Dear Michael,
I just wanted to take a minute to thank you for initiating and keeping up with this fantastic blog. Every morning I put conference calls and spread sheets on hold and take a few minutes to feed my brain and soul by reading your posts. I discovered this treasure a few weeks ago in a moment when I was looking for answers to deal with a very unsettling personal situation. Since then I have found a place to come for wisdom and reassurance. Articles that have been very helpful are “Living in Fear Vs Living in Certainty” and “Social Intelligence, Authentic Relationship and Conscious Communication”.
Keep up the good work… one mind at the time!

I have been very excited about brain plasticity for some time and it seems as if there is finally a mass movement towards recognizing the powerful control we may exert over our own conciousness. The idea is that of a top down relationship vs. a bottom up relationship and it gives much more respect to the awareness we all feel as humans even when told we are just complex machines. I am anxious to see how this change of view may effect public policy. Will people be held more responsible for actions carried out with a "disturbed mind?" Moral relativism won't hold up in the face of willfull, concious acts relsulting in measurable physical change.

Michael, another great blog post. I really enjoy reading your perspective.

It's interesting because one of the arguments for "early intervention" for kids with Autism is that we need to get them a quality education in early childhood, while the brain is still forming and making connections. Although this is changing somewhat, the view is often that this time period (up through the age of about 5 years) is some sort of window that will be closed, after which significant improvements are less likely to be made.

I'm certainly interested in hearing more about this...it may help get additional funding for services other than life skills training for older students with Autism who are past the "early intervention" window.

Have a lovely day,

Nicole Caldwell, M.Ed.
http://blogs.psychologytoday.com/blog/positively-autism
http://www.PositivelyAutism.com/

This post is in response to Michael Formica’s article on Psychology Today Blog where he speaks of the recent developments of brain science and neuroplasticity; namely, "Dendritic and synaptic connections have been demonstrated to rewire themselves via experience, and, most intriguingly, through mind training. The implications of these findings for neuroscience, cognitive science and applied psychology are staggering."

And Michael while I do not question your contention that mind training plays a most intriguing role in rewiring the brain, I have found that experiences in meditation (mindfulness development) combined with relational exchanges where emotional resonance occurs makes for the most substantial changes in the brain. And I must say that I am less knowledgeable about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. If you could fill me in on CBT and its significance, I would be indebted to you.

My experience lies mostly in the emotional realms where both client and therapist experience deep, core emotions and then share that experience in the session and both "feel felt" by the other. This emotional resonance occurs when emotional states converge and the two people share in the experience of the other. This also occurs when we read of a tragic war death and are moved to emotion by what we imagine the family must be experiencing.

In Daniel Siegel’s most recent work, The Mindful Brain, he speaks, like Michael does, to the significance of meditation and mindfulness. He also goes further and speaks to the concept of Mirror Neurons. And Sue Johnson in Hold Me Tight identifies these "nerve cells that activate in sympathy and in the same brain location as the nerve cells of the person whose actions we are watching. ..These neurons help us sense what others intend and help us connect with what the other feels…Scientists suggest that the more active a person’s mirror neuron system, the stronger his or her empathy will be."

This empathy is what Buddhists refer to as Compassion. Meditating alone in a cave or in isolation can bring about changes in our caring or compassion for others.And the resonance along with the mindfulness allows for a greater capacity for Compassion.

I won’t take the time right now to discuss Oxytocin but this is the neurotransmitter which is probably most relevant in the rewiring and the changes that take place in the brain.

In our just released book on Amazon, In a Cradle of Words: Intimate Encounters in Relational Therapy, my co-author Laurel Vogel reveals her personal story mostly around her father’s death and there is an interplay between her pain, the creation of new neural pathways using Relational Therapy, and her healing.

Christopher:

Mind training is meditation, as meditation is not simply about sitting.

You may be interested in exploring some of the more scientific, evidence-based works on the subject of neuroplasticity, specifically those related to the work being done in tandem with the Mind and Life Institute, as well as that done by Daniel Goleman and others.

Regards your reference to Oxytocin, while there is evidence to suggest that this neurotransmitter does play a role in autonomic and reflexive behavior, there is none to suggest that it has been demonstrated to play a role in neural restructuring.

