image of myself and sense of identity over time, who
knows that I have propriate strivings?Ó (Allport, 1961, p. 61).
á
William James
suggested that the Òuniversal conscious fact is not ÒfeelingsÓ and ÒthoughtsÓ
but ÒI feelÓ and ÒI think.Ó
á
Social
neuroscience has sought to find the neural representation of the self in the
brain—or at least identify the brain modules, or systems, or
networks that generate self-representations or mediate self-referential
processing. But unlike vision, what and where appear to be independent
questions, it appears that, with regard to the self, the what question has to
be answered before the where question. Without some sense of how the self and
self-referential processes are represented mentally, at the psychological level
of analysis, efforts to find the self in the brain will likely prove fruitless
(Kihlstrom, 2010).
The Whole is Greater
á
Than the sum of
its parts – The mind is the expression of the brain in relation to the
body (and possibly other brains/bodies/minds).
á
Two way street
– changes in the brain affects the mind; and changing the mind changes
the brain.
á
However, a brain is not the
only game in town. Even singled
celled organisms can have a very rudimentary sense of self. They even show primitive emotions
(moving toward or away from a stimulus).
Plants also show fairly complex ÒSelfÓ behavior without a brain. However, our ancestors
took a different route, developing a more and more complex brain, and as a
result concepts of the ÒSelfÓ are equally complex(Damasio, Self
Comes Into Mind, 2011)
Why Understand the Brain?
á
Many of the areas
therapists target in their work involves, cognition, emotion, memory, behavior,
which are all regulated within the brain.
á
Advances in
neuroscience have resulted in a more nuanced understanding of the brain and its functioning, and
therefore we can now better hypothesize the neurological correlates to our
work as psychotherapists.
á
Many descriptions
of psychotherapy and the change process have been supported by neuroscience
findings.
á
Many aspects of
our theories have been updated or replaced based on brain science.
The Triune Brain
á
Described by McLean in
the 1970s
á
Organized the
brain from an evolutionary perspective
á
Reptilian Brain
o
Activation,
arousal, homeostatis and reproduction
á
Paleo-Mammalian Brain
(Limbic System)
o
Learning, memory
and emotion
á
Neo-Mammalian
Brain (Cerebral Cortex)
o
Conscious thought,
problem solving and self-awareness
Contemporary Neuroscience
á
The Structure of
the Brain in Your Hand
by Dan Siegel, MD. (https://youtu.be/gm9CIJ74Oxw)
á
Frontal:
Executive functions /
á
Temporal:
Auditory
á
Parietal: Sensory
Motor
á
Occipital: Visual
Visual
á
Brain Stem:
Automatic life-sustaining functions
Nature or
Nurture?
á
Much of who we
are is handed down to us via our genetic history. Many psychiatric illnesses have a
genetic basis (depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, etc.)
á
However genes not
only have a template function (information to be passed on to next
generation), but they also have a transcription function (synthesis of
proteins).
á
Transcription is
directly influenced by experience.
Experience effects the expression of genetic programing
á
Born with
complete set brain structures, but not the connections
– Experienced Based Development
á
Psychopaths:
Require both specific genes and environmental factors (eg, abuse, neglect)
á
GABA and Anxiety:
Recent study showing that domestic violence during pregnancy results in
methylation of GABA receptor genes which causes dysfunction of GABA processes in
brain. This has been correlated
with increased anxiety and risk for violence. These genetic changes have been
documented 15 years after birth.
Specific Brain Structures
á
Orbitofrontal
Cortex: Executive Functions – Modulator and integrator between affective and cognitive
processes
á
Limbic System:
Emotion centers of brain
á
Amygdala: Threats
á
Hippocampus:
Explicit memory (encoding and retrieval)
á
Anterior
Cingulate: Attachment, attention, reward-based learning, autonomic arousal
á
Insula:
Integration of inner & outer experience, empathy, compassion
á
Corpus Callosum:
L/R hemisphere communication
á
Cingulate Gyrus: Control of
emotions and attention
Brain-Based Psychotherapy
á
Understanding
that psychotherapy involves changing cognition, emotional functioning, behaviors,
and this involves a concomitant change in neural functioning.
á
Psychotherapy
changes the brain - Neuroplasticity
á
Brains are
inherently social.
á
Target
interventions to specific neural capacities.
á
Brain is constantly changing
throughout life.
á
Social
connections lead to new or changed neural connections.
