The neuropsychology of religious experience. A review of different scientific approaches to the phenomenon / Neuropsicología de la experiencia religiosa. Una revisión de distintas aproximaciones científicas al fenómeno

Abstract

The current article is a critical review of the neuropsychological study of religious experience. First, we analyse the philosophical and theological roots of the term and its characterization as a sui generis and unique phenomenon. We subsequently describe the adoption of the concept in psychology, as well as the emergence of alternative approaches that emphasize the role of categorization of experiences as religious. We then move on to explore how both approaches have influenced the neuropsychological study of religious experience, consequently producing different models: sui generis, attributional and others that consider the variety of factors and the heterogeneity of experiences associated with religious practices.     

The brain/body-in-the-world system is cognitive science’s study object for the twenty-first century / El sistema cerebro/cuerpo-en-el-mundo es el objeto de estudio de la ciencia cognitiva en el siglo XXI

Abstract

Modern cognitive science is the outcome of a transdisciplinary effort constituting the largest body of work about the mind in human history. These advancements have guided our understanding of the functional role of the agent’s body and context when producing adaptive behaviour and interactions. Thus, cognition is embodied, embedded, extended and enacted within inward- and outward-directed interactions, which is where the brain/body-in-the-world system emerges. We suggest that the goal of the new cognitive science is to understand the multi-level dynamic mechanisms underlying cognition-in-the-world and review the implications for the relationship between psychology and the social sciences.     

A Systemic Framework for Trauma-Informed Schooling: Complex but Necessary!

In most classrooms in most schools, there are students who have suffered complex trauma who would benefit from a system-wide, trauma-informed approach to schooling. Despite growth in Australian schools adopting trauma-informed practice, education systems are yet to embrace a whole-of-organization approach, unlike other systems supporting children and adolescents. This is likely due to multifarious complexities inherent in, and specific to, the schooling system. This article reviews early findings from current research in Queensland, Australia that is exploring requirements for a system-wide approach to trauma-informed schooling. Findings highlight that achieving systemic, trauma-informed schooling is complex but necessary and has potential to improve outcomes for students and those aiming to educate them. Findings have implications for schooling and education systems worldwide.     

Affective evidence that inhibition is involved in separating accessory representations from active representations in visual working memory

ABSTRACT

The multiple state theory of working memory suggests that representations are divided into two states: focused-on active representations and accessory memories held for later use. Here we tested two competing hypotheses regarding the neurocognitive mechanisms responsible for this separation: (1) that accessory memories undergo inhibition or (2) that accessory memories are amplified less than active representations. We explored whether accessory memories undergo affective devaluation, a known index of the involvement of inhibition in a visual task. On each trial participants memorized four items, were cued to focus on one, and then completed a visual search or an affective evaluation task. While search distractors matching the colour of an active item slowed search, those matching an accessory memory did not, replicating previous findings that only active items guide search. Also, accessory items were affectively devalued compared to baseline and active items, supporting the hypothesis that accessory memories undergo inhibition.     

Towards a multilevel approach of employee well-being

In this commentary, I respond to Ilies, Aw & Pluut’s (Intraindividual models of employee well-being: What have we learned and where do we go from here?, European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, in press) call for a theory that distinguishes between traits and states of employee well-being. I use Job Demands–Resources theory to illustrate how we may integrate within- and between-person approaches and findings to design an overall multilevel model of employee well-being. My perspective builds on Ilies et al. and recent findings of research combining relatively stable “traits” with fluctuating states of employee well-being. My goals with this commentary are three-fold: (1) give more insight into possible differences between variables at different levels of analysis; (2) use research to show how trait and state levels of (predictors of) employee well-being may interact; (3) propose a multilevel model that may stimulate future research on the topic.     

Turning towards a bio-psycho-social way of thinking

This paper considers the impact being made on child and adolescent mental health services by the ‘neuroscience revolution’. It outlines some of the important developments that form part of that revolution and considers some of the challenges they present to the thinking of psychoanalytic child psychotherapists within the British Object Relations tradition. After considering a case example and Guntrip's formulation of some core principles of that tradition, it argues that its psycho-social thinking now needs to be stretched so as to become bio-psychosocial.     

Rostro‐caudal and dorso‐ventral gradients in medial and lateral prefrontal cortex during cognitive control of affective and cognitive interference

Characterizing the anatomical substrates of major brain functions such as cognition and emotion is of utmost importance to the ongoing efforts of understanding the nature of psychiatric ailments and their potential treatment. The aim of our study was to investigate how the brain handles affective and cognitive interferences on cognitive processes. Functional magnetic resonance imaging investigation was performed on healthy individuals, comparing the brain oxygenation level dependent activation patterns during affective and cognitive counting Stroop tasks. The affective Stroop task activated rostral parts of medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) and rostral and ventral parts of lateral PFC, while cognitive Stroop activated caudal parts of medial PFC and caudal and dorsal parts of lateral PFC. Our findings suggest that the brain may handle affective and cognitive interference on cognitive processes differentially, with affective interference preferentially activating rostral and ventral PFC networks and cognitive interference activating caudal and dorsal PFC networks.     

Altered sleep in Borderline Personality Disorder in relation to the core dimensions of psychopathology

The aim of the study was to review the literature regarding sleep disturbances in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and to relate the reported sleep alterations to the underlying core dimensions of BPD pathology. We present a qualitative and theoretical review regarding the empirical studies that investigated objective and subjective sleep quality in BPD and in different psychiatric conditions showing high co‐morbidity with this disorder. We show that disturbed sleep including sleep fragmentation, alterations in Slow Wave Sleep and REM sleep, and dysphoric dreaming are prevalent symptoms in BPD. We provide a framework relating the specific sleep alterations to the core dimensions of BPD pathology in order to clarify the inconsistencies of the different findings. The specific sleep disturbances in BPD seem to be related to different dimensions of psychopathological functioning and may have detrimental consequences on waking affect and cognition. Investigating disturbed sleep in BPD in relation to waking symptoms and underlying neural functioning would shed more light on the nature of this complex disorder. Moreover, a stronger emphasis on sleep disturbances would enrich the treatment protocols of BPD.