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Syed A, Jacob MS. Languaging psychopathology: neurobiology and metaphor. Front Psychiatry 2024; 15:1320771. [PMID: 38374980 PMCID: PMC10875027 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1320771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Explanatory models of the mind inform our working assumptions about mental illness with direct implications for clinical practice. Neurobiological models assert that the mind can be understood in terms of genetics, chemistry, and neuronal circuits. Growing evidence suggests that clinical deployment of neurobiological models of illness may have unintended adverse effects on patient attitudes, public perception, provider empathy, and the effectiveness of psychiatric treatment. New approaches are needed to find a better language for describing (let alone explaining) the experience of mental illness. To address this gap, we draw upon interdisciplinary sources and semiotic theory to characterize the role of metaphor in the conceptualization and communication of psychopathology. We examine the metaphors recruited by contemporary neurobiological models and metaphor's role in facilitating descriptive clarity or evocative creativity, depending on intention and context. These multiple roles reveal the implications of metaphorical reasoning in clinical practice, including cognitive flexibility, personalized communication, and uncertainty tolerance. With this analysis, we propose a clinical approach that embraces the meta-process of ongoing novel metaphor generation and co-elaboration, or languaging metaphors of psychopathology. Our goal is to bring attention to the value of employing ever-evolving, shapeable metaphorical depictions of psychiatric illness: metaphors that enable a capacity for change in individuals and society, reduce stigma, and nurture recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adnan Syed
- Mental Health Service, San Francisco Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Michael S. Jacob
- Mental Health Service, San Francisco Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
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Phan-Le NT, Brennan L, Parker L. The search for scientific meaning in mindfulness research: Insights from a scoping review. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0264924. [PMID: 35507587 PMCID: PMC9067662 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2021] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
There are on-going debates about what is and is not 'mindfulness'. These debates are stifling rigorous academic research as scientific precision is a precursor to shared meaning. While mindfulness is a growing field of research, these divergent and conflated meanings are limiting deeper interdisciplinary research. Interventions designed in one practice context may not be useful in other contexts because meaning is not transferred between settings. This review clarifies the various research domains that study mindfulness and the conceptual and operational definitions in each domain. This two-stage study comprises a scoping review of mindfulness classifications and a comparative content mapping of mindfulness studies from 2015 to 2021. The initial comprehensive search strategy followed the preferred reporting items for scoping reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) method. The comparative analysis was conducted using Leximancer. Findings illustrate a complex growing research corpus on mindfulness that is somewhat confused. The results from the scoping review show three shared domains in mindfulness classifications: short-term effects of mindfulness, long-term effects of mindfulness, and mindfulness practices. The results from the content mapping show four domains of mindfulness research: mental health, behavioural change, cognitive neuroscience, and ethical mindfulness. Operational definitions of mindfulness are not articulated clearly in these domains. Conceptual and operational definitions in the 'ethical mindfulness' domain are not yet developed. To enhance scientific progress in mindfulness research, further investigations of mindfulness classifications need to be developed. Content mapping and semantic typology is a potential candidate for future classification. More attention should be paid to developing operational definitions according to specific research domains. Scholars in the ethical mindfulness domain will need solid conceptual and operational definitions to support their research efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nhat Tram Phan-Le
- School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Linda Brennan
- School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Lukas Parker
- School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
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The effect of non-invasive brain stimulation on executive functioning in healthy controls: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 125:122-147. [PMID: 33503477 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.01.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2020] [Revised: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
In recent years, there has been a heightened interest in the effect of non-invasive brain stimulation on executive functioning. However, there is no comprehensive overview of its effects on different executive functioning domains in healthy individuals. Here, we assessed the state of the field by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis on the effectiveness of non-invasive brain stimulation (i.e. repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation) over prefrontal regions on tasks assessing working memory, inhibition, flexibility, planning and initiation performance. Our search yielded 63 studies (n = 1537), and the effectiveness of excitatory and inhibitory non-invasive brain stimulation were assessed per executive functioning task. Our analyses showed that excitatory non-invasive brain stimulation had a small but positive effect on Stop Signal Task and Go/No-Go Task performance, and that inhibitory stimulation had a small negative effect on Flanker Task performance. Non-invasive brain stimulation did not affect performance on working memory and flexibility tasks, and effects on planning tasks were inconclusive.