Regards,
Michael

Michael,
Thanks for the suggestion. I will check out the Mind and Life Institute. And while the scientific verification is important, the real life personal experience as a client and a therapist for me is the most significant.

Christopher

Michael,
Your suggestion that I explore "more scientific, evidence-based works on the subject of neuroplasticity" implies that Daniel Siegel's work is not scientific evidence-based. I have not checked on his research and have only taken him on his word that he has done the research to verify the validity of "Mirroring Neurons" and "Emotional resonance".

I have not done research and I KNOW from experience that these are valid. It is the same with the Oxytocin where I have experienced the effects of this hormone/neurotransmitter in myself and my clients and its healing properties. I have seen and felt it counteract cortisol in the blink of an eye, and take a person from great distress to relaxed and relieved and connected.

Have you had that experience? Or witnessed it?

Christopher

Chris:

No disrespect intended. My background is as a research scientist first, clinician second.

As far as I'm concerned, unless someone can show me hard numbers, it's just a conversation -- based on anecdotal information.

Experience is not research, it is experience. That one could make the leap from "feeling better through experience" to the notion that oxytocin is the neurotransmitter for that change without blood work, CAT scans, PET scans and/or MRIs is just bad science.

Lifting weights and running influences depression...I could say that's oxytocin, too. Except there is demonstrable evidence to show it's endorphins and serotonin.

As Reagan, and Teddy Roosevelt before him, said, "Trust, with verification."

Again, all due respect, but, never take anyone at their word.

Blessings,
Michael

Michael
Thanks for your respectful response. I appreciate that. I know that scientists need cold hard facts. Are you familiar with Dr Siegel's research and book, The Mindful Brain? Dr Allan Schore? Dr Bessel van der Kolk?

I believe these experts in the field of Trauma and the Brain have done research. Siegel, using Pet Scans and MRI's, has research that verifies "Mirror Neurons" and "Emotional Resonance" exist and that they seriously impact the therapeutic relationship. It does not verify Oxytocin but I believe it does show changes to the amygdala.

And yes my proof is anecdotal and I KNOW that this relational therapy works.

Christopher

Neuroplasticity and Neurogenesis and hot topics, and they show us lots of encouraging ideas. I just think it gets out of hand when writers start claiming what the research doesn't say (not that this article does). For instance, I just did a review for the book "A brilliant mind" where the author claims one could drastically increase their IQ by memorizing vocab words. There's just no evidence!

The research by Daniel Siegel has been done. Here is a brief writeup on an internet site:

"Neuronal circuits are wired through a combination of nature and nurture, genetics and experience. The kind of parenting we receive as children, the nature of our relationships throughout life, the experience of therapy, all change the brain by changing synaptic connections and circuits. “Human connections create neuronal connections” (Siegel, 1999, p. 85). Because of the impact social relationships have on our brains, Siegel has suggested that “the brain is the social organ of the body” (Siegel & Hartzell, 2003, p. 97). It is clear from neuroscience that nature and nurture are mutually recursive. “Experience shapes the brain throughout life by altering the connections among neurons….Experience is biology” (Siegel & Hartzell, 2003, pp. 33-34). These observations are not mere metaphors; they are based on extensive and compelling research on the human brain, development, and relationships. Beyond affecting synaptic connections, experience—especially early parent-child experience—can modify the actual activity of genes (Begley, 2007)".

I have clearly "experienced" how my experiences of emotional resonance have altered my neural pathways so that I now have substantially different experiences than I had before. I discovered this on my own without science and now science has validated my experience. If science had never made these discoveries my experience would be no less valid. I think that is the problem with only "believing" scientific based evidence. This of course does not give us freedom to make claims like "memorizing vocabulary words raises IQ".

www.relationalcounselingseattle.com/blog/

Christopher

This is an extremely interesting post. I do think that the "mind over matter" mentality has a lot of fruit to bear. What needs to be done now is a detailed examination of the synaptic and dendritic changes that occur in the brain. You may want to check this site out: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/11/magazine/11Neurolaw.t.html?_r=1&scp=7&...