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Towards a Neurobiological Understanding of Reduced Self-Awareness During Flow: An Occupational Science Perspective

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Flow Experience

Abstract

Advances in neurobiology, including brain-scanning and physiological measurements, can now be applied to enhance our understanding of reduced self-awareness, one of flow’s core symptoms. It throws light on optimal experience, since self-forgetting links to flow’s positive affect, a paradox in such a highly self-aware species. This chapter synthesises empirical studies into self-awareness, and how it is down-regulated during task performance. A breakthrough was the identification of a specific neuronal network for self-awareness, discovered during brain mapping of goal-directed tasks. The network becomes active whenever tasks end, rather like a default. Evidence suggests that deep engagement in skilled (flow-like) activities dampens the network, relating somewhat to earlier concepts of hypo-frontality. An occupational science perspective proposes that participation in complex activities may reduce the weight of our extreme self-awareness. The human propensity to ‘occupy’ ourselves through a range of activities, such as the arts, can be a major mechanism for stress-reduction. Early twentieth century observations of the restorative function of being occupied transformed into the profession of occupational therapy, arguably originally a kind of ‘flow therapy’.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Health Sciences, University of Brighton, Eastbourne, East Sussex, UK

    Gaynor Sadlo

  2. First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

    Gaynor Sadlo

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  1. Gaynor Sadlo
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Correspondence to Gaynor Sadlo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    László Harmat

  2. Department of Education, University of Aarhus, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Frans Ørsted Andersen

  3. Department of Education, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark

    Fredrik Ullén

  4. School of Health Professionals, University of Brighton, Eastbourne, East Sussex, United Kingdom

    Jon Wright

  5. School of Health Sciences, University of Brighton, East Bourne, East Sussex, United Kingdom

    Gaynor Sadlo

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Sadlo, G. (2016). Towards a Neurobiological Understanding of Reduced Self-Awareness During Flow: An Occupational Science Perspective. In: Harmat, L., Ørsted Andersen, F., Ullén, F., Wright, J., Sadlo, G. (eds) Flow Experience. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28634-1_22

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