1. Body/Mind Dynamics of Expression
BibSyn
10/01/14
Toussaint Séverine
Paranyushkin Dmitri

2. Introduction
Finding new approaches to therapy through modulation of
interacting dynamic processes in the body-mindenvironment system.
Expression: continuously produced, consciously or not. Base
of communication.
!
• What happens between body, mind and environment is a
set of complex dynamics occurring at different levels.
Neural dynamics
Mind
Body dynamics
Changes
Emotional states
Expression of
behaviors

3. Introduction
• Mechanisms which affect chaotic
itinerancy of the body and mental state?
• Links between mental disorders and
creativity?
!
Appeals to different scientific fields
(neurophysiolgy, ethology, complex system,
phylosophy, psychology…)

4. Questions
1. How can body-mind-environment be studied
as a dynamical system and what are the
advantages of this approach?

5. Questions
2. What are the qualities and properties of
those dynamic processes that occur in the
body-mind-environment?

6. Questions
3. How are disturbances in the dynamics of bodymind-environment linked to various mental
disorders, altered states, emotional distress, etc.

7. Questions
4. Could body-mind-environment dynamics be
modulated for therapeutical purposes?

8. BibSyn Text Graph
• We found 15 main articles relevant to the subject and
created a text network visualisation of them in order
to have a visual representation of the topics covered
and the connections between them.

10. Main Topics
• Studying evolution of symptoms and individual behavior in time;
!
• Studying evolution and dynamics of emotional responses in time;
!
• Brain wave oscillations, neural activity;
!
• Informaiton processing;
!
• Finding patterns of interactions between oscillatory activities
within the body-mind-environment system;

11. BibSyn Concept Graph
• We retrieved the most relevant concepts for our
questions from 15 articles. Using KnowNodes we
created a graph of these concepts and their
relationships (describing a potential or existing
interactions between them).

13. Main Topics
• Disturbances in chaotic variability of body movements and
behavioral changes is related to mental disorders;
!
• Inhibition of certain frequency ranges and promotion of others
may lead to decoupling (e.g. MDMA, Ketamine effects);
!
• Art therapy and other creative occupations may stimulate
interactions between different regions of oscillatory activity;

14. Body-Mind-Environment

15. Body-Mind-Environment
• Cognition and sensorimotor activity extend
beyond just the neural assemblies of the
brain – into the body and the environment;
!
• The brain, spinal cord and the organs of the
body are connected through oscillatory links;
Thompson & Varela 2001; Basar 2008;

16. Body-Mind-Environment
• Rhythmic hormonal oscillations inside the
body can drive brain activity which can affect
emotion recognition.
Reference Parer from Marta;

17. Body-Mind-Environment
• Evidence of specific molecular changes
in the body following a period of
intensive mindfulness practice.
The mental state (perception of your
mind) can affect gene’s activity.
Kaliman et al 2014. Rapid changes in histone deacetylases and inflammatory
gene expression in expert meditators. Psychoneuroendocrinology 40, 96-107.

18. Body-Mind-Environment
• Distinct processes interact to produce complex
global dynamics with chaotic properties;
!
• Therefore, nonlinear dynamics and network
theory could be used to study cognition and
perception;
Bystritsky et al 2012;
Rabinovich 2010;

22. Properties of Dynamics

23. Properties of Dynamics
• Involuntary body movements in the state of
cognitive are characteristic of pink noise:
meaning that there was a correlation between
amplitudes and frequencies.
• In the state of anxiety, there was a
whitening of the signal (less correlation
between the amplitude and frequencies =
decoupling)
D’Mello et al 2011; Yamada 1995;
!

24. D’Mello et al 2011;
!

26. Properties of dynamics
Emotions
• Subjective experience characterized by
psychophysiological expressions, biological reactions and
mental states.
!
• Hormonal influence (dopamine, noradrenaline, serotonin, oxytocin, cortisol and
GABA)
!
• Neural circuit
James, W. (1884). What is an Emotion? Mind, 9: 188–205
Myers, D. G. (2004) Theories of Emotion. Psychology:
Seventh Edition, New York, NY: Worth Publishers.
Broca 1878; Papez 1937; MacLean 1952.

27. Properties of dynamics
Expression of Emotions
• Observable verbal and nonverbal behaviors that
communicate an internal emotional or affective
state.
!
!
• Consensus: each functioning human experience
and express emotions with his voice, face and
body.
Darwin, Charles (1872). The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals.

28. Properties of dynamics
How many emotions do we have?
Ekman’s list of Basic Emotions: happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, and
surprise
Ekman 1992
Facial expression
!
Communication channel
!
!
!
Ekman’s Facial Action Coding System
(FACS)
!
Ekman 1999

29. Properties of Dynamics
Body expression of emotions
Lack of functional imaging studies
!
!
New approache: to map emotions onto the regions
of human body, from subjective level.
Nummenmaaa et al (2013). Bodily maps of emotions.
PNAS

30. Properties of Dynamics
Body expression of emotions
Computer-based topographical self-reported method (emBODY)
Nummenmaaa et al (2013). Bodily maps of emotions.
PNAS

31. Nummenmaaa et al (2013). Bodily maps of emotions.

32. Properties of dynamics
Therapy:
Better understand mood disorders?
!
Nervertheless, the individual
differences in expression of emotions
have to be taken into account.
Nummenmaaa et al (2013). Bodily maps of emotions.
PNAS

33. Deviations

34. Deviations
• Mood shifting patterns that are deviating
from a mix of chaotic itinerancy and
circadian rhythms are associated with
depression and panic attacks.
Katerndahl et al 2007;

35. Dilignieres et al 2003;

36. Deviations
Stereotypy
Behaviour pattern that is repetitive, invariant and has no
obvious goal or function (Fox 1965; Hutt & Hutt 1970; Odberg 1978;
Wiepkema et al. 1983).
!
Seem to be restricted to mentally ill or handicapped
humans, subjects taken stimulant drugs and captive
animals.
!
•In humans: neurological troubles, brain damages
•In animals: sub-optimal environment
Functional Hypotheses: discharge tension, stress,
frustration (Nind & Kellett 2002).
Mason, G. J. 1991. Stereotypies: a critical review. Animal Behaviour
41:1015-1037.

37. Deviations
Stereotypies
!
Abnormal behavior:
Away from the norm (Fraser & Broom 1990)
Lacking in function (Fraser 1968)
Causing harm to the individual (Schmidt
1982)
Mason, G. J. 1991. Stereotypies: a critical review. Animal Behaviour
41:1015-1037.

40. Deviations
• Disturbances in small-world functional
brain network structure is associated with
schizophrenia.
Micheloyannis et al 2006;

41. Micheloyannis et al 2006;

42. Deviations
• A decrease of low and medium frequency
neural activity, and an increase of high
frequency neural activity as an effect of
MDMA.
Frei et al 2001;

43. Frei et al 2001;

44. Deviations
• Autism and neural networks
Hypotheses about causes of autism: lack of connectivity
Highest levels of connectivity = largest deficits in social
functioning
Keown et al. 2013

45. Deviations
• Autism and neural networks
Therapy?
Aid to diagnosis
Epilepsy drugs might be useful to treat autism
Keown et al. 2013

46. Propositions

47. Propositions
• Mood variability monitoring (apps that
suggest to change activity);

48. Propositions
• Movement practices that induce chaotic
patterns in motion;

49. Thank you