The Neuroscience of the Flow State: Involvement of the Locus Coeruleus Norepinephrine System

Doing good well (Karma Yoga, the path of selfless action): Psychotherapeutic lessons from the East

The tripartite classification of mental faculties into cognition, affect, and conation (motivation and action) continues to be the edifice on which the mind and the methods to address mental afflictions are studied. Eastern spiritual traditions offer insights into mental health as it pertains to each of these domains. Following up on our previous paper on the cognition path to psychotherapy (Knowing oneself, or Jnana Yoga), we herein focus on the path of selfless action (Karma Yoga). We review eastern concepts on the nature of karma and the approaches to optimal action (the will to do things, doing the right things, and doing them well). We then place these eastern insights in the context of emerging concepts in psychology on motivation and action. Current psychological concepts such as autonomy and intrinsic motivation, mastery, flow and growth mindset, higher purpose and value driven self-less action, equanimity and balance are convergent with ancient eastern concepts. We also review current neuroscientific underpinnings (such as neural circuitries, neurotransmitter systems and epigenetics and how these facilitate neural plasticity) relevant to karma, including free will, focused action, prosocial behaviors, extrinsic and intrinsic and motivation. These concepts have significant implications for psychotherapeutic models, especially in the areas of positive psychology and preventive psychiatry.

A framework for neurophysiological experiments on flow states

Csikszentmihalyi's concept of the "flow state" was initially discovered in experts deeply engaged in self-rewarding activities. However, recent neurophysiology research often measures flow in constrained and unfamiliar activities. In this perspective article, we address the challenging yet necessary considerations for studying flow state's neurophysiology. We aggregate an activity-autonomy framework with several testable hypotheses to induce flow, expanding the traditional "challenge skill balance" paradigm. Further, we review and synthesise the best methodological practices from neurophysiological flow studies into a practical 24-item checklist. This checklist offers detailed guidelines for ensuring consistent reporting, personalising and testing isolated challenge types, factoring in participant skills, motivation, and individual differences, and processing self-report data. We argue for a cohesive approach in neurophysiological studies to capture a consistent representation of flow states.

The experimental study of consciousness: Is psychology travelling back to the future?

It was with the promise of rendering an experimental approach to consciousness that psychology started its trajectory as an independent science more than 150 years ago. Here, we will posit that the neurosciences were instrumental in leading psychology to resume the study of consciousness by projecting an empirical agenda for the future. First, we will start by showing how scientists were able to venture into the consciousness of supposedly unconscious patients, opening the door for the identification of important neural correlates of distinct consciousness states. Then, we will describe how different technological advances and elegant experimental paradigms helped in establishing important neuronal correlates of global consciousness (i.e., being conscious at all), perceptual consciousness (i.e., being conscious of something), and self-consciousness (i.e., being conscious of itself). Finally, we will illustrate how the study of complex consciousness experiences may contribute to the clarification of the mechanisms associated with global consciousness, the relationship between perceptual and self-consciousness, and the interface among distinct self-consciousness domains. In closing, we will elaborate on the road ahead of us for re-establishing psychology as a science of consciousness.

Forgetting ourselves in flow: an active inference account of flow states and how we experience ourselves within them

Flow has been described as a state of optimal performance, experienced universally across a broad range of domains: from art to athletics, gaming to writing. However, its phenomenal characteristics can, at first glance, be puzzling. Firstly, individuals in flow supposedly report a loss of self-awareness, even though they perform in a manner which seems to evince their agency and skill. Secondly, flow states are felt to be effortless, despite the prerequisite complexity of the tasks that engender them. In this paper, we unpick these features of flow, as well as others, through the active inference framework, which posits that action and perception are forms of active Bayesian inference directed at sustained self-organisation; i.e., the minimisation of variational free energy. We propose that the phenomenology of flow is rooted in the deployment of high precision weight over (i) the expected sensory consequences of action and (ii) beliefs about how action will sequentially unfold. This computational mechanism thus draws the embodied cognitive system to minimise the ensuing (i.e., expected) free energy through the exploitation of the pragmatic affordances at hand. Furthermore, given the challenging dynamics the flow-inducing situation presents, attention must be wholly focussed on the unfolding task whilst counterfactual planning is restricted, leading to the attested loss of the sense of self-as-object. This involves the inhibition of both the sense of self as a temporally extended object and higher-order, meta-cognitive forms of self-conceptualisation. Nevertheless, we stress that self-awareness is not entirely lost in flow. Rather, it is pre-reflective and bodily. Our approach to bodily-action-centred phenomenology can be applied to similar facets of seemingly agentive experience beyond canonical flow states, providing insights into the mechanisms of so-called selfless experiences, embodied expertise and wellbeing.

