Study highlights the emotional and social challenges of stroke recovery

There would be no challenges if you HAD EXACT 100% RECOVERY PROTOCOLS! Can't you think at all about the way to stroke recovery?

Maybe if you had applied this research to recovery, this new research wouldn't have been needed! Only a decade to get that done and you completely failed!

Brain System for Emotional Self-Control Discovered May 2013 

The latest here:

 Study highlights the emotional and social challenges of stroke recovery

Nirupama Yechoor, MD, MSC, of the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, is the senior author of a paper published in JAMA Network Open, "Coherence of Stroke Survivors' Lived Experiences and the Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scale."

Q: How would you summarize your study for a lay audience?

As doctors who care for stroke survivors, we recognize that recovery is a long journey shaped by physical, emotional, mental and social challenges that extend beyond the hospital walls. We also recognize that many changes are needed to help all stroke survivors achieve their best recovery, which means optimizing both their health and their wellbeing. The first step to improving stroke recovery is understanding the lived experiences of stroke survivors and their care partners.

We conducted one of the largest qualitative studies with stroke survivors and care partners within the United States to better understand what wellbeing means in recovery. Through the lived experiences that participants shared with us, we identified key factors that shape physical and emotional wellbeing after stroke.

While medical care usually focuses on building physical strength and improving movement, stroke survivors struggle with additional emotional challenges such as facing stigma, living with uncertainty, and losing a part of their identity. Our study highlights the importance of integrating stroke survivors' lived experiences in stroke research and provides a foundation for evaluating the nonclinical determinants that shape health, wellbeing and recovery.

Q: What was the main goal of your study?

Our goal was to understand the factors that shape physical and emotional wellbeing after stroke - as described by stroke survivors - and to assess whether the questionnaires that we commonly use in research or at the doctor's office effectively capture all of these elements.

Q: What methods or approach did you use?

We applied qualitative research methods and studied the experiences of 41 stroke survivors and caregivers across the U.S. from October 2023 until December 2024.

We met stroke survivors and caregivers in small groups and asked them about their experiences related to physical and emotional wellbeing during recovery. We also compared stroke survivors' experiences with questions included in the Stroke Specific Quality of Life or the SSQoL survey, which is commonly used by doctors and researchers. By comparing the two methodologies, we identified factors related to physical and emotional wellbeing that are well-represented in traditional medical care, and those areas that may be overlooked.

Q: What did you find?

We found that stroke recovery is shaped by more than physical factors - stroke survivors shared that their emotional recovery is just as important. We found five key factors of reduced physical functioning and social participation: the loss of independence, the fear of uncertainty, reduced community participation, feelings of shame and decreased physical mobility.(You address all these by EXACT 100% RECOVERY PROTOCOLS! If that is not your goal; YOU'RE DOING IT ALL WRONG!)

 On comparing these factors to the SSQoL, we found that the SSQoL adequately captured some of these factors, but only partially captured other important factors like shame and uncertainty. Our study highlights a potential care gap in how stroke clinicians can address recovery for stroke survivors.

Q: What are the implications?

The implications of these findings are twofold. First, we have partnered with stroke survivors to identify their priorities that clinicians should address during follow-up care. Second, we have identified gaps in measuring these priorities, highlighting the need for alternative care models that address recovery in a more comprehensive way.

Q: What are the next steps?

The next steps are to use these findings to develop interventions that address more than physical recovery in stroke care, and are developed with patient and care partner input. We believe a key component that has been missing from stroke research is understanding the lived experiences of stroke survivors.

We would like to thank all of the stroke survivors and care partners who collaborated with our group for this research study. Their willingness to help other stroke survivors, their honesty in sharing their stories, and their resilience in recovery has been inspiring for our team to continue this important work.

