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  • infinitely creative

    Nature is infinitely creative. It is always producing the possibility of new beginnings. – Marianne Williamson

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  • My Most Listened to Songs of 2022: Nemahsis – criminal

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  • Podcast: “Seeing the world through a dog’s eyes.” ABC.au Conversations

    Laura Vissaritis is a dog behaviourist with qualifications in both animal behaviour and human psychology.

    Link to Podcast

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  • Self-Control Can Be Draining

    The human body has a finite number of resources, and scientists are always discovering more about how these resources are shared, depleted, and replenished. Now a new study suggests that the areas in your brain responsible for self-control and forming memories are closely linked – in other words, if you’re concentrating hard on staying disciplined, you’re probably becoming less adept at remembering what’s happening.

    Researchers Yu-Chin Chiu and Tobias Egner from Duke University in the US asked a group of volunteers to recognize a series of faces, both with and without the inclusion of a self-control test in the middle. They found that having to exercise self-control had a negative impact on the participants’ ability to recall which pictures they’d previously seen. The same experiment was then repeated with a new set of volunteers and brain-scanning fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) equipment on hand.

    The pair discovered that one area of the brain – the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex – was activated frequently during the self-control test and predicted the strength of the volunteers’ memory later on. The findings suggest that self-control and memory compete for the same resources inside the brain and support the theory that inhibiting ourselves can also cause us to forget more easily.

    “The control demands of response inhibition divert attention away from stimulus encoding, thereby weakening memory traces for inhibitory cues,” the researchers conclude in The Journal of Neurosience. “These findings shed new light on the relation between the control process of response inhibition and the cognitive domains of perception, attention, and memory.”

    The self-control test used was a traditional Go/No-Go task: these tasks work by asking participants to view a series of items and push a button only when certain criteria are met – in the case of this experiment, when the face shown is male rather than female. The theory is that those who are able to hold back from a button push when necessary are those with the strongest self-control (or “response inhibition”, as neuroscientists like to call it). The participants were not told in advance that they would need to remember the faces they were shown.

    “The scans revealed that responding to a cue and inhibiting a response produced overlapping activation patterns in brain regions within the right frontal and parietal lobes, a network that has previously been implicated in response inhibition,” Mo Costrandi reports for The Guardian. “Crucially, ‘no-go’ trials produced greater activation of this network than ‘Go’ trials, and activity in one specific brain region (the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex) predicted the strength of the participants’ memory, such that the greater the observed network activation, the more likely the participants were to forget that face later on.”

    The researchers admit their theory is still “speculative” for now, but if further study confirms the link, they believe their discovery could be used to treat people who have problems with self-control: those suffering from ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), for example, or some form of addiction.

    One scenario put forward by the pair is having to suddenly cancel a lane change on the motorway because a car is already in the spot you want to move into. If they’re right, the act of having to control and inhibit your actions would make it less likely that you would remember the details of the incident – such as the make and model of the car that was blocking your path.

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  • My Most Listened to Songs of 2022: DOPE LEMON – High Rollin’ Feat. Louise Verneuil

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  • Watch “How Do Creative People Think?”

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  • Irrational Beliefs Guide

    Consider the following questions carefully. Reflectively answer each one briefly but completely regarding those people or things about which you are most emotionally disturbed. This assignment may be emotionally painful, but it may help you achieve needed insight so that you can end your pain.