Using caffeine as a chemical means to induce flow states

Flow is an intrinsically rewarding state characterised by positive affect and total task absorption. Because cognitive and physical performance are optimal in flow, chemical means to facilitate this state are appealing. Caffeine, a non-selective adenosine receptor antagonist, has been emphasized as a potential flow-inducer. Thus, we review the psychological and biological effects of caffeine that, conceptually, enhance flow. Caffeine may facilitate flow through various effects, including: i) upregulation of dopamine D1/D2 receptor affinity in reward-associated brain areas, leading to greater energetic arousal and 'wanting'; ii) protection of dopaminergic neurons; iii) increases in norepinephrine release and alertness, which offset sleep-deprivation and hypoarousal; iv) heightening of parasympathetic high frequency heart rate variability, resulting in improved cortical stress appraisal, v) modification of striatal endocannabinoid-CB1 receptor-signalling, leading to enhanced stress tolerance; and vi) changes in brain network activity in favour of executive function and flow. We also discuss the application of caffeine to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and caveats. We hope to inspire studies assessing the use of caffeine to induce flow.

Effects of web-based mindfulness training on psychological outcomes, attention, and neuroplasticity

Mindfulness meditation training (MMT) reliably reduces stress and anxiety while also improving attention. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between MMT, stress and anxiety reduction, and its impact upon improvements in attention on the behavioral and neuronal levels. As a second aim, we sought to explore any relationship between MMT, attention, and modified states of mind such as flow. 118 healthy, meditation-naïve, participants were either assigned to a 31-day, web-based, MMT or an active control, health training (HT). Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing the attention network test (ANT) to assess functional and behavioural attentional changes, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to assess microstructural neuronal changes and completed relevant questionnaires to explore changes in psychological outcomes. Results confirmed a reduction in perceived stress and anxiety levels in the MMT group and significant improvements in the overall reaction time during the ANT, albeit no specific effects on the attentional components were observed. No statistically significant changes were found in the HT group. Interestingly, a significant group-by-time interaction was seen in flow experience. Functional data exhibited an increased activity in the superior frontal gyrus, posterior cingulate cortex, and right hippocampus during the alerting condition of the ANT after the MMT; decreased stress and trait anxiety were significantly correlated with the activation in the right hippocampus, and increased flow was also significantly correlated with all the aforementioned areas. DTI data showed increased fractional anisotropy values in the right uncinate fasciculus indicating white matter microarchitecture improvement between the right hippocampus and frontal areas of the brain. This study, therefore, demonstrates the effectiveness of web-based MMT on overall well-being and attentional performance, while also providing insight into the relationship between psychological outcomes, attention, and neuroplastic changes.

Exploring the dynamics of mobile app addiction: the interplay of communication, affective factors, flow, perceived enjoyment, and habit

The rapid proliferation of mobile apps and their increasing usage have led to growing concerns about potential addiction among users. Previous research has identified several factors that contribute to addiction, including flow, perceived enjoyment, and habit. However, the underlying mechanisms and the role of affective factors remain unclear. This study aims to elucidate the key factors that affect mobile app addiction by proposing a theoretical framework incorporating communication, affective factors, flow, perceived enjoyment, and habit. Data were collected from 320 mobile app users through a questionnaire survey. The research employed partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the data and test the proposed relationships. The analysis indicates that communication is significantly associated with perceived enjoyment but does not directly affect flow and habit. The research unveils that positive affect significantly influences both flow and perceived enjoyment, but does not influence habit. Negative affect was found to have no significant effect on flow, perceived enjoyment, and habit. The results demonstrate that flow, perceived enjoyment, and habit are significantly related to addiction. The findings reveal that perceived enjoyment has a substantial impact on both flow and habit. These findings offer valuable guidelines for future research and practical implications for developers and policymakers in addressing the challenges associated with mobile app addiction.