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Van der Sluys ME, Zijlmans J, Popma A, Van der Laan PH, Scherder EJA, Marhe R. Neurocognitive predictors of treatment completion and daytime activities at follow-up in multiproblem young adults. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2020; 20:1103-1121. [PMID: 32820418 PMCID: PMC7497488 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-020-00822-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Previous research has shown an association between cognitive control deficits and problematic behavior such as antisocial behavior and substance use, but little is known about the predictive value of cognitive control for treatment outcome. The current study tests whether selected markers of baseline cognitive control predict (1) treatment completion of a day treatment program involving a combination of approaches for multiproblem young adults and (2) daytime activities a year after the start of treatment, over and above psychological, social, and criminal characteristics. We assessed individual, neurobiological, and neurobehavioral measures, including functional brain activity during an inhibition task and two electroencephalographic measures of error processing in 127 male multiproblem young adults (age 18-27 years). We performed two hierarchical regression models to test the predictive power of cognitive control for treatment completion and daytime activities at follow-up. The overall models did not significantly predict treatment completion or daytime activities at follow-up. However, activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) during response inhibition, years of regular alcohol use, internalizing problems, and ethnicity were all significant individual predictors of daytime activity at follow-up. In conclusion, cognitive control could not predict treatment completion or daytime activities a year after the start of treatment over and above individual characteristics. However, results indicate a direct association between brain activity during response inhibition and participation in daytime activities, such as work or school, after treatment. As adequate baseline inhibitory control is associated with a positive outcome at follow-up, this suggests interventions targeting cognitive control might result in better outcomes at follow-up.
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Affiliation(s)
- M E Van der Sluys
- Department of Clinical, Neuro and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorstraat 7, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - J Zijlmans
- VU University Medical Center Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Meibergdreef 5, 1105 AZ, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - A Popma
- VU University Medical Center Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Meibergdreef 5, 1105 AZ, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Leiden University, Steenschuur 25, 2311 ES, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - P H Van der Laan
- Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement, De Boelelaan 1077, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - E J A Scherder
- Department of Clinical, Neuro and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorstraat 7, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - R Marhe
- Department of Clinical, Neuro and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorstraat 7, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- VU University Medical Center Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Meibergdreef 5, 1105 AZ, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Burgemeester Oudlaan 50, 3062 PA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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Oude Maatman F. Reformulating the network theory of mental disorders: Folk psychology as a factor, not a fact. THEORY & PSYCHOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1177/0959354320921464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Borsboom et al. (2019) argue that the network theory of mental disorders, if correct, blocks the biological reduction of mental disorders. This is mainly argued through a partial reformulation of network theory which combines multiple realizability of symptoms with a realist interpretation of folk psychological explanations. In this article, I argue that (a) the latter is problematic and that (b) the combination of these arguments voids the previous predictive and explanatory power of network theory. I then present a novel way in which network theory could avoid biological reductionism by considering folk psychology not as a fact, but as a structuring cause of causal connections between intentional state symptoms, together with culture and time period. Drawing from this, a novel principle for network theory is proposed, which allows it to retain force against reductionism while also retaining predictive and explanatory power.
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Abstract
We argue that the explanatory role of intentional content in connecting symptoms in a network approach to psychopathology hinges neither on causality nor on rationality. Instead, we argue that it hinges on a pluralistic body of practical and clinical know-how. Incorporating this practical approach to intentional state ascription in psychopathological cases expands and improves traditional interpretivism.
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Abstract
This paper argues that investigators should consider replacing the popular practice of comparing individuals varying in gender, social class, and/or ethnicity on one or more continuous measures with a search for kinds of individuals defined by patterns of properties that include not only their values on outcome measures but also their gender, social class, and ethnicity. Investigators who believe that a particular predictor contributes to an outcome independent of the gender, class, or ethnicity of the participants often implement statistical procedures that promise to remove the contributions of the above categories. These analyses lead to misleading conclusions when the controlled category is correlated with the dependent measures. The final sections summarize the properties of genders, classes, and ethnic groups that make distinctive contributions to many psychological outcomes. The paper ends by noting that a society's ethical beliefs constitute a defensible basis for ignoring the biological properties associated with these categories in order to allow members of these groups access to whatever educational or occupational goals they desire.
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