Mimetic Self-Reflexivity and Intersubjectivity in Complementary and Alternative Medicine Practices: The Mirror Neuron System in Breast Cancer Survivorship

This study examines complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) providers’ practices in the treatment of their breast cancer survivor (BCS) clients and interprets these practices within the context of existing neuroscientific research on the mirror neuron system (MNS). Purposive and snowball sampli...

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Autor principal:	Vinita Agarwal
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:	breast cancer survivorship complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapeutic relationship intersubjectivity mirror neuron system (MNS) self-reflexivity Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry RC321-571 Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system RC346-429
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/a69a20adf7ba401fadbbc1cfb1e2e636
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:a69a20adf7ba401fadbbc1cfb1e2e6362021-11-19T05:01:29ZMimetic Self-Reflexivity and Intersubjectivity in Complementary and Alternative Medicine Practices: The Mirror Neuron System in Breast Cancer Survivorship1662-514510.3389/fnint.2021.641219https://doaj.org/article/a69a20adf7ba401fadbbc1cfb1e2e6362021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnint.2021.641219/fullhttps://doaj.org/toc/1662-5145This study examines complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) providers’ practices in the treatment of their breast cancer survivor (BCS) clients and interprets these practices within the context of existing neuroscientific research on the mirror neuron system (MNS). Purposive and snowball sampling was conducted to recruit CAM providers (N = 15) treating BCSs from integrative medicine centers, educational institutions, private practices, and professional medical associations across the United States. In-depth semi-structured interviewing (N = 252 single-spaced pages) and inductive qualitative content analysis reveal CAM therapeutic practices emphasize a diachronic form of mimetic self-reflexivity and a serendipitous form of mimetic intersubjectivity in BCS pain management to allow the providers to tune-in to their clients’ internal states over time and experience themselves as an embodied subject in an imaginative, shared space. By employing imagination and an intentional vulnerability in their embodied simulation of the others’ internal states, CAM providers co-create experiences of pain while recognizing what about the other remains an unknown. Although MNs provide the mechanism for imitation and simulation underlying empathy through a neuronally wired grasp of the other’s intentionality, the study suggests that examining mimetic self-reflexivity and intersubjectivity in the therapeutic space may allow for a shared simulation of participants’ subjective experiences of pain and potentially inform research on self-recognition and self-other discrimination as an index of self-awareness which implicates the MNS in embodied social cognition in imaginative ways.Vinita AgarwalFrontiers Media S.A.articlebreast cancer survivorshipcomplementary and alternative medicine (CAM)therapeutic relationshipintersubjectivitymirror neuron system (MNS)self-reflexivityNeurosciences. Biological psychiatry. NeuropsychiatryRC321-571Neurology. Diseases of the nervous systemRC346-429ENFrontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, Vol 15 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	breast cancer survivorship complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapeutic relationship intersubjectivity mirror neuron system (MNS) self-reflexivity Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry RC321-571 Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system RC346-429
spellingShingle	breast cancer survivorship complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapeutic relationship intersubjectivity mirror neuron system (MNS) self-reflexivity Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry RC321-571 Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system RC346-429 Vinita Agarwal Mimetic Self-Reflexivity and Intersubjectivity in Complementary and Alternative Medicine Practices: The Mirror Neuron System in Breast Cancer Survivorship
description	This study examines complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) providers’ practices in the treatment of their breast cancer survivor (BCS) clients and interprets these practices within the context of existing neuroscientific research on the mirror neuron system (MNS). Purposive and snowball sampling was conducted to recruit CAM providers (N = 15) treating BCSs from integrative medicine centers, educational institutions, private practices, and professional medical associations across the United States. In-depth semi-structured interviewing (N = 252 single-spaced pages) and inductive qualitative content analysis reveal CAM therapeutic practices emphasize a diachronic form of mimetic self-reflexivity and a serendipitous form of mimetic intersubjectivity in BCS pain management to allow the providers to tune-in to their clients’ internal states over time and experience themselves as an embodied subject in an imaginative, shared space. By employing imagination and an intentional vulnerability in their embodied simulation of the others’ internal states, CAM providers co-create experiences of pain while recognizing what about the other remains an unknown. Although MNs provide the mechanism for imitation and simulation underlying empathy through a neuronally wired grasp of the other’s intentionality, the study suggests that examining mimetic self-reflexivity and intersubjectivity in the therapeutic space may allow for a shared simulation of participants’ subjective experiences of pain and potentially inform research on self-recognition and self-other discrimination as an index of self-awareness which implicates the MNS in embodied social cognition in imaginative ways.
format	article
author	Vinita Agarwal
author_facet	Vinita Agarwal
author_sort	Vinita Agarwal
title	Mimetic Self-Reflexivity and Intersubjectivity in Complementary and Alternative Medicine Practices: The Mirror Neuron System in Breast Cancer Survivorship
title_short	Mimetic Self-Reflexivity and Intersubjectivity in Complementary and Alternative Medicine Practices: The Mirror Neuron System in Breast Cancer Survivorship
title_full	Mimetic Self-Reflexivity and Intersubjectivity in Complementary and Alternative Medicine Practices: The Mirror Neuron System in Breast Cancer Survivorship
title_fullStr	Mimetic Self-Reflexivity and Intersubjectivity in Complementary and Alternative Medicine Practices: The Mirror Neuron System in Breast Cancer Survivorship
title_full_unstemmed	Mimetic Self-Reflexivity and Intersubjectivity in Complementary and Alternative Medicine Practices: The Mirror Neuron System in Breast Cancer Survivorship
title_sort	mimetic self-reflexivity and intersubjectivity in complementary and alternative medicine practices: the mirror neuron system in breast cancer survivorship
publisher	Frontiers Media S.A.
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/a69a20adf7ba401fadbbc1cfb1e2e636
work_keys_str_mv	AT vinitaagarwal mimeticselfreflexivityandintersubjectivityincomplementaryandalternativemedicinepracticesthemirrorneuronsysteminbreastcancersurvivorship
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Mimetic Self-Reflexivity and Intersubjectivity in Complementary and Alternative Medicine Practices: The Mirror Neuron System in Breast Cancer Survivorship

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