It is impossible to think without the slightest physical movement.
if you try to think without any physical movement, be it cranial muscles or anything else efferently extended, no thoughts will form. Try it.
Dreams have been described as dress rehearsals for real life, opportunities to gratify wishes, and a form of nocturnal therapy. A new theory aims to make sense of it all.
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Do you ever find yourself stuck in a rut of repetitive thinking or an infinite loop of obsessive rumination in which you replay the same thought again, and again, and again? On the flip side, do you find that spurts of repetitive thinking are an important part of your creative process and that being "obsessed" with solving a riddle is essential to having "eureka!" moments? I would answer "yes" to both questions.
For example, I'm obsessed with the cerebellum. Every day, I have my antennae up for new research that might give us new clues on how the cerebellum (Latin for little brain) and the cerebrum (Latin for brain) are intertwined. I spend a lot of time ruminating about the cerebellum and trying to connect the dots in new and useful ways. This new study is a valuable addition to solving this puzzle.
In this blog post, I explore recent neuroscientific findings on the brain mechanics of rumination and negative repetitive thinking as they relate primarily to regions of the prefrontal cortex and the default mode network (DMN).
"Rumination" is called rumination because the act of repetitive thinking is similar to the regurgitation of cud by "ruminant" animals such as goats, sheep, and cows. Depressive rumination is the compulsive focus of attention on thoughts that cause feelings of sadness, anxiety, distress, etc.
Multiple studies have identified that people who are experiencing depression are more prone to rumination and repetitive thoughts of shame, anger, regret, and sorrow. A new study from Stanford University, led by Dr. J. Paul Hamilton and colleagues at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research, sheds light on the brain mechanisms giving rise to these symptoms.
The July 2015 study, “Depressive Rumination, the Default-Mode Network, and the Dark Matter of Clinical Neuroscience,” was published in the journal Biological Psychiatry.
Hamilton et al did a meta-analysis of previous research and identified that depressive ruminations are more likely to emerge when the firing and increased cerebral blood flow to a specific region of the cerebrum called the subgenual prefrontal cortex (sgPFC) synchronizes with the default mode network (DMN).
The default mode network (DMN) is a network of brain regions that are active when your mind wanders and you find yourself daydreaming, reminiscing, or lost in self-referential thought. On an EEG, the brain typically appears to be in a wakeful state of rest when the DMN is activated. The DMN is characterized by coherent neuronal oscillations at a rate lower than 0.1 Hz (one every 10 seconds).
The researchers believe that increased connectivity between the sgPFC and DMN can backfire by creating a vicious cycle of rumination in people who are experiencing depression. In an editorial comment, Dr. John Krystal, editor of Biological Psychiatry said,
This study shows that depression distorts a natural process. It would seem that normally the subgenual prefrontal cortex helps to bias the reflective process supported by the default mode network so that we can consider important problems in the service of developing strategies for solving them.
However, in depression it seems that the subgenual prefrontal cortex runs amok hijacking normal self-reflection in a maladaptive way. This may be one reason that electrical stimulation of the sgPFC is helpful for some patients with severe or treatment-resistant symptoms of depression.
Using this new model, the Stanford researchers propose that increased functional connectivity between sgPFC and the DMN in major depressive disorder (MDD) represents an integration of the self-referential processes supported by the DMN that creates a neural network that is linked to depressive rumination.
This study raises interesting questions about the roots of depression and the correlation vs. causation of rumination. Does this association suggest that depression causes rumination or vice versa? Either way, breaking apart the connectivity of the sgPFC and the DMN when someone is depressed would have positive benefits.
What are some potential ways to break the cycle of rumination by disrupting the connectivity of the sgPFC and the DMN? I have a hunch that taking a dual-pronged approach that involves either mindfulness or dynamic proprioceptive activities that engage the cerebellum might "unclamp" the prefrontal cortex's grip on the DMN and allow for stream of consciousness thinking and less rumination.
Last week, I wrote a Psychology Today blog post, "The Neuroscience of Savoring Positive Emotions," based on a study that found a link between activation of the ventral striatum and sustained positive moods.
In many ways, rumination is the opposite of savoring positive emotions. Another possible way to break apart the brain connectivity linked to depressive rumination might be daily practices that activate the ventral striatum.
A recent study found that individuals who self-identified as being in a depressive mood had a 12 percent reduction in working memory in comparison to individuals not experiencing a depressive mood. It's important to clarify that a depressive mood is much different than a major depressive disorder.
The January 2015 study, "Depressive Thoughts Limit Working Memory Capacity in Dysphoria," was published in the journal Cognition and Emotion. The research was conducted at the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas and was the first to substantiate memory deficits in individuals with depressed mood. In a press release, lead author Nicholas Hubbard explained the study, saying:
The results suggest that individuals with and without depressed mood generally have a similar ability to actively remember information. However, when depressive thoughts are present, people with depressed mood are unable to remove their attention from this information, leading to deficits in their memory. Our findings implicate that therapeutic approaches such as teaching one to recognize and inhibit depressive thoughts could be a key aspect to treating cognitive deficits in depression.
