EMDR Neurobiological Foundations Flashcards

Which brain region is primarily responsible for the fear response that EMDR therapy aims to reprocess?

Answer: Amygdala

The amygdala is the brain's threat-detection center and plays a central role in the fear response that becomes dysregulated in trauma.

What does the 'window of tolerance' concept describe in the context of EMDR neurobiological theory?

Answer: The optimal zone of arousal for effective trauma processing

The window of tolerance describes the optimal zone of arousal — not too hyper- or hypo-aroused — in which clients can effectively process traumatic material.

The dual attention stimulus (DAS) used in EMDR is thought to engage which neurological mechanism?

Answer: Activation of the orienting response

Bilateral stimulation is believed to activate the orienting response, which interrupts the freeze state and facilitates adaptive information processing.

Which neurochemical is most associated with the consolidation of traumatic memories and is targeted indirectly through EMDR processing?

Answer: Norepinephrine

Norepinephrine surges during trauma and contributes to the strong encoding of traumatic memories, which EMDR helps to reprocess and reconsolidate.

In EMDR theory, what is meant by 'memory reconsolidation'?

Answer: The restabilization of a memory trace after it has been reactivated and altered

Memory reconsolidation refers to the process by which a retrieved memory becomes labile and can be updated or changed before being restabilized in storage.

What role does the hippocampus play in trauma and EMDR treatment?

Answer: It encodes and contextualizes memories in time and place

The hippocampus is critical for placing memories in temporal and spatial context; trauma can impair hippocampal functioning, disrupting normal memory consolidation.