Psychotherapy, consciousness, and brain plasticity
Frontiers in Psychology May 22, 2014 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00548 via DOAJ
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractPsychological treatments for emotional distress produce lasting changes in cognitive and emotional consciousness and brain function. Pre and post treatment functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging localizes brain changes following psychotherapy to frontal, cingulate, and limbic circuits, which support a wide range of conscious experiences. Multivoxel Pattern Analysis of distributed changes across these brain areas may distinguish between different states of consciousness, illustrating the holistic nature of consciousness and the interplay between brain and consciousness.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Consciousness Psychotherapy Emotion Plasticity Multivoxel pattern analysis |
| Key finding | Psychotherapy produces lasting changes in brain function localized to frontal, cingulate, and limbic circuits, and Multivoxel Pattern Analysis may distinguish between different states of consciousness. |
Abstract
Purely psychological treatments for emotional distress produce lasting, measureable, and reproducible changes in cognitive and emotional consciousness and brain function. How these changes come about illustrates the interplay between brain and consciousness. Studies of the effects of psychotherapy highlight the holistic nature of consciousness. Pre and post treatment functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging localises the brain changes following psychotherapy to frontal, cingulate, and limbic circuits, but emphasise that these areas support a wide range of conscious experiences. Multivoxel Pattern Analysis of distributed changes in function across these brain areas may be able to provide the ability to distinguish between different states of consciousness.