Source:

Mass General Brigham

Journal reference:

Choksi, D., et al. (2025). Coherence of Stroke Survivors’ Lived Experiences and the Stroke-Specific Quality of Life Scale. JAMA Network Open. doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.37951

Harsh Out of Necessity - MS "moral cognition" of patients

Your doctor and psychologist should be informing you of this problem since it likely also occurs in stroke survivors and caregivers.
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=163588&CultureCode=en
To cope with Multiple Sclerosis, patients become morally stricter.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) can have a strong impact on the life of patients. Not only must they address the unpleasant symptoms, they are also subject to unpredictable relapses after more or less long periods of remission (which are irregular in duration), a condition that can cause anxiety and stress. As noted in a new study carried out by SISSA of Trieste in collaboration with the Medical University of South Carolina (and other international institutions), this condition has consequences for the "moral cognition" of patients, who become particularly intransigent in moral judgments of third parties. This ”moral inflexibility” results from cognitive styles adopted to overcome the inconveniences of the disease. Understanding their causes, explain the authors of the recently published study in Social Neuroscience, has important ramifications for the social wellbeing of patients.
Multiple Sclerosis affects nearly 2 and a half million people worldwide. It is a highly debilitating autoimmune disease: the condition severely reduces patients’ quality of life through symptoms which disrupt motor, cognitive, and sensory systems. The disease, which in its most typical form is characterized by irregular remissions and acute attacks can create a state of increased anxiety in patients, and, according to scientists, can have negative cognitive/emotional effects as well, even influencing moral cognition in patients, as was observed in the recent study.
Indrajeet Patil, a researcher at the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) of Trieste, and first author of the study, and his colleagues, subjected a group of patients to third-person "moral dilemmas."  The moral dilemma is a common test for measuring moral cognition, but it is usually used in the first person. In this case, subjects had to judge others’ actions, as if they were jury members in a trial. For this specific study, manslaughter (accidental killings, i.e.) and attempted murder were considered. Subjects evaluated the appropriateness of and punishment for a variety of third-party moral behaviors that varied on two key dimensions: intent to harm and harmful consequence. That is, the agents in these scenarios either acted with an intent to harm or not and consequently either produced or did not produce a harmful outcome.
"These conditions are important because we know that two main criteria come into play in judgments of this kind," says Patil. "We take into account both the intention, and the seriousness of the consequences. We tend to be more forgiving in cases of manslaughter, where intentions are innocent but consequences are serious, and to punish an attempted murder, whose intention is bad but the consequences are not serious. "
It is well known that certain pathological conditions alter this kind of judgment: if there are alterations in the Theory of mind (the ability to attribute mental states to others), as happens in autism, for example, it is difficult to evaluate intentions, so manslaughter is judged severely, because of the serious consequences. Psychopaths tend instead to forgive culpable homicide more easily, not so much because they do not have a correct assessment of intentions, but rather because of reduced empathy towards the victims.
Surprising results
In MS patients, Patil and colleagues were expecting a greater tendency for forgiveness, because of difficulty with Theory of mind that has been described in some of these patients, as well as a decrease in empathic response. "The results, however, were surprising: subjects’ answers were more severe than average in all conditions. They also proved overly confident about the validity of their own judgment, much more so than in healthy subjects, declaring they were sure that anyone would respond as they did."
Further tests have allowed the authors to develop a hypothesis for this unexpected attitude. "We believe that these severe responses are connected to a type of emotional/general cognitive strategy used by MS patients, possibly emerging as a mechanism to cope with their medical condition and the many challenges that are associated with it," says Ezequiel Gleichgerrcht, a neurologist and researcher at the Medical University of South Carolina. "The constant stress they face can elicit persistently negative emotions. In the long run, this state can induce cognitive strategies that help them minimize the damage. Neuroscientists have coined the term ‘externally oriented thinking’ to refer to this phenomenon  which is characterized by the tendency to orient thoughts on the external events rather than introspecting on our inner experiences and feelings."
"It is a common strategy, resulting in an inability to properly reflect and identify emotions," says Patil. "In situations of moral judgment like those in the study, there is an inability to identify the real cause of their negative emotional state, attributing it to external causes, and not to the medical condition."
Put simply, during the experiments, the MS patients tended to attribute their negative emotions to what they read in the dilemma. Whether the consequences were the result of an accident as in the manslaughter situation, or bad intentions as in the attempted murder, mattered little. "The patient believed that these situations led to the negative affect they felt and therefore judged the third-party actors more severely. This explains why we observed more harsh judgments even in neutral conditions where there was neither bad intent nor outcome," says Patil.
"Knowing that MS patients tend to adopt this cognitive strategy, along with their nearly constant state of emotional stress, is important," he concludes. “On one hand, it helps healthcare providers working with them to objectively read their behavior, and improve interpersonal relationships, which are vital in this type of care. On the other hand, knowing this 'dark' side can also help us develop cognitive/behavioral treatment for helping patients improve their emotional response."
https://www.sissa.it/news/harsh-out-necessity

Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial of Methylphenidate or Galantamine for Persistent Emotional and Cognitive Symptoms Associated with PTSD and/or Traumatic Brain Injury

Your doctor will need to create a followup study on this. Or a study sponsored by our fucking failures of stroke associations.

Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial of Methylphenidate or Galantamine for Persistent Emotional and Cognitive Symptoms Associated with PTSD and/or Traumatic Brain Injury`

McAllister TW¹, Zafonte R², Jain S³, Flashman LA⁴, George MS⁵, Grant GA⁶, He F³, Lohr JB⁷, Andaluz N⁸, Summerall L⁹, Paulus MP¹⁰, Raman R³, Stein MB^11,12.

Author information

Abstract

We report findings from a 12-week randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of methylphenidate or galantamine to treat emotional and cognitive complaints in individuals (N=32) with a history of PTSD, TBI, or both conditions. In this small pilot study, methylphenidate treatment was associated with clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvement compared to placebo on the primary outcome, a measure of cognitive complaints (Ruff Neurobehavioral Inventory - Postmorbid Cognitive Scale), as well as on the secondary outcomes reflecting postconcussive (Rivermead Postconcussive Symptom Questionnaire) and posttraumatic stress symptoms (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist). Treatment was well tolerated. These results suggest the need for a larger RCT to replicate and confirm these findings. Design considerations for such a trial should include the need for multiple sites to facilitate adequate recruitment and extension of the treatment and follow-up periods.Neuropsychopharmacology accepted article preview online, 11 September 2015. doi:10.1038/npp.2015.282.

The Benefits of Watching Cute Cat Videos Online

Does your doctor have enough sense to implement this immediately? Or is your doctor not interested in your emotional welfare? 

The Benefits of Watching Cute Cat Videos Online

Positive affect and markers of inflammation: Discrete positive emotions predict lower levels of inflammatory cytokines.

What is your doctor prescribing to elicit positive emotions in you? Seeing awe in grand vistas or famous art? How is s/he stopping your negative emotions? 

Positive affect and markers of inflammation: Discrete positive emotions predict lower levels of inflammatory cytokines.

        

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PsycARTICLES :

Citation and Abstract

Positive affect and markers of inflammation: Discrete positive emotions predict lower levels of inflammatory cytokines.

Stellar, Jennifer E.; John-Henderson, Neha; Anderson, Craig L.; Gordon, Amie M.; McNeil, Galen D.; Keltner, Dacher

Emotion, Vol 15(2), Apr 2015, 129-133.

Current issue feed

Negative emotions are reliably associated with poorer health (e.g., Kiecolt-Glaser, McGuire, Robles, & Glaser, 2002), but only recently has research begun to acknowledge the important role of positive emotions for our physical health (Fredrickson, 2003). We examine the link between dispositional positive affect and one potential biological pathway between positive emotions and health—proinflammatory cytokines, specifically levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6). We hypothesized that greater trait positive affect would be associated with lower levels of IL-6 in a healthy sample. We found support for this hypothesis across two studies. We also explored the relationship between discrete positive emotions and IL-6 levels, finding that awe, measured in two different ways, was the strongest predictor of lower levels of proinflammatory cytokines. These effects held when controlling for relevant personality and health variables. This work suggests a potential biological pathway between positive emotions and health through proinflammatory cytokines. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)

Why Some People React More Emotionally To Life’s Ups and Downs

So maybe your doctor could test for this to see if this would make you more susceptible to PTSD. And provide protocols to prevent that from happening.
http://www.spring.org.uk/2015/05/why-some-people-react-more-emotionally-to-lifes-ups-and-downs.php?utm_source=PsyBlog
Professor Rebecca Todd who led the study, said:

“People really do see the world differently.
For people with this gene variation, the emotionally relevant things in the world stand out much more.”

