Predictive Processing and the Pathophysiology of Functional Neurological Disorder.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Psychiatry

Background:

• The brain functions as an active inference organ, integrating predictions with sensory input for conscious experiences.
• Deviations in this predictive process can lead to altered sensations and movements, characteristic of functional neurological disorder (FND).

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an overview of current research on predictive processing frameworks and their application to understanding the pathophysiology of FND.
• To explore how predictive processing sheds light on aberrant sensory-motor processes, symptom expectation, self-agency, interoception, and emotion in FND.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and synthesis of existing research.
• Analysis of studies investigating predictive processing mechanisms in relation to FND.
• Integration of findings from neuroscience, psychology, and psychiatry.

Main Results:

• Predictive processing offers a unifying mechanistic framework for FND.
• Research increasingly utilizes predictive processing to investigate core aspects of FND, including sensory-motor disturbances and subjective experiences.
• Aberrant predictive mechanisms are implicated in the altered perceptions and bodily experiences seen in FND.

Conclusions:

• Predictive processing frameworks provide fundamental insights into the brain-mind-body interactions underlying functional neurological disorder.
• Further research integrating predictive processing with clinical observations is crucial for advancing FND understanding and treatment.
• This framework highlights the role of altered prediction and inference in the manifestation of FND symptoms.