Psychotherapy, Intervention and Neural Plasticity

The goal of translational neuroimaging is not only to investigate dysfunctions in patients with mental disorders, but also to explore changes in neural processing and behavior which can be induced by cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or specific interventions such as humor training (see EKFS), gesture training (see G+) or the application of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS).

For the effect of CBT, see for example:

Yang, Y., Lueken, U., Richter, J., Hamm, A., Wittmann, A., Konrad, C., … Straube*, B., & Kircher*, T. (2020). Effect of CBT on Biased Semantic Network in Panic Disorder: A Multicenter fMRI Study using Semantic Priming. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 177:197–199; doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.20010008. * contributed equally

Short summary of the resuts (Yang et al., 2020)
Yang et al. 2020 as cartoon 🙂

For the gesture training, see for example:

Riedl, L., Nagels, A., Sammer, G., & Straube, B. (2020). A multimodal speech-gesture training intervention for patients with schizophrenia and its neural underpinnings – the study protocol of a randomized controlled pilot trial. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 110. https://doi.org/10.3389/FPSYT.2020.00110

For tDCS effects, see for example:

Schülke, R., & Straube, B. (2019). Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Improves Semantic Speech–Gesture Matching in Patients With Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 45(3), 522–530. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sby144