    • Who or what disturbs or upsets you?
    • Who or what do you strongly believe should, ought, must, or have to be different?
    • Who or what do you strongly think is or awful, terrible, horrible, or catastrophic?
    • Who or what do you down, damn, condemn or believe is worthless?
    • Who or what do you believe is absolutely needed, necessary, or required?
    • What are the things you strongly believe are absolutes, extremes, or critically important?
    • Who or what do you most often or most strongly complain about?
    • What is your greatest wish that you believe you most likely won’t get?
    • What goal have you made (even unconsciously) into a demand because you not only want to but have convinced yourself you must achieve it?
    • What happened in your past from which you cannot recover?
    • What things do you find are, too hard, too much, too painful, too upsetting, or that you just can’t stand?
    • Who or what are you most likely to lose your temper over?
    • What are the biggest stresses in your life?
    • Who or what do you feel most helpless about?
    • Who or what do you feel most hopeless about?
    • What are your most strongly felt demands, wishes, or hopes?
    • What insight or awareness have you come to because of this exercise?
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  • My Most Listened to Songs of 2022: Noga Erez – Industry Baby [Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow]

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  • Watch “‘If you talk about it, you’re not alone.’ | Matt Willis: Fighting Addiction – BBC”

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  • Neuroscience, Addiction, Theory

    Over the years I have read articles and case files of clients that suggest there is an abundance of anxiety and anxiety related disorders with people who experience alcohol and drug addiction. One of the chief components that produce anxiety is stress and according to Volkow and Li (2005) stress increases vulnerability to drug use and relapse in those addicted. They both argue that there is evidence that, “corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) might play a linking role through its effects on the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system and the hypothalamic-pituitary–adrenal axis15-16” (Volkow, Li, 2005, p 1429). In simpler terms, stress produces CRF which affects the limbic system and the adrenals which in turn increases the stress response cycle.

    In thinking about stress I stumbled across another article in the same issue of Nature and Neuroscience that talked about stress like responses, abet in a somewhat indirect manner. The article, by Antoine Bechara (2005) talks about the amygdala being out of balance. Bechara argues that addicted people become unable to make drug-use choices on the basis of long-term outcome because of hyperactivity within the amygdala (Bechara, 2005, p.1458). The amygdala which signals pain or pleasure of immediate prospects, overpowers the reflective prefrontal cortex system for signaling pain or pleasure of future prospects thus altering the decision making process. Bachara goes on to say that substance use can trigger involuntary signals originating from the amygdala that modulate, bias or even hijack the goal-driven cognitive resources that are needed for the normal operation of the reflective system and for exercising the willpower to resist drugs (Bechara, 2005, p.1458).

    Knowing the basics that there is a relationship between the amygdala, drug use and stress I am willing to hypothesize that there is a circular connection here. Stress (and drug use) changes the composition of the chemicals that move through the body, this changed composition changes us more by altering the functions in the amygdala, which leads to changes in the decision making process. This combination of factors (stress-chemical composition-amygdala- and temperament) could be an over whelming force.

    In fact, as long as I am going out on a limb and possibly completely limbless, I hypothesize that this stress amygdala cycle maybe related to the high/low reactive response Kagan noticed behaviorally in infants some thirty plus years ago at Harvard.

    From Kagan’s perspective, temperament is an emotional/behavioral bias, independent of cognitive abilities, that affects receptivity to certain moods and emotions (Mitchell, 2006). Temperament has an effect on the neural chemistry of the brain and thus the sensitivity of certain receptors. Kagan theorized this is based on inherited factors that control the amygdala and thus the production of chemicals in the brain (Mitchell, 2006). This sensitivity, Kagan believes, is the basis of the behavioral/temperamental aspect of an individual.

    In Kagan’s theory the chemical production of the amygdala alters receptor connections forming what he describes as high and low reactive (Mitchell, 2006). A high reactive is a high level of arousal to stimuli (crying), versus a low reactive which has a more relaxed reaction to stimuli. Highs have a more active amygdala, and tend to need to be in more control (control their responses and avoid the high reactive reactions).

    Thus Bechara theory that drugs stimulate the amygdala maybe the same responses/reactions that Kagan saw in high reactive individuals. If one is a high reactive addict and you are surrounded by stimuli your inherent reaction is to want to control your high response because it creates tension within. The addict wants to quiet the tension, and the brain remembers that using fills that immediate need for control by quieting the reactions. But the drug use only temporally gives control as it also creates a hyperactive response in the amygdala which also reinforces that experience/feeling/thought that it’s more important to use now and not worry about later.