á
We canÕt not
affect one another.
Neuroplasticity
á
The ability to
continue to develop new neural pathways throughout the lifespan – allows
genetics and the environment to interact in brain development; the
specific experiences an infant encounters will trigger a cascade of specific
neuro-biochemical reactions that can enhance or block gene expression; thus,
experience continues to change the structure of the brain across the lifespan,
making every human brain unique (Davino & Moore,
2010).
Neural Capacities & Psychotherapy
á Emotion
o
Affect and affect
regulation
á Memory
o
Implicit versus
explicit memory
á Mirror Neurons
o
Social cognition,
empathy and interpersonal processes
á Prefrontal Cortex
o
Executive
functions and interpersonal relationships
á Von Economo Neurons
o
Knowing self and
other.
Emotion
á
Old View of Brain
o
Emotion
Interrupts thinking
o
Thinking was
superior to emotion
o
Cognition and
emotion were separate processes
á
New View of Brain
o
Cognition and
emotion are inextricably linked
o
Emotion informs
decision-making
o
CanÕt have one
without the other
á
Sometimes we need
more than one than the other to constructively problem-solve.
á
Which one that is
will vary from situation to situation
á
Flexibility is
key
á
One of the
capacities of the Prefrontal Cortex is ÒCognitive FlexibilityÓ – The
ability to move off of set and apply different strategies to changing demands.
Presuppositions about Emotion
á
Emotion and
feeling are two different processes
á
Emotion occurs in
the body, feeling in the prefrontal cortex
á
Emotions are
generally unlearned reactions to events that cause a change in the state of the
body
á
Emotions help us
solve problems or endorse opportunities
á
Emotions promote
survival and state of well-being
á
Strong/weak,
activating/calming, approach /withdraw
á
Three types:
Primary, background and social
Presuppositions about Feeling
á
Feeling occurs
when we are consciously aware that we are having an emotion
á
Feelings allow us
to make thoughtful decisions about how to respond to emotion –
they allow choice
á
Feeling allows us
to consciously connect the stimulus with the emotion
á
Feelings have the
possibility of revealing Ògood for lifeÓ and Ònot good for lifeÓ states
á
Feelings allow
for control of the expression or response to emotion
Emotion Process
á
Sensory input or
attention (can be external or internal)
á
Appraisal or
evaluation (Is this good for life or bad for life?) – Thinking Fast and
Slow
á
Source Point in
the brain (eg, amygdala,
ventral medial frontal cortex)
á
Behavioral
response (eg, change in
facial expression, language, other behaviors)
á
Automatic –
No Choice – Not Conscious
Different Types of Emotion
á
Primary
o
Fear, Anger,
Disgust, Surprise, Sadness and Happiness
á
Background
o
Good or bad and
everything in between
á
Social
o
Shame,
Compassion, Gratitude, Guilt, Pride, Awe, Love
á
Background
continual
á
Primary more
sporadic
á
Social within the
context of social relationships
á
One type can
affect the other - Layering
Feeling
á
Feeling requires
an awareness of a change in the body.
á
Feelings reveal
to us this change
á
Feelings involve
labeling that change into emotional terms (anger versus hunger)
á
Feelings allow us
to identify the stimulus or reason for the emotion
á
Inhibit reaction
long enough to decide the best way to respond (PFC –
Inhibition Control)
á
Tolerate emotion
long enough to reflect – rather needing to act right away (PFC –
Self-Reflection)
Affect Regulation
á
The process of
moving from an activated state to one of calm – well-being
á
ItÕs the solution
to the emotion – either solving a problem or taking advantage of an opportunity
á
Generally two
types of affect regulation
o
Antecedent-focused
o
Response Focused
Antecedent-Focused Regulation
á
Example: Visiting
the Family for the Holidays
á
Situation
Selection
o
To go or not to go, that is the
question
á
Situation
Modulation
o
Do we sleep at
your motherÕs or at a hotel?
á
Redirecting
Attention
o
I canÕt talk to
your father, heÕs angry all the time!
á
Shift Perspective
o
He canÕt help himself, he was
traumatized as a child.
Response Focused Regulation
á
Adaptive
responding to the affect
o
Walk away
o
Seek help or
support
o
Breathing
o
Talking versus
showing
o
Medication (both
antecedent and response focused)
o
Meditation and
mindfulness
á
Maladaptive
responses
o
Denial, blaming,
eating, drugs, alcohol, aggression, violence, withdrawal, devaluing verbally,
etc.
