How does visualisation work in the mind?
Visualisation plays on three core functions of the mind.
Neuroplasticity, neural equivalence and the Reticular Activating System work in tandem to generate incredible results.
Though visualisation as a technique has been practiced for millennia, it’s use has accelerated over the past 60 years largely due to the world of sports psychology. Psychological research into the benefits of visualisation started to grow in the 1960s but there was a problem.
We didn’t have the technology to understand how visualisation was working in the brain to deliver these incredible results. In fact, detailed research into the underlying mechanisms of the mind only began around 25 years ago thanks to developments in neuroimaging technology.
Now, we are now at an exciting point in time. More researchers than ever before are expanding our understanding of how the mind works. This includes the three concepts that underpin the neuroscientific research into visualisation; neuroplasticity, neural equivalence and the Reticular Activating System.
Neuroplasticity.
Neuroplasticity is the "ability of the nervous system to respond to intrinsic or extrinsic stimuli by reorganising its structure, functions and connections.” This means that our minds can change physically and, therefore, so can our beliefs & behaviours.
Building on this is the idea of Hebbian Learning. Hebbian Learning states that when we perform an action, neural pathways are formed and strengthened. The more an action is performed, the stronger the pathway becomes and the more intuitive an action becomes.
"Neurons that fire together, wire together." - Donald Hebb
In adolescence, the brain naturally develops until the age of 25. But that doesn’t mean that neuroplasticity stops there. Long term mental training has been shown to create significant changes in the brain networks.
Each of us has the innate ability to influence and craft our own mind. That is an incredible super power that we possess.
Neural Equivalence.
Neural equivalence is the concept that the "mental practice of action uses equivalent neural processes to those used in action execution". The general idea is that your brain can't tell the difference between what is real & what is vividly imagined.
Of course, this is a simplification and emerging data suggests that exact equivalence might be a stretch. However, studies have found that neural similarity has its benefits. They suggest that visualisation may deepen cognitive understanding and nuance of how to perform physical actions beyond that of physical practice alone.
We are used to the saying ‘practice makes improvement’ when it comes to physical practice. Thanks to neural equivalence combined with neuroplasticity, the same holds for mental practice (visualisation).
Reticular Activating System.
The Reticular Activating System (RAS) controls our state of alertness and emotional arousal such as sleep, waking and fight-or-flight responses.
The RAS works subconsciously but can be influenced consciously. For example, when you buy a new car - suddenly you start to see that car everywhere. Your conscious awareness of that car’s existence means that it is deemed significant. So, whenever you see that make of car in the streets, you consciously notice it.
In visualisation, you train your mind to notice things in your surroundings that support desired beliefs, thoughts and behaviours. This can bias you towards taking actions that increase the likelihood of achieving desired outcomes.
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