Nugets – in 'brains way' N. Doidge

[student]

I was pointed towards this book: Doidge N. Brains way of healing. 2015. p 214
"Why visualization can be so effective generally, is revealed in many recent studies. Brain scans show us that generally many of the same neurons that fire when we perceive something in the external world also fire when we first remember that object or experience. In the brain, imagining an act and doing it are not as different as they may seem...Because visualization - which is a use of imagination and memory - activates the same neurons that are activated when we have the real experiences, visualizing negative experiences or memories triggers all the negative emotional reactions that we had with the original experience - wiring them more deeply in our brains. But on the upside, visualizing, remembering, or imagining pleasant experiences activates many of the same sensory, motor, emotional, and cognitive circuits that fired during the "real" pleasant experience."
Since "brain heals itself 2008". more hopes are raised... What do you think? This book sems to gain influnce in todays understanding of Neuro-funktion. We will see good things flowing out of this - into CFS comunities.

 

[Skippa]

Hey, that made me think, mirror neurons...

I DO NOT get PEM from watching athletics.

More evidence for this not being a mental illness.

 

[Effi]

@student I've heard about this theory. I'm generally a fan of visualisations and have found them helpful in the past, although with ME brain I find it extremely difficult to do visualisation exercises. There's quite a lot of concentration involved, which makes me crash pretty quickly.

I think the gist of this theory is that when you visualise a specific activity, similar neurons are activated as if you were actually doing the activity in 'real life'. Apparently they have tested things like exercising vs. visualising the same set of physical exercises. It turns out that some part of the benefit of exercising could be achieved through 'just' visualising exercise. Funny thing: when I first read about this I tried to test it out, but visualising physical exertion made me crash! So it was a pretty good mirror of reality (no conlusion to be drawn from my experiment of course!)