Clinical Psychology Department, School of Psychology, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Nirakara Institute and Niraka Chair (Complutense University), Madrid, Spain.
PLoS One. 2019 Jul 18;14(7):e0219793. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219793. eCollection 2019.
If the brain is a complex network of functionally specialized areas, it might be expected that mental representations could also behave in a similar way. We propose the concept of 'psychonectome' to formalize the idea of psychological constructs forming a dynamic network of mutually dependent elements. As a proof-of-concept of the psychonectome, networks analysis (NA) was used to explore structural changes in the network of constructs resulting from a psychological intervention. NA was applied to explore the effects of an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program in healthy participants (N = 182). Psychological functioning was measured by questionnaires assessing five key domains related to MBSR: mindfulness, compassion, psychological well-being, psychological distress and emotional-cognitive control. A total of 25 variables, covering the five constructs, were considered as nodes in the NA. Participants significantly improved in most of the psychological questionnaires. More interesting from a network perspective, there were also significant changes in the topological relationships among the elements. Expected influence and strength centrality indexes revealed that mindfulness and well-being measures were the most central nodes in the networks. The nodes with highest topological change after the MBSR were attentional control, compassion measures, depression and thought suppression. Also, cognitive appraisal, an adaptive emotion regulation strategy, was associated to rumination before the MBSR program but became related to mindfulness and well-being measures after the program. Community analysis revealed a strong topological association between mindfulness, compassion, and emotional regulation, which supports the key role of compassion in mindfulness training. These results highlight the importance of exploring psychological changes from a network perspective and support the conceptual advantage of considering the interconnectedness of psychological constructs in terms of a 'psychonectome' as it may reveal ways of functioning that cannot be analyzed through conventional analytic methods.
如果大脑是一个功能专业化的复杂网络，那么心理表象也可能以类似的方式表现。我们提出了“心理连接组”的概念，以将心理结构形成相互依赖元素的动态网络的想法形式化。作为心理连接组的概念验证，网络分析（NA）被用于探索由于心理干预而导致的结构变化。NA 被用于探索 8 周正念减压（MBSR）计划对健康参与者（N=182）的影响。心理功能通过评估与 MBSR 相关的五个关键领域的问卷来衡量：正念、同情心、心理幸福感、心理困扰和情绪认知控制。共有 25 个变量，涵盖了五个结构，被视为 NA 的节点。参与者在大多数心理问卷中都有显著改善。从网络角度来看，更有趣的是，元素之间的拓扑关系也发生了显著变化。预期影响和强度中心性指标表明，正念和幸福感测量是网络中最中心的节点。MBSR 后拓扑变化最大的节点是注意力控制、同情措施、抑郁和思维抑制。此外，认知评价是一种适应性的情绪调节策略，在 MBSR 项目之前与沉思相关，但在项目之后与正念和幸福感测量相关。社区分析显示正念、同情和情绪调节之间存在很强的拓扑关联，这支持了同情心在正念训练中的关键作用。这些结果强调了从网络角度探索心理变化的重要性，并支持了从“心理连接组”的角度考虑心理结构的相互联系的概念优势，因为它可能揭示出无法通过传统分析方法分析的功能方式。
