Focusing on cognitive potential as the bright side of mental atypicality

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Contributors

Abstract

Standard accounts of mental health are based on a “deficit view” solely focusing on cognitive impairments associated with psychiatric conditions. Based on the principle of neural competition, we suggest an alternative. Rather than focusing on deficits, we should focus on the cognitive potential that selective dysfunctions might bring with them. Our approach is based on two steps: the identification of the potential (i.e., of neural systems that might have benefited from reduced competition) and the development of corresponding training methods, using the testing-the-limits approach. Counterintuitively, we suggest to train not only the impaired function but on the function that might have benefitted or that may benefit from the lesser neural competition of the dysfunctional system.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number188
JournalCommunications biology
Volume5
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2022
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 35233060
ORCID /0000-0003-4731-5125/work/160950355
ORCID /0000-0002-2989-9561/work/160952372