The gene is called ADRA2b and it regulates the neurotransmitter norepinephrine

A Man's Incomplete Brain Reveals Cerebellum's Role In Thought And Emotion

More proof those of us with dead areas can function pretty well.

Earlier here:

Woman in her twenties discovers that she was born without a cerebellum

A Man's Incomplete Brain Reveals Cerebellum's Role In Thought And Emotion

Amy writing about her problems with a cerebellum stroke here:

Cerebellum

Positive Affect and Markers of Inflammation: Discrete Positive Emotions Predict Lower Levels of Inflammatory Cytokines

What stroke protocol is your doctor following to make sure you experience awe every day? 

Positive Affect and Markers of Inflammation: Discrete Positive Emotions Predict Lower Levels of Inflammatory Cytokines

Stellar, Jennifer E.; John-Henderson, Neha; Anderson, Craig L.; Gordon, Amie M.; McNeil, Galen D.; Keltner, Dacher

Emotion, Jan 19 , 2015, No Pagination Specified.

Current issue feed

Negative emotions are reliably associated with poorer health (e.g., Kiecolt-Glaser, McGuire, Robles, & Glaser, 2002), but only recently has research begun to acknowledge the important role of positive emotions for our physical health (Fredrickson, 2003). We examine the link between dispositional positive affect and one potential biological pathway between positive emotions and health—proinflammatory cytokines, specifically levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6). We hypothesized that greater trait positive affect would be associated with lower levels of IL-6 in a healthy sample. We found support for this hypothesis across two studies. We also explored the relationship between discrete positive emotions and IL-6 levels, finding that awe, measured in two different ways, was the strongest predictor of lower levels of proinflammatory cytokines. These effects held when controlling for relevant personality and health variables. This work suggests a potential biological pathway between positive emotions and health through proinflammatory cytokines.

The Creative Therapy Which Reduces Depression in Young and Old Alike - Music

You will need to have your doctor validate which is better. Normal antidepressants because they have already been proven to help recovery.

Antidepressants may help people recover from stroke even if they are not depressed

Or maybe you'd rather have real antidepressants for this reason.

Anti-Depressant Reduces Alzheimer’s Plaque Growth by 78 Percent

 Has your doctor put any thought at all into treating your depression?

The Creative Therapy Which Reduces Depression in Young and Old Alike

Music therapy can reduce depression in children and adolescents with emotional and behavioural problems, a large new study finds.


More at link.
I'd have to say every stroke survivor has emotional problems due to the fact that their doctor has NO f*cking clue how to get them to 100% recovery. With no published stroke rehabilitation protocols there is no objective way to even know if anything done for your stroke rehab works at all. Or is everything you recover due to spontaneous recovery?

British Psychological Society news release - New understanding of emotional impact of stroke