    This hypothetical situation might manifest itself somatically by the addict contracting in response to memories of the original or current stressor stimuli for example. This contraction may have become neurologically and psychologically habituated as, “the body movements we develop when we are young are the modus operandi of dissociating” (Caldwell, 1996, p. 28). This contraction would possibly be followed by the person moving to remedy the situation by desensitization through a known movement pattern of perhaps contraction and release. This contraction/release could be a strain/release pattern, followed by a stop/go hesitation pattern as the person struggles with the need to control/quiet the self and the amygdala sends signals/memories of use that overrule the reflective prefrontal cortex. The person uses and goes into a running/drifting rhythm followed by even flow as the effects of the usage wears off.

    Despite some 40 plus years of working with folks using movement and therapy I am still learning about movement and its relationship to addictions and disorders (disharmony) in general. I feel like I am also in the beginning stages of learning about neuroscience and the body with its behaviors. I get a wee bit excited when I think about the journals and articles that I have had only a chance to skim or read once and the connections with addictions as well as Kagan, Bachara, Volkow, Li, and others theories of addiction and personality. I never would have thought I would spend so much time looking at addictions but I see in adults with addictions many issues; adolescence, child hood trauma, dysfunctional families, depression, anxiety, low self esteem, disassociation from the body and from feelings. One population with many pathologies, just like every other population (humans) I suppose.

    References

    AHD, American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. (2000) Houghton Mifflin Company. Retrieved February 28 2008 from Yahoo Education and Reference Dictionary at http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/addiction

    Ballas,C. MD. (2008). Medical Encyclopedia: Addiction. Retrieved February 27 2008 from National Institutes of Health at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001522.htm

    Bechara, A. (2005). Decision making, impulse control and loss of willpower to resist drugs: a neurocognitive perspective. Nature Neuroscience. Vol 8, no. 11 Novemenber 2005.

    Cadlwell, C. (1996). Getting our bodies back. Boston: Shambahala.

    Capello, P,P. (2008). Dance/Movement Therapy with Children Throughout the World. American Journal Dance Therapy. (2008) Vol. 30. pg: 24–36

    Fisher, B. MA, DTR. (1990). Dance/Movement Therapy:Its use in a 28 day substance abuse program. The Arts in Psychotherapy. Vol 17, pp.325-331

    Fraser, J. S., & Solovey, A. D. (2007). Substance Abuse and Dependency. Second-order change in psychotherapy: The golden thread that unifies effective treatments., 223-244.  

    Lewis, P. (2003) Marian Chace Foundation Annual Lecture: Dancing with the Movement of the River. American Journal of Dance Therapy Vol. 25, No. 1, Spring/Summer 2003

    Milliken, R. (1990). Dance/movement therapy with the substance abuser. The Arts in Psychotherapy, The creative arts therapies in the treatment of substance abuse, 17(4), 309-317.

    Mitchell, N. (2006, August 26). All in the mind: Jerome Kagan, the father of temperament. Australia Broadcast Corporation, Radio National. Retrieved August 26, 2006, from http://abc.net.au/rn/aim/

    TIPS, National Library of Medicine. (2008). Groups and substance abuse treatment: From Treatment Improvement Protocol Series. Retrieved February 25 2008 from Health Services Technology/Assessment Texts http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=hstat5.section.78466

    NIDA, National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). (2008). NIDA Info-Facts: Nationwide Trends. Retrieved February 22 2008 from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofacts/nationtrends.html

    Volkow,N. Li, Ting-Kai. (2005). The neuroscience of addiction. Nature Neuroscience. Vol 8, no. 11 Novemenber 2005 .

    Rose,S. (1995). Movement as metaphor in treating chemical addiction. In F.J. Levy (Ed.), Dance and other expressive art therapies. New York: Routledge.

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