Working with Emotion in Therapy
á
Depending on your
own relationship to emotion, you may either welcome it or move away from it.
á
Reflecting on
emotion from the past is not as robust an agent of change as working with
emotion in the present.
á
Some didactic
material about the difference between emotion and feeling may be helpful, but
not critical.
á
In the present,
working with emotion is less predictable, less safe and more real and personal.
á
ItÕs the kind of
interaction that
clients remember.
Memory
á ÒEverything in
life is memory; save for the thin edge of the present.Ó Michael Gazzaniga, 2000 (The
MindÕs Past)
á
á
Short Term Memory
o
Sensory Memory
o
Working Memory
á
Long Term Memory
o
Semantic Memory
o
Episodic Memory
o
Procedural Memory
Making & Retrieving Memories
á
Hippocampus and
surrounding cortex of the mdial temporal lobes
is essential to making and retrieving memories.
á
During learning,
the hippocampus links together information from other parts of the brain
– visual, auditory, sensory, etc. – into a memory trace
(biochemical/structural change).
á
During retrieval,
the hippocampus triggers these memory traces; so starts the process of recall;
usually with a part of the memory.
The rest of the memory gets reactivated in time. This process involves a reactivation of
a distributed network of representations in the cortex.
á
Some memories are
easier to recall because of co-occurring emotion or important to sustaining
life. These neural traces become
more consolidated over time, especially the more they are recalled.
á
Cortical memory
traces may overlap with each other.
That way we can make generalizations from one circumstance to another.
For example, mother-son memories may generalize to woman-male intimate memory. If you learned how
to drive in a 50 Chevy Bel Air, you donÕt
want to start all over when you get into 1955 Ford Thunderbird. This overlap allows for knowledge and
associations to bridge across different domains.
á
Practice
remembering strengthens memory. Some researchers
suggest that this can lead to confabulation.
á
Context is
critical to remembering (barista on the bus). Going home for the holidays is likely to
trigger memories rather than going on a trip to a foreign country (unless the
country is family related – Ukraine).
Implicit & Explicit Memory
á
Explicit Memory:
Involves conscious awareness, at the time of remembering, of the information,
experience or situation being remembered.
á
Implicit Memory:
Where behavior, feelings or thoughts are influenced as a result of
prior experience, but which is recalled or manifests without conscious
recollection of the original events.
á
With implicit
memory, there isnÕt a sense of remembering, just experiencing.
á
Much of therapy
involves the recollection and experiencing of both types
of memory.
Priming
á
Priming is a form
of implicit memory; the exposure to an earlier stimulus/event increases the
probability of a response to a later similar stimulus/event.
á
Table - Complete
a word Tab
á
Childhood experiences
include priming – response patterns that become automatic, without
thought.
á
Secure base
priming – A form of priming that facilitates an insecure to secure-like
responses to stimuli
á
Anger and
negative reactions to individual and group differences.
Priming Techniques
á
Priming
Techniques (experimentally)
á
Exposing people
(subliminally or supraliminally) to
security-related words (e.g., love, hug, affection, and support) or the names
of an individualÕs security-providing attachment figures;
á
Exposing people
(subliminally or supraliminally) to pictures
representing attachment security; and
á
Asking
participants to recall memories of being loved and supported by attachment
figures, or asking people toimagine such scenarios.
á
Subliminal and
Supraliminal priming even overrides the effects of negative self-esteem.
á
Subliminal:
primed without awareness
á
Supraliminal:
primed with awareness
á
Repetition is Key
á
Repetition
thickens that neural pathways and makes the new behaviour easier to
maintain.
á
Parental priming:
interactions
between parents and between parent and child.
á
Therapy is a form
of priming
á
Helping the brain
respond to emotions
á
Experience
relationships differently
á
Anticipating
positive outcomes
á
Subliminal
processes from therapist
á
Supraliminal
processes: through narratives
á
Taking in love,
caring and support
Finding Truth
á
Many studies have
consistently documented the inaccuracy of memory. We are prone to confabulation (filling
in the blanks) and simply making up facts in order to make sense of the past.
á
So when clients
talk about their past, you need to take it with a grain of salt as to the
ÒtruthÓ of the facts.
á
However,
attachment researchers have an interesting spin on this dynamic.
á
The Adult
Attachment Interview is an interview questionnaire that is utilized to
assess attachment status.
