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Awareness, mirror neurons,and neural plasticity in the development of well-being
Interpersonal neurobiology is a "consilient" approach1 that examines the independent fields of knowing to find the common principles that emerge to paint a picture of the "larger whole" of human experience and development.2 Interpersonal neurobiology attempts to extract the wisdom from more than a dozen different disciplines of science to weave a picture of human experience and the process of change across the lifespan. This article, summarizes the principles of interpersonal neurobiology, with an emphasis on neuroscience findings regarding the mirror neuron system and neural plasticity.
The perspective of interpersonal neurobiology is to build a model within which the objective domains of science and the subjective domains of human knowing can find a common home.3 An interpersonal neurobiology approach to psychotherapy draws on the basic framework of this interdisciplinary view in exploring the ways in which one individual can help others alleviate suffering and move toward well-being. The central idea of interpersonal neurobiology is to offer definitions of the mind and of mental well-being that can be used by a wide range of professionals concerned with human development.
THE MIND
The mind can be defined as a process that regulates the flow of energy and information. Regulation is at the heart of mental life, and helping others with this regulatory balance is central to understanding how the mind can change. The brain has self-regulatory circuits that may enhance directly how the mind regulates the flow of its two elements, energy and information.
Mind Emergence
The mind emerges in the transaction of at least neurobiologies and interpersonal processes. Energy and information can flow within one brain, or between brains. Naturally, other features of our world, nature, and technological environment can affect how the mind emerges. Within psychotherapy, we can see that relationships with another person profoundly shape the flow of energy and information both between two people and within each person.
Mind Development
The mind develops across the lifespan as the genetically programmed maturation of the nervous system is shaped by ongoing experience. We now know that about one-third of our genome directly shapes the connections within our brains.4 Alhough genes are extremely important in development, experience shapes our neural connections as well. When neurons...