scholarly journals How Processing of Sensory Information From the Internal and External Worlds Shape the Perception and Engagement With the World in the Aftermath of Trauma: Implications for PTSD

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherain Harricharan ◽  
Margaret C. McKinnon ◽  
Ruth A. Lanius

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is triggered by an individual experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event, often precipitating persistent flashbacks and severe anxiety that are associated with a fearful and hypervigilant presentation. Approximately 14–30% of traumatized individuals present with the dissociative subtype of PTSD, which is often associated with repeated or childhood trauma. This presentation includes symptoms of depersonalization and derealization, where individuals may feel as if the world or self is “dream-like” and not real and/or describe “out-of-body” experiences. Here, we review putative neural alterations that may underlie how sensations are experienced among traumatized individuals with PTSD and its dissociative subtype, including those from the outside world (e.g., touch, auditory, and visual sensations) and the internal world of the body (e.g., visceral sensations, physical sensations associated with feeling states). We postulate that alterations in the neural pathways important for the processing of sensations originating in the outer and inner worlds may have cascading effects on the performance of higher-order cognitive functions, including emotion regulation, social cognition, and goal-oriented action, thereby shaping the perception of and engagement with the world. Finally, we introduce a theoretical neurobiological framework to account for altered sensory processing among traumatized individuals with and without the dissociative subtype of PTSD.

Author(s):  
Richard Smith

Spike Jonze’s unusual career trajectory, from the outer edges of popular culture to the center of indiewood, has resulted in a distinctive body of work that spans several genres and forms. This chapter traces Jonze’s career to ground a stylistic reading of his fourth feature film, Her (2013). Presented in three parts—Jonze’s short works, Gilles Deleuze’s “implied dream” and the “sound-image,” the lonely social world of Her—the chapter argues that Jonze’s cinematic style is an elaboration of a very simple image of a body in motion. As his style develops the relation of body and world becomes more central and more uncertain. In Her, the world is replaced by media affect and the body experiences itself as an aesthetic form. Smith explores a terrain of loneliness that sits at the center of much of Jonze’s work.


2006 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 478-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Kemmerer ◽  
Rupa Gupta

During an out-of-body experience (OBE), one sees the world and one's own body from an extracorporeal visuospatial perspective. OBEs reflect disturbances in brain systems dedicated to multisensory integration and self-processing. However, they have traditionally been interpreted as providing evidence for a soul that can depart the body after death. This mystical view is consistent with Bering's proposal that psychological immortality is the cognitive default.


2017 ◽  
Vol 211 (6) ◽  
pp. 373-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. McGrath ◽  
Sukanta Saha ◽  
Carmen C. W. Lim ◽  
Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola ◽  
Jordi Alonso ◽  
...  

BackgroundTraumatic events are associated with increased risk of psychotic experiences, but it is unclear whether this association is explained by mental disorders prior to psychotic experience onset.AimsTo investigate the associations between traumatic events and subsequent psychotic experience onset after adjusting for post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental disorders.MethodWe assessed 29 traumatic event types and psychotic experiences from the World Mental Health surveys and examined the associations of traumatic events with subsequent psychotic experience onset with and without adjustments for mental disorders.ResultsRespondents with any traumatic events had three times the odds of other respondents of subsequently developing psychotic experiences (OR=3.1, 95% CI 2.7–3.7), with variability in strength of association across traumatic event types. These associations persisted after adjustment for mental disorders.ConclusionsExposure to traumatic events predicts subsequent onset of psychotic experiences even after adjusting for comorbid mental disorders.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-140
Author(s):  
Maxine Walker

The Spiral Staircase, Karen Armstrong’s self-narrative, shows the limitations of theological or religious reflections within a specific religious community. Leaving the Sisters of Charity for a tumultuous academic life, historian of religion Karen Armstrong lives a wrenching ontological dislocation that originates in her undiagnosed epilepsy and negative body experiences. Using semiotician Algirdas Greimas’s ‘Semiotic Square’ as an interpretive strategy, the unresolved tensions and contradictions exposed in the deep narrative structure of this non-traditional conversion memoir are resolved by ‘compassion’ at the manifest level. Armstrong’s experiences, both in and out of the convent, will inform her academic study and lead her to compassionate solidarity with the marginalized. Armstrong’s memoir reveals various internal and external forces that shape an individual woman’s way of being in the world, and that inform her investigation of multiple faith practices and beliefs. In a time of mass refugee migration and ‘homelessness’, the one woman, the one ‘other’, matters in how one thinks about the body and about God.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-178
Author(s):  
Endah Nawangsih

Anywhere in the world, natural disasters events cause loss of life, moreover a deep sorrow and fear for the victims. They were in a state of very uneasy, very scared, never-ending anxiety, and become prone to panic. These conditions called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a continuous maladaptive reaction to a traumatic experience. In contrast to adults, children are in a state highly vulnerable to the impact caused by a traumatic event. Children with PTSD may show confusion or agitation. This condition brings suffering prolonged, if not given proper treatment. It required a specific intervention design for children with PTSD namely Play Therapy techniques. This intervention is one way that can be used to understand the world of children through playing, so that when used in the right circumstances can be meaningful as physical activity as well as therapy.