Adult Attachment Interview
á
The questions
involve the subjects childhood
relationship and experiences with caregivers. But the actual fact of the relationships
and experiences are not that important.
What matters is the Òcoherence of the narrative.Ó
á
ÒÉa coherent
interview is both believable and true to the listener; in a coherent interview,
the events and affects intrinsic to early relationships are conveyed
without distortion, contradiction or derailment of discourse. The subject
collaborates with the interviewer, clarifying his or her meaning, and working
to make sure he or she is understood.
Such an subject is thinking as the interview proceeds, and is aware
of thinking with and communicating to another; thus coherence and collaboration
are inherently inter-twinned and interrelated.Ó
Creating a Coherent Life Story
á
From a neurobiological
perspective, coherence involves both thinking (cognition) and feeling
(emotion); seeing the situation from your point of view (self reflection), but
also seeing it from otherÕs point of view (social cognition).
á
Therefore truth
is not as important as making sense of what a person does remember or believes happened
to him or her.
á
Many memories are
not readily available so how do we even begin to construct a narrative?
á
Extrapolation -
Patterns usually persist, so what is remembered can give insight into earlier
experiences.
á
Talking with
siblings, other relatives and friends.
á
Family photos and
other memorabilia
á
Letters and other
writings from family members
á
Current behavior
patterns with partners (priming)
á
Current parenting
behaviors (priming)
Mirror Neurons: Overview
á
First described
as visual-motor neurons that fire when an action is performed, and when a
similar or identical action is observed (Rizzolatti and Craighero, 2004).
á
Associated to
cognitive functions of imitation and action understanding to social cognition.
á
Been associated
with MS, schizophrenia, autism and spectrum disorders and alexithymia
(deficiency in understanding, processing, or describing emotions).
An Example of Mirroring
á
You are on a bus from
Reno to Lake Tahoe (Highway 50) and you notice the person next to you all of a
sudden looking pale. They start
retching and filling a paper bag with clumps of undigested food. What do you feel? You feel a sense of nausea that one
feels with motion sickness.
á
When we witness
such experiences we activate;
á
Mirror neurons in
the insula that would be active if we were experiencing such feelings, and
á
Mirror neurons in
our premotor and parietal lobe that would be active if were were performing those physical
actions (throwing up).
Are they real?
á
Still
controversial
á
Meta analytic
study by Molenburghs, et al (2011)
á
300 published
studies and 125 that met their strict inclusion
á
A core network of
human brain regions do in fact possess mirror properties that not
only include action and observation but non-motor activities auditory,
somatosensory and affect.
Are MNÕs relevant to our work?
á
We are in the
business of watching, listening and feeling others.
á
Understanding
otherÕs intentions in relationships
á
Emotion
regulation issues.
á
Transference
– Countertransference
á
Understanding
behavior and motivation
á
Child development
- Attachment
Theodore Lipps
á
Philosopher
Theodor Lipps (1851-1914) is
remembered as the father of the first scientific theory of EinfŸhlung (Òfeeling into,Ó
or ÒempathyÓ).
á
Unlike his
predecessors, he used the notion of EinfŸhlung to explain not
only how people experience inanimate objects, but also how they understand the
mental states of other people.
á
In 1903 he
suggested the perception of an emotional gesture in another directly activates the same
emotion in the perceiver, without any intervening labeling, associative, or
cognitive perspective-taking processes.
He called this Òinner imitation.Ó
á
Although his
ideas were eclipsed by experimental psychology and behaviorism, his ideas have found
reflection in present day theories of imitation and mirroring.
WhatÕs your intention?
á
Emotion and
intention closely linked. Intention
can also be mirrored between client and therapist.
á
Clients come into
therapy with not only not-conscious emotions, but also not-conscious
intentions.
á
Is the client
distancing or withdrawing? Is the
client looking to the therapist to think for him or her or inappropriate
caretaking?
á
The client not
going to talk about this if itÕs not conscious; they are going
to show their intentions.
á
Mirroring can
help to identify these intentions.
á
WhatÕs going on
when the therapistÕs mind begins to wander? What about when the therapist
starts to talk a lot in the session? What about when
the therapist starts to feel sleepy?
Mind and Body
á
Mirror neurons
are closely linked to motor neurons.
á
Our bodies play a
crucial role in emotional, cognitive and motivational processes.
