Understanding Mental Health and Cognitive Restructuring With Ecological Neuroscience

Abstract

Neuroimaging and neuropsychological methods have contributed much toward an understanding of the information processing systems of the human brain in the last few decades, but to what extent do cognitive neuroscientific findings represent and generalize to the inter- and intra-brain dynamics engaged in adapting to naturalistic situations? If it is not marked, and experimental designs lack ecological validity, then this stands to potentially impact the practical applications of a paradigm. In no other domain is this more important to acknowledge than in human clinical neuroimaging research, wherein reduced ecological validity could mean a loss in clinical utility. One way to improve the generalizability and representativeness of findings is to adopt a more “real-world” approach to the development and selection of experimental designs and neuroimaging techniques to investigate the clinically-relevant phenomena of interest. For example, some relatively recent developments to neuroimaging techniques such as functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) make it possible to create experimental designs using naturalistic tasks that would otherwise not be possible within the confines of a conventional laboratory. Mental health, cognitive interventions, and the present challenges to investigating the brain during treatment are discussed, as well as how the ecological use of fNIRS might be helpful in bridging the explanatory gaps to understanding the cultivation of mental health.

Decreased Exercise-Induced Changes in Prefrontal Cortex Hemodynamics Are Associated With Depressive Symptoms

“…Given the cognitive operations for which this brain region is largely functionally specialized (i.e., regulating thought that is dependent or independent of the external world; Burgess et al, 2007 ), it makes sense that dysfunctional, prospective appraisals would be supported by the biasing of stimulus-independent thought—that, here, there would be hyperactivity in depressed individuals. Equally supported by this orientation of attention are the hypothesized cognitive operations of “recogitation” (Crum, 2021b )—executive functions in which depressed people appear to have deficits—and, therefore, hypo-activity in BA10 might be present during their implementation. Thus, rostral PFC is potentially as much involved in the pathogenesis of psychopathological symptoms as it is in facilitating the cognitive change mechanisms that ameliorate them.…”

“…The clinical implication is that deficits in executive functions might limit the effectiveness of mental health interventions such as psychotherapy (Roiser and Sahakian, 2013 ). This is because the neurocognitive mechanisms potentially mediating the effects of non-pharmacological interventions (e.g., recogitation; Crum, 2021a , b ), which also likely drive explicit, conscious cognitive strategies to downregulate negative emotion (see Braunstein et al, 2017 , for review), are predominately executive in nature. This raises the interesting question of whether improving performance of the executive operations localized within the prefrontal cortex (PFC; see Knight and Stuss, 2013 ; Shallice and Cooper, for reviews) might augment the effects of these mechanisms on mental health.…”

Group Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Reducing Anxiety in Middle-Aged Women

“…Cognitive restructuring aims to challenge and modify maladaptive and distorted thinking patterns that contribute to anxiety (Crum, 2021). The therapist helps group members identify and challenge negative and irrational thoughts, replacing them with more realistic and adaptive thoughts.…”

The Journey Within: Mental Navigation as a Novel Framework for Understanding Psychotherapeutic Transformation

“…Through the process of modification, new and effective shortcuts could be established, being readily available when a new situation comes [84,85]. Furthermore, utilizing the conceptualization of mental navigation in psychotherapeutic methods extends beyond just the cognitive-behavioral tradition.…”