Advancing the study of levels of best practice pre-service teacher education students from Spain: Associations with both positive and negative achievement-related experiences

The study of optimal best practice, coinciding with a person's 'motivational mindset', is an interesting research inquiry for development. Optimal best practice, in brief, relates to the maximization of a person's state of functioning (e.g., cognitive functioning). Moreover, the nature of optimal best practice is positive and motivational, helping individuals to flourish in different courses of action (e.g., academic performance at school). Several research undertakings, non-experimental in design, have provided clear and consistent evidence to substantiate the existing viewpoints and perspectives of optimal best practice. Our proposed investigation, which involved physical education pre-service teacher students from Spain (N = 681), explored one notable focus of inquiry-namely, the formation of optimal best practice and its predictive and explanatory account on future adaptive outcomes. As such, using Likert-scale measures and path analysis techniques, we were able to identify two associative patterns: achievement of optimal best practice is positively accounted for by academic self-concept, optimism, and current best practice and, in contrast, negatively accounted for by pessimism; and that optimal best practice could act as a determinant of academic engagement for effective learning. Such associations are significant, providing relevant information for different teaching and research purposes.

Modulating arousal to overcome gait impairments in Parkinson's disease: how the noradrenergic system may act as a double-edged sword

In stressful or anxiety-provoking situations, most people with Parkinson's disease (PD) experience a general worsening of motor symptoms, including their gait impairments. However, a proportion of patients actually report benefits from experiencing-or even purposely inducing-stressful or high-arousal situations. Using data from a large-scale international survey study among 4324 people with PD and gait impairments within the online Fox Insight (USA) and ParkinsonNEXT (NL) cohorts, we demonstrate that individuals with PD deploy an array of mental state alteration strategies to cope with their gait impairment. Crucially, these strategies differ along an axis of arousal-some act to heighten, whereas others diminish, overall sympathetic tone. Together, our observations suggest that arousal may act as a double-edged sword for gait control in PD. We propose a theoretical, neurobiological framework to explain why heightened arousal can have detrimental effects on the occurrence and severity of gait impairments in some individuals, while alleviating them in others. Specifically, we postulate that this seemingly contradictory phenomenon is explained by the inherent features of the ascending arousal system: namely, that arousal is related to task performance by an inverted u-shaped curve (the so-called Yerkes and Dodson relationship). We propose that the noradrenergic locus coeruleus plays an important role in modulating PD symptom severity and expression, by regulating arousal and by mediating network-level functional integration across the brain. The ability of the locus coeruleus to facilitate dynamic 'cross-talk' between distinct, otherwise largely segregated brain regions may facilitate the necessary cerebral compensation for gait impairments in PD. In the presence of suboptimal arousal, compensatory networks may be too segregated to allow for adequate compensation. Conversely, with supraoptimal arousal, increased cross-talk between competing inputs of these complementary networks may emerge and become dysfunctional. Because the locus coeruleus degenerates with disease progression, finetuning of this delicate balance becomes increasingly difficult, heightening the need for mental strategies to self-modulate arousal and facilitate shifting from a sub- or supraoptimal state of arousal to improve gait performance. Recognition of this underlying mechanism emphasises the importance of PD-specific rehabilitation strategies to alleviate gait disability.

Changes in pupil dilation and P300 amplitude indicate the possible involvement of the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) system in psychological flow

Psychological flow is a state of full task immersion. The present study was conducted to test the hypothesis that psychological flow is positively related to activity of the phasic locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) system, which supports decisions on whether to engage in or disengage from the current activity. Subjective flow was assessed among 36 participants who engaged in a gamified version of the n-back task with various difficulty levels (0, 1, 2, and 3 back). During the tasks, continuous pupil diameter and EEG were recorded. We found that psychological flow and two presumed indicators of the phasic LC-NE activity (pupil dilation and EEG P300 amplitude) fit inverted U-shapes with increasing subjective task difficulty. Moreover, a positive linear relationship between psychological flow and pupil dilation (not with P300) was found. In conclusion, this study indicates the involvement of the LC-NE system in the peak experience of flow.

