Regression II. Development through regression

As shown in our previous paper (‘Regression I. Experimental approaches to regression’, JAP, 65, 2, 345-65), the common mechanism of regression can be described as reversible dedifferentiation, which is understood as a relative increase of the proportion of low-differentiated (older) systems in actualized experience. Experimental data show that regression following disease (chronic tension headache) is followed by adaptation and an increase in system differentiation in that experience domain which contains systems responsible for that adaptation. The results of mathematical modelling support the idea that reversible dedifferentiation can be one of the mechanisms for increasing the effectiveness of adaptation through learning. Reversible dedifferentiation, which is phenomenologically described as regression, is a general mechanism for restructuring the organism-environment interactions in situations where behaviours that were effective in the past become ineffective. Reversible dedifferentiation has evolved as a component of adaptation when new behaviours are formed and large-scale modifications in the existing behaviours are required in the face of changes in the external and/or internal environment. Thus, the authors believe that this article provides evidence for Jung’s view that regression is not only a ‘return’ to past forms of thinking, affects and behaviour, but that regressive processes provide a significant impetus for psychological growth and development.     

On matters of mind and body: regarding Descartes

In this paper the author considers Descartes’ place in current thinking about the mind‐body dilemma. The premise here is that in the history of ideas, the questions posed can be as significant as the answers acquired. Descartes’ paramount question was ‘How do we determine certainty?’ and his pursuit of an answer led to cogito ergo sum. His discovery simultaneously raised the question whether mind is separate from or unified with the body. Some who currently hold that brain and subjectivity are unified contend that the philosopher ‘split’ mind from body and refer to ‘Descartes’ error’. This paper puts forward that Descartes’ detractors fail to recognise Descartes’ contribution to Western thought, which was to introduce the Enlightenment and to give a place to human subjectivity. Added to this, evidence from Descartes’ correspondence with Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia supports the conclusion that Descartes did in fact believe in the unity of mind and body although he could not reconcile this rationally with the certainty from personal experience that they were separate substances. In this Descartes was engaged in just the same dilemma as that of current thinkers and researchers, a conflict which still is yet to be resolved.     

Efectos de la música ansiogénica y ansiolítica sobre la actividad eléctrica cerebral de alfa en sujetos con ansiedad patológica

Resumen

Este artículo examina las repercusiones en el EEG (en el nivel de actividad de alfa) de distintos fragmentos musicales, ansiogénicos y ansiolíticos, escuchados biauralmente (denominados estados B y C, respectivamen te) en dos grupos: sujetos portadores de ansiedad patológica y sujetos normales. Treinta y dos sujetos (20 mujeres y 12 hombres) fueron utilizados para estudiar el comportamiento de la actividad de alfa y su relación con la disminución de la ansiedad. Distintas pruebas psicológicas (IDARE P, IDARE E y EAP) y el registro del bio-trainer, o bio-feedback, (conectado durante todo el experimento) fueron empleados para cotejar los resultados bioeléctricos obtenidos. Un novedoso software fue usado para el «mapeo» cerebral de los datos neurométricos que cuantitativamente apoyó las variaciones constatadas subjetivamente.

Los resultados mostraron que los cambios cualitativos dentro de las pruebas psicológicas utilizadas se correspondieron con las variaciones del EEG (aumento del nivel de la actividad de alfa), lo cual apoya el efecto beneficioso de las selecciones musicales escogidas. Esto subraya las posibilidades terapéuticas de la inducción musical para reducir el tratamiento psicofarmacol ógico (en aquellos casos en que éste fuera necesario), como una manera complementaria de afrontar los síntomas de la ansiedad patológica.     

Mind,brain and body. Healing trauma: the way forward

The paper explores an interdisciplinary whole person approach to healing from trauma that conserves our rich inheritance from Jung but also takes on board insights from research in the areas of attachment, trauma and the neurobiology of emotion. It is now over 20 years since insights from neurobiology began to be used to inform clinical practice. The paper reviews key insights which have emerged, along with the ways they enable therapists to help mind, brain and body to heal and the ways in which they clarify why, in clinical practice, we do what we do. Traditionally the emphasis has been on words, interpretations, and meaning‐making. Currently there is greater appreciation of the affective, relational, embodied aspects of therapeutic work and the way in which these relate to traumatic early interactive experience that is held outside of human awareness. The ways in which knowledge of particular systems of connectivity inform understanding of the whole mind‐brain‐body relationship are examined. The way forward for clinical practice to become more focused in order to help clients to heal in mind and body is reviewed.     

Integration versus conflict between schools of dream theory and dreamwork: integrating the psychological core qualities of dreams with the contemporary knowledge of the dreaming brain

The various ways schools of psychotherapy relate to dreams have been marked by isolationism and mutual conflict rather than self-examination and then integrating the discoveries and methods of other schools. Jung’s method was in opposition to Freud’s psychoanalysis. Existential psychology was dismissive of Freud’s and Jung’s discoveries, while cognitive dream interpretation and cognitive therapy sought other roads entirely. In addition, scientific and neuropsychological dream research has been only insignificantly tied to the psychotherapeutic dream theories. These conflicts and the lack of a comprehensive dream theory has made it convenient for the current rationalist collective consciousness and treatment systems to reject the often times challenging knowledge about ourselves that dreams can provide. This paper describes how contemporary theories of complex cybernetic information networks can create an overriding, constructive framework for uncovering common traits within the above-mentioned branches of dream research and dreamwork. Within this framework, ten core qualities are delineated, supported by both therapeutic knowledge as well as scientific research: 1) Dreams deal with matters important to us; 2) Dreams symbolize; 3) Dreams personify; 4) Dreams are trial runs in a safe place; 5) Dreams are online to unconscious intelligence; 6) Dreams are pattern recognition; 7) Dreams are high level communication; 8) Dreams are condensed information; 9) Dreams are experiences of wholeness; 10) Dreams are psychological energy landscapes. For each core quality I describe short dreamwork sequences from my own practice and a schematic image of how I perceive the overriding interaction between systems in the dreaming brain. For each core quality recommendations for practical dreamwork are provided. Finally, I draw attention to dreams as a huge psychological resource for humankind.     

