Mental navigation and the neural mechanisms of insight

Aru, Jaan; Drüke, Moritz; Pikamäe, Juhan; Larkum, Matthew E.

doi:10.1016/j.tins.2022.11.002

“…Conceptual maps have emerged as valuable tools for navigating our cognitive space [21][22][23]72]. However, similar to how a physical map can become outdated or damaged, leading us astray, our cognitive landscape can also exhibit rigid structures [73], dysfunctional connections, or maladaptive "shortcuts."…”

Section: Application Of Mental Navigation In Psychotherapymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Journey Within: Mental Navigation as a Novel Framework for Understanding Psychotherapeutic Transformation

Kabrel,

Tulver,

Aru

2023

Preprint

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Background: Despite the demonstrated efficacy of psychotherapy, the precise mechanisms that drive therapeutic transformations have posed a challenge and still remain unresolved. Here, we suggest a potential solution to this problem by introducing a framework based on the concept of mental navigation. It refers to our ability to navigate our cognitive space of thoughts, ideas, concepts, and memories, similar to how we navigate physical space. We start by analyzing the neural, cognitive, and experiential constituents intrinsic to mental navigation. Subsequently, we posit that the metaphoric spatial language we employ to articulate introspective experiences (e.g., “unexplored territory” or “going in circles”) serves as a robust marker of mental navigation. Methods: Using large text corpora, we compared the utilization of spatial language between transcripts of psychotherapy sessions (≈ 12M. words), casual everyday conversations (≈ 12M. words), and fictional dialogues in movies (≈ 14M. words). We also examined 110 psychotherapy transcripts qualitatively to discern patterns and dynamics associated with mental navigation. Results: We found a notable increase in the utilization of spatial metaphors during psychotherapy compared to casual everyday dialogues (U = 385.0, p < .001, d = 0.530) and fictional conversations (U = 415.0, p < .001, d = 0.729). In turn, analyzing the usage of non-spatial metaphors, we did not find significant differences between psychotherapy and regular conversations (U = 195.5, p = 0.280, d = 0.035), nor between psychotherapy and scripted dialogues (U = 252.5, p = 0.814, d = 0.150). The qualitative analysis highlighted specific examples of mental navigation at play. Conclusion: Mental navigation might underlie the psychotherapy process and serve as a robust framework for understanding the transformative changes it brings about.

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“…The ability to use more complex knowledge structures may involve a spatial-like ability to navigate those structures (Rmus, Ritz, Hunter, Bornstein, & Shenhav, 2022), as well as a metacognitive ability to balance knowledge uncertainty with deeper planning Wade & Kidd, 2019;. Indeed, a form of mental navigation that spans diverse spaces has been proposed to be linked with both creativity and curiosity (Aru, Drüke, Pikamäe, & Larkum, 2023;Eysenbach, Gupta, Ibarz, & Levine, 2018;Zhou et al, 2023). Although such diversity and depth can decrease knowledge uncertainty, it comes at the cost of time and computational resources to accrue and update information.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploratory exploitation and exploitative exploration: The phenomenology of play and the computational dynamics of search

Moldoveanu

2024

Behav Brain Sci

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“…The ability to use more complex knowledge structures may involve a spatial-like ability to navigate those structures (Rmus, Ritz, Hunter, Bornstein, & Shenhav, 2022), as well as a metacognitive ability to balance knowledge uncertainty with deeper planning Wade & Kidd, 2019;. Indeed, a form of mental navigation that spans diverse spaces has been proposed to be linked with both creativity and curiosity (Aru, Drüke, Pikamäe, & Larkum, 2023;Eysenbach, Gupta, Ibarz, & Levine, 2018;Zhou et al, 2023). Although such diversity and depth can decrease knowledge uncertainty, it comes at the cost of time and computational resources to accrue and update information.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Creativity is motivated by novelty. Curiosity is triggered by uncertainty

Singh,

Murayama

2024

Behav Brain Sci

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Although creativity and curiosity can be similarly construed as knowledge-building processes, their underlying motivation is fundamentally different. Specifically, curiosity drives organisms to seek information that reduces uncertainty so that they can make a better prediction about the world. On the contrary, creative processes aim to connect distant pieces of information, maximizing novelty and utility.

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Mental navigation and the neural mechanisms of insight

Cited by 29 publications

References 102 publications

The Journey Within: Mental Navigation as a Novel Framework for Understanding Psychotherapeutic Transformation

The Journey Within: Mental Navigation as a Novel Framework for Understanding Psychotherapeutic Transformation

Exploratory exploitation and exploitative exploration: The phenomenology of play and the computational dynamics of search

Creativity is motivated by novelty. Curiosity is triggered by uncertainty

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