The study included 157 undergraduate students. All participants completed a computer-based depression inventory that measures self-reported, depressive symptoms experienced over the previous two-weeks. A total of 60 participants were classified as having depressed mood and 97 as having non-depressed mood.
Depressive rumination can feel like you're a lab rat on a running wheel to nowhere. How can you break the cycle of negative rumination? Based on a simple split-brain "up-down" model between the cerebellum and cerebrum (which houses the sgPFC), I believe that activities that engage the cerebellum and unclamp the prefrontal cortex might be directly linked to breaking obsessive or compulsive rumination.
Yesterday, I wrote a Psychology Today blog post, "Want to Improve Your Cognitive Abilities? Go Climb a Tree!" based on a new study which found that physical activities requiring dynamic proprioception (such as climbing a tree or balancing on a beam) can increase working memory by up to 50 percent.
These findings on proprioception support my hypothesis and educated guess that engaging the cerebellum and "unclamping" the prefrontal cortex is key to improving working memory and creativity.
The latest neuroscientific research on rumination and repetitive thinking helps us understand the brain mechanics of dwelling on negative thoughts. From a positive psychology perspective, there are infinite benefits to breaking free from rut-like thinking, including the ability to be creative and connect ideas in new and useful ways.
In my next Psychology Today post, I'll explore how a better understanding of the brain mechanics involved in rumination or repetitive thinking can facilitate creativity and imagination when coupled with an "unclamping" of your prefrontal cortex. Stay tuned!
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It is impossible to think without the slightest physical movement.
if you try to think without any physical movement, be it cranial muscles or anything else efferently extended, no thoughts will form. Try it.
I'm fascinated by your article. So if there's hijacking of the DMN by the sgPFC, what does that really mean? How does it take over, so to speak?
And do we have any idea why engaging in dynamic proprioceptive activities that activate the cerebellum (I hope I have that correct) would interrupt this clamping or looping that's happening between sgPFC and DMN? Also, you mention that
activation of the ventral striatum might help as well? How do you do that?
Lastly, do you have any idea if such a "clamping" happens with compulsive or non-depressive rumination? I find myself often stuck in a hamster wheel or rabbit hole of thoughts.
And while I have experienced depression in the past, this repetitive or at least ruminative thinking happens in relation to ideas that aren't depressive as well, much like your example of thinking about the cerebellum.
Anyway, I've been doing some research on attention and how we transition from tasks, and doing some thinking on how attention affects self-regulation and perhaps habit development as well. Following these ideas around the internet led me here...lol, ironically much like a rabbit hole!
Thanks for the interesting article. I think I'll try your suggestion of climbing trees. Somewhere else I heard someone talk about handstands. That sounds good too.
Now I want to read about unclamping..Cannot wait for part 2...you brought out a lot of really interesting information..thank you
I'm also looking for the second piece! Did you ever find it?
Where is the next article he references in this one? I searched his articles, but am not seeing them numbered/related to one another. Can you please help?
It's in regards to this comment:
"In my next Psychology Today post, I'll explore how a better understanding of the brain mechanics involved in rumination or repetitive thinking can facilitate creativity and imagination when coupled with an "unclamping" of your prefrontal cortex. Stay tuned!"
Same here, sequel should be done regarding imagination and depression. I immediately was drawn to think of Hemingway, Picasso, Mozart, Beethoven, etc. These people were NOT happy! (All chronic) I feel imagination could fall in a different and possibly more complex subject of study. Although, still depression almost always played a role in affecting the contents of imagination. It makes you ask a lot more questions about the points in this article alone. Just my opinion, but I think it's worth a revisit while keeping in mind my point and see if you hit on something knew. Like other posts, I'm starting to worry this article is slowly fading from a revisit... dig it back up!
I think it is natural to have these thoughts because we are living in the age of technology. For example it is natural to have repetitive thoughts because I may obsess on how to set up a video game and it may cause me distraction.
Usually these thoughts occur during depression but I have had them when inspired as well.
this post is 5 years old but whatever. i just found out about this word because i thought this was the definition of anxiety. now i know i'm wrong. and precisely i never felt like anxiety explained very well what i was going through in my head, because i never felt like it was about worrying or stress, those where more of the consequences of not being able to escape the loop. back a while ago i felt something of what felt like a depression because i had a lot of insecurity and worry over my future career and my path as a professional. now i find myself in a much clearer place thankfully, but nonetheless i still experience ruminating and not always in the same form. i think its actually a strength in some ways. as a designer, accelerated ruminations help me run potential error or scenarios in my head and discard them. still, problems could become an obsession and then hit me as stress, so i believe ruminating is a mechanism that is neutral and can make people prone to depression or obsession. to stabilize yourself in the middle is an active practice of grounding yourself, by being present and working outside of your head on whatever it is you're going through,, so by taking action and go with a decision then edit on it or by talking to someone, maybe not about whats bothering you necessarily, but to get yourself out of your head.
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