Author(s):  
Ray Guillery

We don’t perceive the world and then react to it. We learn to know it from our interactions with it. All inputs that reach the cerebral cortex about events in the brain, the body, or the world bring two messages: one is about these events, the other, travelling along a branch of that input, is an instruction already on its way to execution. This second message, not a part of standard textbook teaching, allows us to anticipate our actions, distinguishing them from the actions of others, and thus providing a clear sense of self. The mammalian brain has a hierarchy of cortical areas, where higher areas monitor actions of lower areas, and each area can modify actions to be executed by the phylogenetically older brain parts. Brains of our premammalian ancestors lacked this hierarchy, but their descendants are still strikingly capable of movement control: frogs can catch flies. The cortical hierarchy itself appears to establish and increase, from lower to higher levels, our conscious access to events. This book explores the neural connections that provide us with a sense of self and generate our conscious experiences. It reveals how much yet needs to be learnt about the relevant neural pathways.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Fuehrer ◽  
Dimitris Voudouris ◽  
Alexandra Lezkan ◽  
Knut Drewing ◽  
Katja Fiehler

The ability to sample sensory information with our hands is crucial for smooth and efficient interactions with the world. Despite this important role of touch, tactile sensations on a moving hand are perceived weaker than when presented on the same but stationary hand.1-3 This phenomenon of tactile suppression has been explained by predictive mechanisms, such as forward models, that estimate future sensory states of the body on the basis of the motor command and suppress the associated predicted sensory feedback.4 The origins of tactile suppression have sparked a lot of debate, with contemporary accounts claiming that suppression is independent of predictive mechanisms and is instead akin to unspecific gating.5 Here, we target this debate and provide evidence for sensation-specific tactile suppression due to sensorimotor predictions. Participants stroked with their finger over textured surfaces that caused predictable vibrotactile feedback signals on that finger. Shortly before touching the texture, we applied external vibrotactile probes on the moving finger that either matched or mismatched the frequency generated by the stroking movement. We found stronger suppression of the probes that matched the predicted sensory feedback. These results show that tactile suppression is not limited to unspecific gating but is specifically tuned to the predicted sensory states of a movement.


Healthcare ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 79
Author(s):  
Milda Kukulskienė ◽  
Nida Žemaitienė

Miscarriage is the most common reason for pregnancy loss, affecting around one in four pregnancies. It is classified as a traumatic event, associated with an increased risk for depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, alcohol dependence, somatic symptoms, sexual dysfunction, suicide, and complicated grief. This study aimed to analyse experiences of late miscarriage and to describe practical implications for post-natal health care based on characteristics of pregnancy loss revealed in a qualitative study. Seven women who had late miscarriages participated in in-depth biographical interviews. A phenomenological thematic analysis was applied. Experiential characteristics of late miscarriage were described by four themes and 13 subthemes: the initial splitting state (Dissociation, An Opened Void, An impaired Symbiosis, and The Body is Still Pregnant while the Psyche is Mourning); Betrayal of the body (Symbolic Experience of Internalised Death, Shocking Materiality of the Ongoing Miscarriage, Lost control of the Body, and Confusing Body Signals); Disconnecting (Depersonalising Medical Environment, Guilt Falsifies perception, and Retreat as a means of Self-Preservation); and Reconnecting (Collecting Shatters and Reinterpretation of Maternal Identity). Based on the results of the experiential analysis, another four themes represent practical recommendations for post-natal health care: Informing, Opportunity for Goodbye, Attention to Emotional Wellbeing, and Respectful Hospital Environment.


Author(s):  
O. Faroon ◽  
F. Al-Bagdadi ◽  
T. G. Snider ◽  
C. Titkemeyer

The lymphatic system is very important in the immunological activities of the body. Clinicians confirm the diagnosis of infectious diseases by palpating the involved cutaneous lymph node for changes in size, heat, and consistency. Clinical pathologists diagnose systemic diseases through biopsies of superficial lymph nodes. In many parts of the world the goat is considered as an important source of milk and meat products.The lymphatic system has been studied extensively. These studies lack precise information on the natural morphology of the lymph nodes and their vascular and cellular constituent. This is due to using improper technique for such studies. A few studies used the SEM, conducted by cutting the lymph node with a blade. The morphological data collected by this method are artificial and do not reflect the normal three dimensional surface of the examined area of the lymph node. SEM has been used to study the lymph vessels and lymph nodes of different animals. No information on the cutaneous lymph nodes of the goat has ever been collected using the scanning electron microscope.


Author(s):  
Pramukti Dian Setianingrum ◽  
Farah Irmania Tsani

Backgroud: The World Health Organization (WHO) explained that the number of Hyperemesis Gravidarum cases reached 12.5% of the total number of pregnancies in the world and the results of the Demographic Survey conducted in 2007, stated that 26% of women with live births experienced complications. The results of the observations conducted at the Midwife Supriyati Clinic found that pregnant women with hyperemesis gravidarum, with a comparison of 10 pregnant women who examined their contents there were about 4 pregnant women who complained of excessive nausea and vomiting. Objective: to determine the hyperemesis Gravidarum of pregnant mother in clinic. Methods: This study used Qualitative research methods by using a case study approach (Case Study.) Result: The description of excessive nausea of vomiting in women with Hipermemsis Gravidarum is continuous nausea and vomiting more than 10 times in one day, no appetite or vomiting when fed, the body feels weak, blood pressure decreases until the body weight decreases and interferes with daily activities days The factors that influence the occurrence of Hyperemesis Gravidarum are Hormonal, Diet, Unwanted Pregnancy, and psychology, primigravida does not affect the occurrence of Hyperemesis Gravidarum. Conclusion: Mothers who experience Hyperemesis Gravidarum feel nausea vomiting continuously more than 10 times in one day, no appetite or vomiting when fed, the body feels weak, blood pressure decreases until the weight decreases and interferes with daily activities, it is because there are several factors, namely, hormonal actors, diet, unwanted pregnancy, and psychology.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document