á
Without our
bodies, itÕs difficult to experience emotion
á
ItÕs a two-way
street – changing the state of our body changes our brain (meditation)
– becoming aware of our bodies (mindfulness) changes our experience of
self and other.
Emotion and Motivation
á
Emotion is
derived from the French word, ÒemouvoirÓ, which is based on
the Latin word ÒemovereÓ, where ÒeÓ means ÒoutÓ and ÒmovereÓ means Òmove.Ó
á
Interestingly,
the word ÒmotivationÓ is also derived
from Òmovere.Ó
á
So emotion and motivation are rooted in a
term that means to move (toward or away).
á
And our bodies rarely act
without movement.
á
Our bodies donÕt
experience emotion without movement.
Emotion & Neuroscience
á
And this is
exactly what emotions are from a social neuro-scientific point of view: an inner state of
another individual that comes out through her or his movements and can be perceived by another.
á
There are always
two aspects to our perception of the emotions of others (top down):
á
The perception of
bodily movements and behaviors that signal the emotion and,
á
The cognitive
deduction of the
perceiver deduces or hypothesizes the inner state of the other.
The Process of Mirroring
á
Mirroring is a
bottom-up process
á
Mirror neurons
that activate emotional centers in the brain as if we are experiencing similar
emotional states and,
á
Motor neurons that
are activated as if we would perform the actions that signaled that emotion
(i.e., facial and bodily movements).
Why is this important to us?
á
As therapists we
are trying to get into the minds of our clients.
á
If asking our
clients about their inner states was all that was
necessary to do that, then our jobs would be much easier.
á
Unfortunately,
many of the people who seek psychotherapy services have had experiences that
resulted in difficulty identifying, constructively regulating and understanding their
emotions and expressing intentions, which often results in their showing their
emotions and intentions rather than talking about them (alexithymia).
á
Acting Out
– Showing rather than telling.
á
Although many
intentions and expression of emotions are fairly evident (even to the untrained
eye), some are not so obvious.
á
We are taught to
pay attention to non-verbal cues in order to understand our clientÕs mental
states.
á
Mirroring is
another way to understand those states.
á
A bottom-up
process (experiencing which leads to understanding) rather than a top-down process
(recognizing which leads to understanding)
The Prefrontal Cortex
á
Orbital Frontal
Cortex (OFC) also called the Ventral Medial Cortex located in the prefrontal
lobe behind the forehead and above the eyes
á
Anterior
Cingulate (front part of Cingulate Gyrus) located at the
bottom of the Neo-Cortex on the top of the Limbic system
á
The above two
comprise the Medial Prefrontal Cortex
á
These areas
regulate functions that are critical to healthy interpersonal
relationships.
Orbital Frontal Cortex
á
Location,
location, location
á
One synapse away
from limbic system, cortex and brain-stem.
á
Has more direct
access to the emotional centers of the brain than any other part of the
neo-cortex
á
Plays a role in integrating
emotion, thought and behavior
á
Not fully wired
until 25 years of age (18-voting, 21-drinking and 25-renting a car)
á
Critical in
long-term planning and impulse control
Anterior Cingulate
á
The Cingulate Gyrus (folds) just
below the neo-cortex and along the top of the limbic system.
á
The front of this
area is called the Anterior Cingulate
á
DoesnÕt fully
come online until 9-12 months of age
á
Determines what
goes where – in that it regulates attention, inhibition control, involved
in attachment behaviors, nursing and play, regulates aggressive impulses, has facial recognition
cells, empathy, physical pain, social ridicule and rejection.
Orbital Prefrontal Cortex + Anterior Cingulate
=
á
Medial Prefrontal
Cortex which regulates:
á
Body regulation
– Autonomic Nervous System – the accelerator and brakes of our body; and the
hypothalamus and its release of hormones
á
Attuned
communication between parent and child, as well as between adults
á
Affect regulation
– balancing thought, feeling and action
The Nine Functions of MPC
á
Daniel Siegel,
author of numerous books on neuro-science, mindfulness, parenting describes the
9 functions of the MPC:
á
Body regulation
á
Attuned
communication
á
Affect regulation
á
Response
flexibility
á
Empathy
á
Autonoetic
consciousness
á
Fear reduction
á
Intuition
á
Morality
Strengthening the MPC
á
Early childhood
attachment experiences affect the development of all these capacities
á
Clients with
emotional difficulties are usually needing strengthening in one or more of
these areas
á
Neuroscience-based
psychotherapy involves formulating interventions to strengthen one or more of these
capacities, while attending the customary process of building and strengthening
the therapeutic alliance/relationship.