I still hate research like this. It describes a problem but offers no solutions or therapy to solve the problem.
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=145766&CultureCode=en
The physical challenges associated with recovery from a stroke are well documented however the impact of a stroke on emotion is less well understood.
New research from the University of Aberdeen, published today (Wednesday 1 October 2014) in the British Journal of Clinical Psychology has identified key areas in which stroke can impair emotion regulation and found  that these difficulties continued 18 months after the stroke.
The findings of this study have implications for the long-term treatment and recovery of stroke patients and may help pave the way to help guide treatment interventions following stroke.
Every year there are approximately 152,000 strokes in the UK, which equates to one stroke every three and a half minutes*. 
Dr Clare Cooper, Lecturer in Health Psychology at The University of Aberdeen, led the study, which was funded by the Chief Scientist Office said:
“Emotion regulation is really important for all of us - we all use it every second of every day.  It is about recognising what we are feeling and what we can do to cope if we feel distressed. For example we might count to ten or rant to a friend, thereby enabling us to continue with our daily lives.  Following stroke, emotion regulation may be impaired and patients may struggle to understand and cope with their own emotions.  Following a stroke, patients can sometimes experience their emotions as overwhelming and feel as if their emotions are running them rather than other way round. This can seriously limit the degree to which patients are able to live their life to the fullest.
“This study is the first of its kind to examine in detail how emotion regulation is affected by a stroke and explore how this may influence people’s social participation following stroke.”
Researchers interviewed stroke patients six weeks after their stroke then again at 18 months into their recovery and compared their answers to individuals who had not experienced a stroke.  The volunteers were asked questions about their ability to regulate their emotions, which included questions about topics like impulsivity and emotion awareness.  Patients were also asked about how much they engage in social activities such as seeing friends and family, engaging in social events and working.  Results were then analyzed to find any links between emotion regulation and social participation. 
Dr. Cooper added:
“Our results showed that at six weeks post-stroke, patients showed impairments in emotion regulation that were related to reduced social participation compared to a control group.
“At 18months post-stroke there was still an association between the ability to regulate emotion and social participation, which was apparent even when other factors such as low mood and mobility problems had been accounted for.
“These findings show that following a stroke, some patients can have long-term difficulties with emotional regulation and that this may affect their ability to participate socially.  Although more research is needed we now have a clear starting point for follow-up research to better understand how emotion regulation is affected, how we might help patients cope with this, and whether this leads to a more socially active and fulfilling life.  Research suggests that by giving patients strategies to recognize feelings and control emotions they can focus on recovery and eventually engage more fully with work and family.”

Coffee Drinkers Have Trouble Talking About Emotions?

I'm not too concerned even if this is true. I'm a guy, my emotions are bottled up most of the time anyway.

Coffee Drinkers Have Trouble Talking About Emotions?

Caffeine Use and Alexithymia in University Students

DOI:

10.1080/02791072.2014.942043

Michael Lyvers Ph.D.^a*, Natalija Duric G.Dip.Psych.^b & Fred Arne Thorberg Ph.D.^c

pages 340-346

Publishing models and article dates explained

• Published online: 04 Sep 2014

Article Views: 51

Alert me

Abstract

Alexithymia refers to difficulties with identifying, describing, and regulating one’s own emotions. This trait dimension has been linked to risky or harmful use of alcohol and illicit drugs; however, the most widely used psychoactive drug in the world, caffeine, has not been examined previously in relation to alexithymia. The present study assessed 106 male and female university students aged 18-30 years on their caffeine use in relation to several traits, including alexithymia. The 18 participants defined as alexithymic based on their Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) scores reported consuming nearly twice as much caffeine per day as did non-alexithymic or borderline alexithymic participants. They also scored significantly higher than controls on indices of frontal lobe dysfunction as well as anxiety symptoms and sensitivity to punishment. In a hierarchical linear regression model, sensitivity to punishment negatively predicted daily caffeine intake, suggesting caffeine avoidance by trait-anxious individuals. Surprisingly, however, TAS-20 alexithymia scores positively predicted caffeine consumption. Possible reasons for the positive relationship between caffeine use and alexithymia are discussed, concluding that this outcome is tentatively consistent with the hypo-arousal model of alexithymia.

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Links between emotion perception and social participation restriction following stroke

My social participation only required  me getting divorced. My quality of life is great.
http://search.naric.com/research/rehab/redesign_record.cfm?search=2&type=all&criteria=J68073&phrase=no&rec=124187
NARIC Accession Number: J68073.  What's this?
ISSN: 0269-9052.
Author(s): Cooper, Clare L.; Phillips, Louise H.; Johnston, Marie; Radlak, Bogumila; Hamilton, Steven; McLeod, Mary J..
Publication Year: 2014.
Number of Pages: 5.
Abstract: Study investigated whether difficulties in emotion perception are related to social participation and quality-of-life (QoL) after stroke. It also assessed whether these relationships remained significant when controlling for activity limitations. Twenty-eight individuals 1 year post-stroke and 40 control participants were assessed on emotion perception across different modalities. Activity limitations, social participation, and multiple domains of QoL were assessed in patients. Results indicated that participants with stroke were impaired on emotion perception compared to controls. Emotion perception problems in stroke were significantly correlated with social participation and psychological aspects of QoL, but not with activity limitations. The strong relationships of emotion perception with social participation and psychological aspects of QoL following stroke may have implications for post-stroke outcomes.

