The field of cognitive psychology is in a state of empirical abundance, and experts now know more about mammalian brain function than ever before. In contrast, psychological problems such as ADHD, autism, anxiety, and depression are on the rise, as are medical conditions such as diabetes, obesity, and autoimmune disorders. Why, in this era of […]
We compare the effects of psychoactive drugs such as morphine and amphetamine on the synaptic organization of neurons in the orbital frontal (OFC) and medial frontal (mPFC) regions in the rat. Both regions are altered chronically by exposure to intermittent doses of either drug but the effects are area-dependent. For example, whereas morphine produces increased […]
In rodents, the endogenous opioid system has been implicated in emotion regulation, and in the reduction of fear in particular. In humans, while there is evidence that the opioid antagonist naloxone acutely enhances the acquisition of conditioned fear, there are no corresponding data on the effect of opioid agonists in moderating responses to fear. We […]
Posner & Raichle’s (1994) exciting, wonderfully illustrated book describes the past successes and future potential of the relatively noninvasive imaging of the nervous systems of living people. The focus has been on cognitive processes but there is no reason why emotional and motivational systems cannot also be tapped. Although the authors do not formally address […]
Kindergarten teachers face the challenge of balancing traditional developmental programming and contemporary academic standards. In classrooms following a play-based learning framework, academic content such as literacy is to be taught within children’s play. However, educators have reported conceptual and practical challenges with integrating play and literacy. Although the educative contexts of direct instruction, teacher-guided play, […]
PERSPECTIVES is a special feature included in this issue of the Journal of Creativity in Mental Health. This column provides mental health professionals with an opportunity to discuss their positions on a variety of creativity related topics. Here, Lawrence C. Rubin, Ph.D., ABPP, LMHC, RPT-S, professional counselor, play therapist, and professor of counseling education, shares […]
The typical experience of narrative film is characterized by a remarkable intensity as to absorption and emotion. Current explanations attribute the experience to the realistic perceptual impact of the film. This theoretical article sets out to explain the experience as the result first of the film-viewer’s acts of imagination of fictional worlds. More specifically, it […]
Exposures to outdoor environments have great potential to be protective factors for the mental health of young people. In a national analysis of Canadian adolescents, we explored how such exposures, as well as self-perceptions of connectedness with nature, each related to the prevalence of recurrent psychosomatic symptoms. The data source for this cross-sectional study, consisting […]
Places assigned and places chosen have major implications for the lives of children. While the former are a result of children’s subordinate position in an adult world, the latter are the essence of their agency. Beginning at a young age children seek out places to claim as their own. Places, real and imaginary, shape children […]
Although social behavior in vertebrates spans a continuum from solitary to highly social, taxa are often dichotomized as either ‘social’ or ‘non-social’. We argue that this social dichotomy is overly simplistic, neglects the diversity of vertebrate social systems, impedes our understanding of the evolution of social behavior, and perpetuates the erroneous belief that one group-the […]
The medial forebrain bundle (MFB), a key structure of reward-seeking circuitry, remains inadequately characterized in humans despite its vast importance for emotional processing and development of addictions and depression. Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging Fiber Tracking (DTI FT) the authors describe potential converging ascending and descending MFB and anterior thalamic radiation (ATR) that may mediate major […]
Given that the cognitive and affective processes underlying empathy do not fossilize, studies of the empathic capacities of nonhuman primates provide us with a critical window through which we can explore the evolutionary origins of human empathy. Specifically, the comparative method provides an opportunity to determine which features of empathy are uniquely human and which […]
Appetitive motivation and incentive states are essential functions sustained by a common emotional brain process, the SEEKING disposition, which drives explorative and approach behaviors, sustains goal-directed activity, promotes anticipatory cognitions, and evokes feelings of positive excitement which control reward-learning. All such functions are orchestrated by the same ” archetypical ” neural processes, activated in ancient […]
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Selected Principles of Pankseppian Affective Neuroscience
In the early nineties of the twentieth century Jaak Panksepp coined the term âAffective Neuroscienceâ (AN) today being accepted as a unique research area in cross-species brain science. By means of (i) electrical stimulation, (ii) pharmacological challenges, and (iii) brain lesions of vertebrate brains (mostly mammalian), Panksepp carved out seven primary emotional systems called SEEKING, […]