Imagery, emotion, and bioinformational theory: From body to brain

Neurocognitive mechanisms of social scenario imagery generation in individuals with social anxiety

Cognitive behavioral theory emphasizes the significant role of mental imagery in the onset and development of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). However, the neural mechanisms underlying the generation of social scenario imagery in individuals with social anxiety remain unclear. In this study, 28 individuals with social anxiety and 31 healthy controls performed a retrospective cue imagery generation task to examine their neural responses. Behavioral results showed that, compared to negative social scenarios, the vividness of positive social scenario imagery was significantly lower in the social anxiety group, while the control group showed no significant difference between the two conditions. Event-related potential (ERP) results revealed that, for the social anxiety group, N170 and LPP amplitudes were significantly larger under the neutral condition compared to the negative condition, whereas the control group exhibited no significant difference between these conditions. Furthermore, the social anxiety group showed significantly larger LPP amplitudes than the control group in both the positive and neutral conditions. These findings provide the first neurophysiological evidence that individuals with social anxiety exhibit processing biases when generating imagery of positive and neutral social scenarios, suggesting heightened neural engagement in these conditions.

Investigating the role of mental imagery use in the assessment of anhedonia

Anhedonia, or a deficit in the liking, wanting, and seeking of rewards, is typically assessed via self-reported "in-the-moment" emotional and motivational responses to reward stimuli and activities. Given that mental imagery is known to evoke emotion and motivational responses, we conducted two studies to investigate the relationship between mental imagery use and self-reported anhedonia. Using a novel Reward Response Scale (adapted from the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale, DARS; Rizvi et al., 2015) modified to assess deliberate and spontaneous mental imagery use, Study 1 (N = 394) compared uninstructed and instructed mental imagery use, and Study 2 (N = 586) conducted a test of replication of uninstructed mental imagery use. Results showed that greater mental imagery use was associated with higher reward response scores (Study 1 & 2), and this relationship was not moderated by whether imagery use was uninstructed or instructed (Study 1). Importantly, mental imagery use moderated the convergence between reward response and depression scale measures of anhedonia, with lower convergence for those reporting higher mental imagery use (Study 1 & 2). Results suggest that higher spontaneous mental imagery use may increase self-reported reward response and reduce the convergence between reward response scale and depression questionnaire measures of anhedonia. [199 / 200 words].

Specific Phobia, Fear, and the Autism Spectrum in Children and Adolescents: Adapting OST for ASD

Fears and phobias are a common mental health concern for youth, and particularly for autistic youth. The following review briefly summarizes the extant literature on specific phobias and specific phobias in autistic youth. The evidence base is briefly highlighted pointing to the strong base behind behavioral and cognitive-behavioral treatments and techniques. A broad discussion of key evidence-based treatment findings is presented, leading up to the impactful work of Thomas H. Ollendick in researching Öst's One-Session Treatment (OST) with children and adolescents. OST for child specific phobias is discussed, and particular emphasis is given to this treatment's ongoing adaptation for use with youth on the autism spectrum.