Psilocybin inhibits the processing of negative emotions in the brain

This one is way out there. I'm sure your doctor would never think of prescribing 'magic mushrooms' to combat your depressive state because your doctor did nothing to stop the neuronal cascade of death. Hell, we can't even get marijuana off the Schedule I drug list and that has tons of proven research.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140507095756.htm
Researchers at the Psychiatric University Hospital of Zurich have now shown that psilocybin, the bioactive component in the Mexican magic mushroom, influences the amygdala, thereby weakening the processing of negative stimuli. These findings could "point the way to novel approaches to treatment" comments the lead author Rainer Krähenmann on the results which have now been published in the medical journal Biological Psychiatry.
Psilocybin inhibits the processing of negative emotions in the amygdala
The processing of emotions can be impaired by various causes and elicit mental disorders. Elevated activity of the amygdala in response to stimuli leads to the neurons strengthening negative signals and weakening the processing of positive ones. This mechanism plays an important role in the development of depression and anxiety disorders. Psilocybin intervenes specifically in this mechanism as shown by Dr. Rainer Krähenmann's research team of the Neuropsychopharmacology and Brain Imaging Unit led by Prof. Dr. Franz Vollenweider.

More at link.

Don’t forget the cerebellum

From Janet Kwasniak's Neuro-patch blog on consciousness.
See if your doctor has stroke protocols that cover recovery of all the functions that the cerebellum does.
It does coordination, timing, accuracy, smoothness, balance.
It appears to also deal in cognition, attention, learning and emotion. 
Does your doctor have ANY stroke recovery protocols?
http://dyslectern.info/2014/04/11/dont-forget-the-cerebellum/

Dealing with the emotional aspects of stroke rehab

While the article is good, it just dances around the real problem. Stroke survivors could be helped tremendously if they would have less dead and damaged neurons because the neuronal cascade of death was stopped. It's so f*cking simple. My solution(never listen to me) is these 31 hyperacute possibilities I'm going to insist my doctor give me the first week. 
What is your doctors solution?
http://www.philly.com/philly/health/20140413_Dealing_with_the_emotional_aspects_of_stroke_rehab.html 

Research shows a male can better recognize happy movements than a female

Absolutely nothing to do with stroke, but it tickled my fancy. 

Research shows a male can better recognize happy movements than a female

Main Point:

Researchers have found that females have better ability to recognize hostile angry movement of males while males have better ability to recognize happy walking of females.

Published in:

PLoS ONE

Study Further:

In the present study, researchers presented human locomotion with various emotional expressions, i.e. neutral, happiness and anger, to fifty three healthy female and male adult observers in the age range of 22-25 years.
Researchers found that emotions portrayed by female actors can easily be recognized than the emotions portrayed by male walkers/actors. Moreover, males can recognize happy walking better than females while females can recognize hostile angry motion better than males.
Males can easily recognize happy walking of female actors and are “also faster in responses to these displays than females.”
“Males surpass females in recognition of happy walking portrayed by female actors, whereas females exhibit a tendency to be better in recognition of angry locomotion expressed by male actors,” Researchers wrote.
Researchers are of opinion that females’ ability to recognize anger through locomotion is possibly to check potential danger from the other person.

Cognition/Emotion Relationships and Neuroplasticity: Implications for Intervention in Psychopathology

Have your doctor figure out a stroke protocol for you on this. Names and Universities so your doctor can't find an excuse not  to contact them. A great stroke association would be contacting them and putting together a stroke protocol since the thousands of neurologists and PMR doctors out there will not be doing this unless they are forced to or are hand fed the solution.
http://www.frontiersin.org/Journal/abstract/37452

Laura D. Crocker¹, Wendy Heller^1*, Stacie L. Warren¹, Aminda O'Hare² and Gregory A. Miller^{1, 3}

• ¹Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
• ²Psychology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, USA
• ³Psychology, University of Delaware, USA

Cognition/emotion relationships and related brain mechanisms are receiving increasing attention in the clinical research literature as a means of understanding diverse types of psychopathology and improving biological and psychological treatments. This paper reviews and integrates the growing evidence for cognitive biases and deficits in depression and anxiety, how these disruptions interact with emotional and motivational processes, and what brain mechanisms appear to be involved. This sets the stage, in turn, for understanding the role of neuroplasticity in implementing lasting change in cognition/emotion processes in psychopathology as a function of intervention.

