Wong Stephanie M Y, Chen Eric Y H, Lee Michelle C Y, Suen Y N, Hui Christy L M
Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Brain Sci. 2023 Jul 8;13(7):1041. doi: 10.3390/brainsci13071041.
Rumination and its related mental phenomena share associated impairments in cognition, such as executive functions and attentional processes across different clinical conditions (e.g., in psychotic disorders). In recent decades, however, the notion of rumination has been increasingly narrowed to the "self-focused" type in depressive disorders. A closer review of the literature shows that rumination may be construed as a broader process characterized by repetitive thoughts about certain mental contents that interfere with one's daily activities, not only limited to those related to "self". A further examination of the construct of rumination beyond the narrowly focused depressive rumination would help expand intervention opportunities for mental disorders in today's context. We first review the development of the clinical construct of rumination with regard to its historical roots and its roles in psychopathology. This builds the foundation for the introduction of the "Flow Model of Rumination (FMR)", which conceptualizes rumination as a disruption of a smooth flow of mental contents in conscious experience that depends on the coordinated interactions between intention, memory, affect, and external events. The conceptual review concludes with a discussion of the impact of rapid technological advances (such as smartphones) on rumination. Particularly in contemporary societies today, a broader consideration of rumination not only from a cognition viewpoint, but also incorporating a human-device interaction perspective, is necessitated. The implications of the FMR in contemporary mental health practice are discussed.
沉思及其相关的心理现象在不同临床状况（如精神障碍）下的认知方面存在相关损害，比如执行功能和注意力过程。然而，近几十年来，沉思的概念在抑郁症中越来越被狭义地界定为“自我聚焦”型。对文献的进一步审视表明，沉思可以被理解为一个更宽泛的过程，其特征是对某些干扰日常活动的心理内容进行反复思考，而不仅限于与“自我”相关的内容。在当今背景下，对超出狭义抑郁沉思的沉思概念进行进一步考察，将有助于拓展针对精神障碍的干预机会。我们首先回顾沉思临床概念的发展，涉及其历史根源及其在精神病理学中的作用。这为引入“沉思流模型（FMR）”奠定基础，该模型将沉思概念化为有意识体验中心理内容流畅流动的中断，这取决于意图、记忆、情感和外部事件之间的协调互动。概念性综述最后讨论了快速的技术进步（如智能手机）对沉思的影响。特别是在当今当代社会，不仅需要从认知角度，还需要纳入人机交互视角，对沉思进行更广泛的考量。文中讨论了FMR在当代心理健康实践中的意义。
