Reframing
Reframing is the process by which one deliberately discovers within a challenge an opportunity for growth.
Reframing has 2 core neurological concepts behind it:
(1) The relationship of the amygdala to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex.
(2) The ability to see the challenge faced in its broadest (therefore truest) possible context, which touches on left-right neuroscience.
Papers on the neuroscience of reframing incl. the ventromedial prefrontal cortex:
Hiser J, Koenigs M. The Multifaceted Role of the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex in Emotion, Decision Making, Social Cognition, and Psychopathology. Biol Psychiatry. 2018 Apr 15;83(8):638-647. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.10.030. Epub 2017 Nov 20. PMID: 29275839; PMCID: PMC5862740. [vmPFC determined to have 2 distinct functions, (a) the representation of reward and value-based decision-making, and (b) the generation and regulation of negative emotion, both with connections to amygdala]
Andrewes DG, Jenkins LM. The Role of the Amygdala and the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex in Emotional Regulation: Implications for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. Neuropsychol Rev. 2019 Jun;29(2):220-243. doi: 10.1007/s11065-019-09398-4. Epub 2019 Mar 14. PMID: 30877420. ['This review... support[s] the role of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) as a moderator and inhibitor of the amygdala.'] [review]
Nili U, Goldberg H, Weizman A, Dudai Y. Fear thou not: activity of frontal and temporal circuits in moments of real-life courage. Neuron. 2010 Jun 24;66(6):949-62. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2010.06.009. PMID: 20620879. [subjects who chose to advance toward a feared stimulus (snake) saw subgenual ACC activity rise ~6 seconds before exposure to the snake] [also activity of the right temporal pole] [no similar activity in people who were unafraid of snakes, or in fearful subjects who approached a toy bear] [sgACC activity correlated with self-reported fear upon choice to advance] [several other areas within the right brain also] [randomized controlled trial]
Ochsner KN, Gross JJ. The cognitive control of emotion. Trends Cogn Sci. 2005 May;9(5):242-9. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2005.03.010. PMID: 15866151. [unclear how beneficial the Ochsner articles are, as their definition of reappraisal is different from reframing]
Ochsner KN, Bunge SA, Gross JJ, Gabrieli JD. Rethinking feelings: an FMRI study of the cognitive regulation of emotion. J Cogn Neurosci. 2002 Nov 15;14(8):1215-29. doi: 10.1162/089892902760807212. PMID: 12495527.
Jamieson JP, Mendes WB, Blackstock E, Schmader T. Turning the knots in your stomach into bows: Reappraising arousal improves performance on the GRE. J Exp Soc Psychol. 2010 Jan 1;46(1):208-212. doi: 10.1016/j.jesp.2009.08.015. PMID: 20161454; PMCID: PMC2790291. [we all know this one] [RCT]
For a good discussion of the neuroscience of reframing (support for dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, and inverse relationship with amygalar activation): Modinos G, Ormel J, Aleman A. Individual differences in dispositional mindfulness and brain activity involved in reappraisal of emotion. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2010 Dec;5(4):369-77. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsq006. Epub 2010 Feb 10. PMID: 20147457; PMCID: PMC2999757. Also here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20147457/
