Beauregard Mario
Department of Psychology, Universite de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Nord J Psychiatry. 2009;63(1):5-16. doi: 10.1080/08039480802421182.
Mentalistic variables must be considered to reach a correct understanding of the neurophysiological basis of behavior in humans. Confusion regarding the relative importance of neurophysiological and mentalistic variables can lead to important misconceptions about causes and effects in the study of human behavior. In this article, we review neuroimaging studies of the effect of psychotherapy in patients suffering from diverse forms of psychopathology (obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, unipolar major depressive disorder, spider phobia). We also review neuroimaging studies of the placebo effect in healthy individuals (placebo analgesia, psychostimulant expectation) and patients with Parkinson's disease or unipolar major depressive disorder. Mental functions and processes involved in diverse forms of psychotherapy exert a significant influence on brain activity. With regard to the placebo effect, beliefs and expectations can markedly modulate neurophysiological and neurochemical activity in brain regions involved in perception, movement, pain and various aspects of emotion processing. The findings of the neuroimaging studies reviewed here strongly support the view that the subjective nature and the intentional content of mental processes significantly influence the various levels of brain functioning (e.g. molecular, cellular, neural circuit) and brain plasticity.
必须考虑心理主义变量，才能正确理解人类行为的神经生理基础。对神经生理变量和心理主义变量相对重要性的混淆，可能会导致在人类行为研究中对因果关系产生重要误解。在本文中，我们回顾了针对患有各种精神病理学形式（强迫症、恐慌症、单相重度抑郁症、蜘蛛恐惧症）患者的心理治疗效果的神经影像学研究。我们还回顾了健康个体（安慰剂镇痛、精神兴奋剂预期）以及帕金森病或单相重度抑郁症患者的安慰剂效应的神经影像学研究。各种形式心理治疗中涉及的心理功能和过程对大脑活动有显著影响。关于安慰剂效应，信念和预期可以显著调节参与感知、运动、疼痛及情绪加工各个方面的脑区的神经生理和神经化学活动。本文所回顾的神经影像学研究结果有力地支持了这样一种观点，即心理过程的主观性质和意向内容会显著影响大脑功能的各个层面（如分子、细胞、神经回路）以及大脑可塑性。
