Correlates of EMDR Therapy in Functional and Structural Neuroimaging: A Critical Summary of Recent Findings
Open accessAbstract
Neuroimaging investigations of the effects of psychotherapies treating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), have reported findings consistent with modifications in cerebral blood flow (CBF; single photon emission computed tomography [SPECT]), in neuronal volume and density (magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]), and more recently in brain electric signal (electroencephalography [EEG]). Additionally in the recent past, EMDR-related neurobiological changes were monitored by EEG during therapy itself and showed a shift of the maximal activation from emotional limbic to cortical cognitive brain regions. This was the first time in which neurobiological changes occurring during any psychotherapy session have been reported, making EMDR the first psychotherapy with a proven neurobiological effect. The purpose of this article was to review the results of functional and structural changes taking place at PTSD treatment and presented during the period of 1999–2012 by various research groups. The reported pathophysiological changes are presented by neuropsychological technique and implemented methodology and critically analyzed.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Acupuncture may function by downregulating brain systems involved in activating the HPA axis and the sympathetic arm of the autonomic system.
“Studies suggest that acupuncture may function by downregulating brain systems involved in activating the HPA axis and the sympathetic arm of the autonomic system.152–154”
From Fear and the Defense Cascade (2015) · cites this paper as [154]
Cites
Do all psychological treatments really work the same in posttraumatic stress disorder?
Ehlers, A., Bisson, J., Clark, D. M., Creamer, M., Pilling, S., Richards, D., Schnurr, P. P., Turner, S., & Yule, W. (2010) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2009.12.001 · Cited by 199 · see citing works
Lindauer, R. J. L., Booij, J., Habraken, J. B. A., van Meijel, E. P. M., Uylings, H. B. M., Olff, M., Carlier, I. V. E., den Heeten, G. J., van Eck-Smit, B. L. F., & Gersons, B. P. R. (2008) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291707001432 · Cited by 131 · see citing works
Nardo, D., Högberg, G., Flumeri, F., Jacobsson, H., Larsson, S. A., Hällström, T., & Pagani, M. (2011) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291711000912 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Kozlowska, K., Walker, P., McLean, L., & Carrive, P. (2015) · Harvard Review of Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/hrp.0000000000000065 · Cited by 468 · see citing works
“Although the mechanisms underpinning EMDR have yet to be identified, neuroimaging studies document changes in processing and brain connectivity following EMDR treatment, with a discernible shift in firing from prefrontal and limbic regions to the fusiform and visual cortex during exposure to the traumatic script.(198,…”
BackgroundLandin-Romero, R., Moreno-Alcazar, A., Pagani, M., & Amann, B. L. (2018) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01395 · Cited by 188 · see citing works
Self-citationSmith, N. B., Doran, J. M., Sippel, L. M., & Harpaz-Rotem, I. (2017) · Neuroscience Letters · doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2017.01.006 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
- Authors
- Pagani, M., Högberg, G., Fernandez, I., & Siracusano, A.
- Affiliations
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies (IT)
- Karolinska Institutet (SE)
- EMDR Italy Association, Bovisio Masciago (MI), Italy
- University of Rome Tor Vergata (IT)
- Venue
- Journal of EMDR Practice and Research
- Published
- 2013-01
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 29-38
- ISSN
- 1933-3196 (ISSN-L)
- 1933-320X
- OpenAlex
- W2008657829
- Cited by
- 43
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 5.19
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of EMDR Practice and Research (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
- Keywords
- EMDR, post-traumatic stress disorder, cerebral blood flow, single photon emission computed tomography, brain structural changes, functional brain changes
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