The Electroencephalographic Brainwave Spectrum, Mindful Meditation, and Awareness: Hypothesis

It is hypothesized that being mindfully aware is a spontaneous state of being. It is imbued with joy, peace and happiness. Such a state is periodically revealed during restful attentiveness or presence. It is also associated with spontaneous brain alpha activity of 8-13 Hz. In deep nonrapid eye movement sleep, there is synchronous delta activity at a coherent frequency of 0.1 Hz. Both of these brainwave ground states are spontaneous, calm and effortless. When any physical or mental effort is made, the alpha rhythm is desynchronized, and it is superposed by faster brain waves of beta (13-30 Hz) and gamma frequencies (30-150 Hz). This is associated with a stream of dualistic conscious experiences with contents. During deep sleep, delta activity is superposed by beta and gamma activity with microarousals resulting in dream experiences. During effortless, meditative awareness, the whole family of alpha rhythm is synchronized including (a) Occipital-parietal alpha with visual clarity, formless color, and the absence of visual imagery (b) Frontal eye-field alpha with relatively motionless eyes, and the absence of voluntary actions or plans to move the eyes in some direction, along with nonactive working memory, (c) Somatosensory alpha or Mu rhythm from the somatic motor-sensory cortex with the resultant stillness of the body including head, face, larynx, spine, hands and legs, (d) Mid-temporal auditory alpha with vocal quietness and internal verbal silence (Maunam) with a feeling of spontaneous silence and serenity, (e) Cingulate and precuneus alpha resulting in freedom from autobiographical memories and the sense of agency or ego. The insular cortex serves as a gatekeeper, a hierarchical controller to switch between conscious engagement or disengagement from the internal or the external world. It switches between the default mode network and the executive frontoparietal networks, between the sequential and the parallel modes of functioning. Mindful consciousness is local and dualistic, whereas mindful awareness is nonlocal and nondual.

Advancing the Study of “Goals of Best Practice”: Toward Achieving Optimal Best – Educational Implications to Developments in Flow Research and Positive Optimal Psychology

The paradigm of positive psychology is significant in introducing positive psychological concepts such as “flourishing,” “optimal best,” and “a state of flow.” In terms of research development of positive psychology, the researchers of this article have made extensive theoretical, empirical, and methodological contributions by advancing the study of optimal best. One aspect of this research, notably, consists of advancement of the psychological process of optimization. Optimization, in brief, provides a theoretical account into the “optimization” of a person’s state of functioning. Non-academically, a Buddhist nun’s seeking to successfully achieve an optimal state of enlightenment or, academically, a first-year student’s seeking to achieve an A grade in Psych 101 would require some form of optimization. Recent research development has, interestingly, considered a related concept known as “goals of best practice” (GsBP), which may co-exist with the process of optimization and/or assist to account for the optimization of learning experiences. This conceptual analysis article, by utilizing the paradigm of philosophical psychology, advances the study of optimal best practice by focusing on three major aspects: (i) to consider conceptually and philosophically how and/or the extent to which GsBP could, in fact, relate to the nature of flow, flourishing, and optimal best; (ii) to consider a methodological account, which could help to measure and assess the concept GsBP; and (iii) to consider the potential practicality of GsBP in educational contexts, which may assist to facilitate and motivate the achievement of optimal best. These three aspects, we firmly believe, are of significance as they provide grounding for implementation and continuing research development into the area of best practice.

Publication guidelines and recommendations for pupillary measurement in psychophysiological studies

A variety of psychological and physical phenomena elicit variations in the diameter of pupil of the eye. Changes in pupil size are mediated by the relative activation of the sphincter pupillae muscle (decrease pupil diameter) and the dilator pupillae muscle (increase pupil diameter), innervated by the parasympathetic and sympathetic branches, respectively, of the autonomic nervous system. The current guidelines are intended to inform and guide psychophysiological research involving pupil measurement by (1) summarizing important aspects concerning the physiology of the pupil, (2) providing methodological and data-analytic guidelines and recommendations, and (3) briefly reviewing psychological phenomena that modulate pupillary reactivity. Because of the increased ease and tractability of pupil measurement, the goal of these guidelines is to promote accurate recording, analysis, and reporting of pupillary data in psychophysiological research.