A conceptual framework for the neurobiological study of resilience

Abstract

The well-replicated observation that many people maintain mental health despite exposure to severe psychological or physical adversity has ignited interest in the mechanisms that protect against stress-related mental illness. Focusing on resilience rather than pathophysiology in many ways represents a paradigm shift in clinical-psychological and psychiatric research that has great potential for the development of new prevention and treatment strategies. More recently, research into resilience also arrived in the neurobiological community, posing nontrivial questions about ecological validity and translatability. Drawing on concepts and findings from transdiagnostic psychiatry, emotion research, and behavioral and cognitive neuroscience, we propose a unified theoretical framework for the neuroscientific study of general resilience mechanisms. The framework is applicable to both animal and human research and supports the design and interpretation of translational studies. The theory emphasizes the causal role of stimulus appraisal (evaluation) processes in the generation of emotional responses, including responses to potential stressors. On this basis, it posits that a positive (non-negative) appraisal style is the key mechanism that protects against the detrimental effects of stress and mediates the effects of other known resilience factors. Appraisal style is shaped by three classes of cognitive processes--positive situation classification, reappraisal, and interference inhibition--that can be investigated at the neural level. Prospects for the future development of resilience research are discussed.

The role of expectancy and proactive control in stress regulation: A neurocognitive framework for regulation expectation

“…Our framework could be used to guide practice and further research into the influence of cognitive control mechanisms that subserve adaptive emotion regulation strategies such as reappraisal of stressful events, by facilitating shifting processes towards positive information, leading to more positive expectancies for future events. Indeed, adaptive emotion regulation strategies are an important predictor for resilience, the phenomenon of maintaining one's mental health even when confronted with adversity (Kalisch, Müller, & Tüscher, 2014). It is of crucial importance to know (1) which components of therapy could be most beneficial, and (2) what might work best for whom.…”

A Training Method to Improve Police Use of Force Decision Making

“…It follows then that the core component of improving use of force decision making is to improve an officer's ability to maintain an optimal state of sensory awareness (e.g., visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory) associated with moderate arousal during critical incidents (Kalisch et al, 2015). Controlling ones' heart rate within a moderate range is of key importance in maintaining physiological control, cognitive acuity, and the ability to perform under pressure (McCraty & Atkinson, 2012;McCraty et al, 2009).…”

Mentalization and Self-Efficacy as Mediators between Psychological Symptom Severity and Disabilities in Activities and Participation in Psychotherapy Patients

“…A further shortcoming is that only two psychological factors (mentalization and self-efficacy) were evaluated as mediators. As the indirect effects of mentalization as well as of self-efficacy explained only a relatively small amount of the total effect, a plethora of other variables should be investigated in future studies as potential additional contributors to the symptom-disability link, especially variables related to resilience [45]. One such variable is, for example, cognitive ability, which has already been shown to mediate the relationship between symptoms and functioning in patients with traumatic brain injury [46].…”