Regression I. Experimental approaches to regression

The concept of regression is considered with an emphasis on the differences between the positions of Freud and Jung regarding its significance. The paper discusses the results of experimental analyses of individual experience dynamics (from gene expression changes and impulse neuronal activity in animals to prosocial behaviour in healthy humans at different ages, and humans in chronic pain) in those situations where regression occurs: stress, disease, learning, highly emotional states and alcohol intoxication. Common mechanisms of regression in all these situations are proposed. The mechanisms of regression can be described as reversible dedifferentiation, which is understood as a relative increase of the representation of low-differentiated (older) systems in the actualized experience. In all of the cases of dedifferentiation mentioned above, the complexity of the systemic organization of behaviour significantly decreases.     

Advances in functional brain imaging technology and developmental neuro‐psychology: their applications in the Jungian analytic domain

Analytical psychology shares with many other psychotherapies the important task of repairing the consequences of developmental trauma. The majority of analytic patients come from compromised early developmental backgrounds: they may have experienced neglect, abuse, or failures of empathic resonance from their carers. Functional brain imagery techniques including Quantitative Electroencephalogram (QEEG), and functional Magnetic Resonance Imagery (fMRI), allow us to track mental processes in ways beyond verbal reportage and introspection. This independent perspective is useful for developing new psychodynamic hypotheses, testing current ones, providing diagnostic markers, and monitoring treatment progress. Jung, with the Word Association Test, grasped these principles 100 years ago. Brain imaging techniques have contributed to powerful recent advances in our understanding of neurodevelopmental processes in the first three years of life. If adequate nurturance is compromised, a range of difficulties may emerge. This has important implications for how we understand and treat our psychotherapy clients. The paper provides an overview of functional brain imaging and advances in developmental neuropsychology, and looks at applications of some of these findings (including neurofeedback) in the Jungian psychotherapy domain.     

A neurodevelopmental perspective on male violence

Research is increasingly documenting a neurobiological basis to violence. This review takes a neurodevelopmental perspective on the very small group of males who grow up to become persistent violent offenders. After outlining six criteria for what constitutes a neurodevelopmental disorder, the extent to which chronic violence meets these definitional criteria is examined, covering the fields of genetics, structural and functional brain imaging, and neuropsychology. Early health risk factors for violence are then outlined, including birth complications, minor physical anomalies, prenatal smoking and alcohol exposure, poor nutrition, lead exposure, and traumatic brain injury. Persistent adult violence is argued to originate in aberrant temperamental behavior in early childhood, to have a stable developmental trajectory, and to be associated with impaired education, social, and occupational functioning. Taken together, it is argued that chronic adult violence meets criterion for being conceptualized as having neurodevelopmental origins and that an important, but not sole, source of neural maldevelopment lies in prenatal and early postnatal risk factors. This review concludes with a recognition of the sociopolitical context within which a neurodevelopmental perspective on chronic violence sits, together with directions for future research, including whether a neurodevelopmental hypothesis is best applied to reactive as opposed to proactive aggression.     

Relationships,Environment, and the Brain: How Emerging Research is Changing What We Know about the Impact of Families on Human Development

Recent research is providing family therapists with new information about the complex interaction between an individual's biological makeup and his/her social and physical environment. Family and social relationships, particularly during sensitive periods early in life, can affect a child's biological foundation. Additionally, stress during the early years can have a lasting effect on an individual's physical and mental health and contribute to the onset of severe mental illness. Community programs have been developed to intervene early with families who have an at‐risk child to prevent or minimize the onset of mental illness including providing partnerships with at‐risk mothers of infants to shape attachment relationships. Programs are also developing individual and family interventions to prevent the onset of psychosis. Practicing family therapists can incorporate emerging neuroscience and early intervention research and leverage the growing base of community programs to enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of mental health outcomes for clients. Additionally, family therapy education programs should broaden student training to incorporate the growing body of information about how family relationships affect individual mental health development.     

Los correlatos neurales de la consciencia visual: estudios con rivalidad binocular

Resumen

El estudio científico de la consciencia requiere encontrar disociaciones entre la consciencia y los mecanismos perceptivos no implicados directamente en la formación de la imagen consciente. Una de las mejores disociaciones es la rivalidad binocular. La rivalidad binocular aparece cuando se presentan imágenes dicópticas que no pueden fundirse, lo que resulta en que la consciencia oscila entre los perceptos posibles. De esta forma, la consciencia cambia pero la estimulación permanece constante. El presente artículo revisa los hallazgos con fMRI (resonancia magnética funcional) y microelectrodos que emplearon la rivalidad binocular y se concluye que existe actividad asociada con la consciencia en toda la vía visual ventral.