Von Economo Neurons
á
Constantin von Economo (1876-1931):
Organized the cortex by cytoarchitecture (structure of
cells).
á
Divided the cortex into 7 lobes and each
lobe with subdivisions (frontal-35; superior limbic-13; inferior limbic-14,
etc.).
á
Identified a
specific type of neuron in the anterior cingulate and fronto-insular cortex
(von Economo neurons).
á
Both areas are
particularly active when we experience emotion and self monitoring.
á
The anterior
cingulate seems broadly involved in nearly every mental or physical effort.
á
The frontal
insula may play a more specific role in generating social emotions such as
empathy, trust, guilt, embarrassment, love—even a
sense of humor.
á
Only recently
have received attention because of their identification in macaque which allows greater
study.
á
VENs thought to
be the neural mechanism for Òfast social intuitionsÓ in uncertain
situations – I like, I donÕt like.
á
Rare at birth. Start to increase during the first 8
months post birth. Significantly greater numbers in the right hemisphere than the left, which
suggest their function in attunement.
á
Associated with
dementia, autism, schizophrenia & depression
á
Deficiency:
deficits in empathy, social awareness & self-control
á
Over-abundance:
schizophrenia and suicidal-depression
á
Produce proteins
that are involved in immune response and digestion, suggests their
role in monitoring of a Òbody-loopÓ that incorporates visceral states and
emotions in the awareness of self and others (mirroring).
Von Economo Neurons &
Consciousness
á
Awareness of ones
own mind and
awareness of the minds of others are two separate but
important processes necessary for successful interpersonal functioning. Both require a form of consciousness.
á
Theories of
consciousness: Antonio Damasio – Proto, core and extended
á
Proto:
non-conscious, related to the bodyÕs homeostatic mechanisms
á
Core: awareness
of self, self-states and others, other-states
á
Extended: autonoetic – past, present and
future
á
Von Economo neurons seem to
be most related to core consciousness – knowing self and other
Core and Extended Consciousness in
Psychotherapy
á
Psychotherapy is
a process of strengthening core (CC) and extended consciousness (EC)
á
Core
Consciousness
á
Knowing self
(emotion, thoughts, behaviors)
á
Knowing/awareness
of others
á
Empathy and
social cognition
á
Mirroring
á
Extended
Consciousness
á
Connecting past and present
á
Implicit memory
and its effect on the present
á
Intention to
change
Strengthening Economo Neurons
á
Interventions
that Strengthen Self
á
Identifying
thoughts and beliefs
á
Identifying
emotions and feelings
á
Awareness of
behaviors
á
Emotion
regulation skills
á
Theory of mind -
Self
á
Interventions
that Encourage Social Awareness
á
Emotional Empathy
á
Cognitive Empathy
á
Sympathy
á
Theory of mind -
Others
Neuroscience of Self-Other Differentiation
á
Damage to right
hemisphere (temporo-parietal region)
interferes with self-recognition (face).
á
Patients with
right fronto-parietal damage
often suffer from asomatognosia: the failure to
recognize part of oneÕs body.
á
Right ventral
prefrontal damage can result in loss of autobiographical memory.
á
Right medial
prefrontal cortex involved in differentiating self-other mental states.
á
Insula active
when differentiating self-other (VENÕs?)
á
Inhibition seems
critical to the process.
Separating Self and Other
á
Too Dichotomous:
disconnected, estranged from others, oblivious to otherÕs minds, indifference.
á
Too
Entangled: emotionally
over-reactive, merging of minds, difficulty tolerating differences.
á
Mirror neurons
allow for a shared experience and may contribute to entanglement.
á
In general,
Mirror Neurons can be said to allow for a shared experience with
others (feeling otherÕs emotions or intentions). Von Economo neurons allow
for a sense of separation from others (knowing that self is separate from other
– that others have their own minds and intentions).
á
Self-reflection
(theory of mind) can help to create separation (self-other differentiation) without losing the
shared experience.
Thank you
for completing my online CEU program.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me at
any time.
If you are
interested in further readings on these and other topics, visit my Additional
Reading page. This page is continually
being updated.
To receive
your certificate of completion, please complete the Online Evaluation
Form. As soon as I receive your
answers, IÕll post your certificate of completion and send you an email with
that link.
Thank you
again for your participating in my continuing education program.
Daniel
Sonkin