“More than meets the eye”

EMDR is a relatively new and contentious clinical treatment that has been scientifically evaluated predominantly with trauma survivors and persons stricken with anxiety. The premise of EMDR is that traumatic, panic, and anxiety experiences are processed differently by the brain than pleasant or neutral experiences. EMDR maintains that the amygdala (part of the temporal lobe responsible for moderating emotions) provisionally shuts down the hippocampus (complex region in the temporal lobe responsible for long-term memories) resulting in a heightened reaction to the specific event. Theoretically the memory of the disturbing experience is trapped beyond the domain of usual brain-processing abilities. EMDR grants the patient admission to the experience so that he/she can convert it into a tolerable or neutral memory. The neuro-physiological concept behind EMDR is that the hippocampus is not entirely shut down by the emotions evoked from the induced experience. Therefore, the patient is able to endure the procedure. Distraction by bilateral stimulation catalyzes rapid eye movements (REM) similar to that produced during sleep. In theory the REM induced in an EMDR session trigger an accelerated processing system in which the patient is able to rapidly absolve upsetting experiences creating an adaptive learning experience. In simpler terms, the patient learns to draw out what is necessary and useful from the upsetting incident. [Excerpt]

Dissertation/Thesis

English

Christie Russo

Russo, C. (2008). "More than meets the eye".  Nashville, Tennessee: Vanderbilt University