The Ego Cure

In the past twenty years, imaging techniques, including positron emission tomography (PET), magnetoencephalography (MEG), single-photon emission tomography (SPECT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), have revealed the neural correlates involved in acupuncture, prayer, meditation, and mystical experiences. As a result of these findings, we now know that these modalities can alter activity in the brain’s Default Mode Network (DMN), which is most closely associated with the ego or a sense of self (Carhart-Harris & Friston, 2010). Considering that many mood and behavioral disorders are related to a dysfunctional DMN, modulating the activity of this network has become an area of interest in neuropsychiatry, behavioral neurology, and cognitive neuroscience. However, you will soon discover that the health of the ego also relies on the optimal functioning of other brain networks such as the Central Executive Network (CEN) and the Salience Network (SN).

The Ego Cure describes how acupuncture, prayer, meditation, and mystical experiences improve mood and behavior by modulating brain network activity and improving neurotransmission, neuroplasticity, gray matter density, and global brain connectivity. Considering these effects, you will learn how each of these modalities can play a therapeutic role in treating neuropsychiatric and neurobehavioral conditions such as anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, addiction, and impulse control disorders.