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Graded imagination and relaxation as components of experimental desensitization: a psychophysiological evaluation.

Studied the effects of aversive imagery gradation and muscular relaxation as procedural variables within desensitization by using (pre-vs. posttreatment) peripherally cued electrodermal responsivity as the dependent-variable measure of fear. There was no evidence that experimental desensitization or any of its procedural components yielded attenuated electrodermal responsivity to the peripheral fear cue. Because this result derives from a relatively well-done study, it poses a challenge to widespread notions about the vehicle of therapeutic effects from desensitization.

Arousal↗

Motor learning produces parallel dynamic functional changes during the execution and imagination of sequential foot movements.

The aim of the present positron emission tomography study was to measure the dynamic changes in cerebral activity before and after practice of an explicitly known sequence of foot movements when executed physically and to compare them to those elicited during motor imagery of the same movements. Nine healthy volunteers were scanned while performing both types of movement at an early phase of learning and after a 1-h training period of a sequence of dorsiflexions and plantarflexions with the left foot. These experimental conditions were compared directly, as well as to a perceptual control condition. Changes in regional cerebral blood flow associated with physical execution of the sequence early in the learning process were observed bilaterally in the dorsal premotor cortex and cerebellum, as well as in the left inferior parietal lobule. After training, however, most of these brain regions were no longer significantly activated, suggesting that they are critical for establishing the cognitive strategies and motor routines involved in executing sequential foot movements. By contrast, after practice, an increased level of activity was seen bilaterally in the medial orbitofrontal cortex and striatum, as well as in the left rostral portion of the anterior cingulate and a different region of the inferior parietal lobule, suggesting that these structures play an important role in the development of a long lasting representation of the sequence. Finally, as predicted, a similar pattern of dynamic changes was observed in both phases of learning during the motor imagery conditions. This last finding suggests that the cerebral plasticity occurring during the incremental acquisition of a motor sequence executed physically is reflected by the covert production of this skilled behavior using motor imagery.

Adult↗

Guided imaginal coping: an integrative treatment for panic disorder.

Contemporary models suggest that persons with panic disorder inaccurately attribute somatic anxiety symptoms to catastrophic causes. This consequently exacerbates their physiological symptoms, triggering full-blown panic attacks. Researchers have modified catastrophic thinking using cognitive therapy, but typically have not employed these techniques during actual episodes of heightened arousal. Thus, reported cognitive changes may not generalize to naturalistic situations involving hyperreactivity. This study describes use of an intervention which simultaneously combines symptom exposure and cognitive therapy techniques. The client treated here experienced reductions in panic attack frequency as well as duration and became less depressed as therapy progressed. Discussion addresses potential causal mechanisms and directions for future research.

Adaptation, Psychological↗