Brain System for Emotional Self-Control Discovered

Your doctor should be able to use this to determine why you have emotional lability or Pseudobulbar affect (PBA). So ask them.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130509104354.htm
Different brain areas are activated when we choose to suppress an emotion, compared to when we are instructed to inhibit an emotion, according a new study from the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Ghent University.

---

In this study, published in Brain Structure and Function, the researchers scanned the brains of healthy participants and found that key brain systems were activated when choosing for oneself to suppress an emotion. They had previously linked this brain area to deciding to inhibit movement.
"This result shows that emotional self-control involves a quite different brain system from simply being told how to respond emotionally," said lead author Dr Simone Kuhn (Ghent University).
In most previous studies, participants were instructed to feel or inhibit an emotional response. However, in everyday life we are rarely told to suppress our emotions, and usually have to decide ourselves whether to feel or control our emotions.
In this new study the researchers showed fifteen healthy women unpleasant or frightening pictures. The participants were given a choice to feel the emotion elicited by the image, or alternatively to inhibit the emotion, by distancing themselves through an act of self-control.
The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan the brains of the participants. They compared this brain activity to another experiment where the participants were instructed to feel or inhibit their emotions, rather than choose for themselves.
Different parts of the brain were activated in the two situations. When participants decided for themselves to inhibit negative emotions, the scientists found activation in the dorso-medial prefrontal area of the brain. They had previously linked this brain area to deciding to inhibit movement.
In contrast, when participants were instructed by the experimenter to inhibit the emotion, a second, more lateral area was activated.
"We think controlling one's emotions and controlling one's behaviour involve overlapping mechanisms," said Dr Kuhn.
"We should distinguish between voluntary and instructed control of emotions, in the same way as we can distinguish between making up our own mind about what do, versus following instructions."
Regulating emotions is part of our daily life, and is important for our mental health. For example, many people have to conquer fear of speaking in public, while some professionals such as health-care workers and firemen have to maintain an emotional distance from unpleasant or distressing scenes that occur in their jobs.
Professor Patrick Haggard (UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience) co-author of the paper said the brain mechanism identified in this study could be a potential target for therapies.
"The ability to manage one's own emotions is affected in many mental health conditions, so identifying this mechanism opens interesting possibilities for future research.
"Most studies of emotion processing in the brain simply assume that people passively receive emotional stimuli, and automatically feel the corresponding emotion. In contrast, the area we have identified may contribute to some individuals' ability to rise above particular emotional situations.
"This kind of self-control mechanism may have positive aspects, for example making people less vulnerable to excessive emotion. But altered function of this brain area could also potentially lead to difficulties in responding appropriately to emotional situations."

Emotional Effects Of Stroke 'As Devastating As Physical Effects' Says New Report

This is very easily explained by the fact that no patient gets any type of damage diagnosis and no therapy protocols that have any guarantee of success. Doesn't anyone do any critical thinking about stroke at all?
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/259935.php
Too many stroke survivors and their families are abandoned when they leave hospital and left without the support they need to help them cope with the emotional impact of stroke. A new report published yesterday (Wednesday 1 May) by the Stroke Association reveals that the emotional impact of the condition can be as devastating as the physical effects.

The charity's report, Feeling Overwhelmed, is based on the findings of a survey(i) of over 2,700 people affected by stroke. While hospital care is rated highly, the emotional strain on survivors and their families when they return home is underestimated and often overlooked by health and social care services, leaving people inadequately supported.
More at link.

Emotional satiety

I liked the term  hopefully most of you can approach this state. I hit mine this past weekend when I traveled home for a friends moms funeral. Friends from 35-50 years ago were there and a multitude of hugs were dispensed and received. It only cost me 25 hours of driving for 36 hours with friends. No price is too high for that return.  One friend did state he didn't get enough hugs. It may have been a sad event but the eulogies were humorous and so true.