Handbook of Mindfulness by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781462519057
Publisher: The Guilford Press

The Neural Circuitry of Intra- and Interpersonal Attunement

A demonstration of the integration or overlap of intrapersonal and interpersonal circuits in the context of presence is the neural contrast between two states of being: a present-focused, experiential state compared to a more elaborative, narrative-constructing state. As briefly noted earlier, Farb and colleagues (2007) distinguish a narrative self from an experiential self. The narrative self is the aspect of awareness that monitors enduring traits, often forming an autobiographical narrative around them and constructing the sense of self from the top down. In contrast, the experiential self is the aspect of awareness that is focused on moment-to-moment present experience. In regard to attention, narrative focus has been associated with increased ruminative self-related thoughts, whereas experiential focus “avoids rumination by disengaging attentional processes of self-referential elaboration” (Farb et al., 2007, p. 314). With respect to interpersonal attunement, being able to focus attention away from self-rumination is conducive to being able to devote attention to the experiential self and therefore to one’s affective response to the person with whom one is interacting in the present moment. One intriguing idea this raises is the view that the self–other attunement in interpersonal mindfulness is parallel to the attunement of self-as-observing and self-as-experiencing. This is the proposal for how self-empathy and self-compassion are fundamental elements of internal attunement at the heart of mindful awareness. Internal attunement likely harnesses overlapping neural regions with the social circuits of the brain. In this way, the overlap between interpersonal and intrapersonal attunement circuits becomes apparent and we can see how mindful awareness—as a trait or a learned skill—would be associated with enhanced interpersonal skills.

A neural resonance circuit that facilitates these interpersonal benefits of mindfulness may be at the heart of the neural correlates of internal and interpersonal attunement (Siegel, 2007a). This resonance circuit enables us to attend to the intentions of ourselves and others and involves both mirror neurons and the superior temporal cortex. Such a circuit plays an important role in the ability to be emotionally resonant with others. Mirror neurons reveal a link between perception and action, and are present in various regions of the brain, including the frontal and parietal cortex (Uddin, Kaplan, Molnar-Szakacs, Zaidel, & Iacoboni, 2004). Activated both while perceiving an action and when preparing to produce that action, mirror neurons may also be involved in empathy and emotional resonance. The striking finding of Iacoboni, Kaplan, and Wilson (2007) is that these mirror neurons indeed engage our very emotional processes: “The observation of your smiling face triggers a cascade of neural activity in my brain, from inferior frontal (mirror) neurons controlling my facial musculature down to anterior insula neurons and to limbic neurons such that I suddenly and deeply feel your happiness. Your happiness is in my body” (p. 317). The process described here involves a series of associations among perceived physical motions, neural activity, and emotional activations.

Mirror neurons in the cortex drive information down to lower limbic levels more intimately associated with emotional processes by way of the insular cortex, or insula.

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