Tom Plender

@fndportal.bsky.social @katerinafoto.bsky.social @doug-mcleod.bsky.social @gailfdavies.bsky.social

YouTube video by Dr Abhijit Das Hypnosis and Suggestion: An ideal therapy for Functional Neurological Disorder (FND)?

Is hypnosis the ideal therapy for #FND ?great presentation from Dr Abhijit Das -

youtu.be/GEKLOwfhvA8?...

Functional seizures don't act like epilepsy. Functional movement disorders don't act like nervous system damage.

But is FND feigning or malingering? No!

A great paper from @mahyog.bsky.social @jonstoneneuro.bsky.social explains why

www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/portalfil...

#fnd #disabilityrights

“Connections between the nervous and immune systems are increasingly recognized as central to brain–body physiology […] we examine how these systems collaborate to detect and respond to both internal and external stimuli — such as psychological stress, circadian cues, infection, and tissue injury.“

“The findings emphasize the need for personalised and compassionate care for individuals suffering from FND, underpinned by increased service provision within the healthcare system.”

Professor Aikaterini Fotopoulou Awarded 2025 ALBA-FKNE Diversity Prize Professor Aikaterini Fotopoulou from UCL Division of Psychology and Language Sciences has been awarded the ALBA-FKNE Diversity Prize at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies meeting.

🎉 Congratulations to Prof. @katerinafoto.bsky.social‬, who has won the ALBA-FKNE Diversity Prize for her outstanding contributions to promoting equality and diversity in the brain sciences. ‪@network-alba.bsky.social‬ @kavlifoundation.org‬

YouTube video by Pain Free You Are You Losing Hope?

For anybody struggling- great video from Dan Buglio on not losing hope with these #FND / chronic pain type conditions
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ccd...

YouTube video by Theoretical Neurobiology Group FEP & Functional Neurological Disorder: Clinical Features and a Therapeutic Approach - Abhijit Das

Fascinating talk with @Brain_Tinkerer and Karl Friston on how hypnosis for #FND might fit into a Free energy principle/ computational neuroscience model

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvoN...

@fndportal.bsky.social @katerinafoto.bsky.social @edinpublishing.bsky.social

4/I don't dispute that for a subset of #FND patients repression/dissociation is an issue that can make symptoms worse. However for many the exact opposite is true, the traumatic memory or triggering event is TOO vivid - and thats a big part of the problem

6/Not all FND patients have psychological trauma, and in those where trauma is a contributing factor, there is still a lot of variability and complexity

5/This is why rigid theories like Freudian conversion disorder frequently fail FND patients – they are too narrow and simplistic and don't allow for the complexity and variability within FND – in terms of causation, individual response etc

3/The theory is the traumatic memory is not processed into long term memory storage, so the brain ends up stuck and hyperdefensive, constantly reliving the event and watching for similar dangers. In this hyper aroused state it often misinterprets harmless stimuli as a threat.

2/they are more likely to remember traumatic events vividly as opposed to mundane events from the same time period. As a result the brains threat detection systems keep the memory alive in time, so it can 'hypervigilantly' watch for anything similar that could be a threat

1/A major flaw with Freuds conversion disorder theory- that patients who've been traumatised cannot consciously remember the event and it ends up repressed. In my experience people are more likely to vividly remember traumatic events from the past-

Sadly still seeing many reports from newly-diagnosed folks in FND spaces that their doctor diagnosed them by “ruling things out.”

This is bad!

FND should be diagnosed based on positive clinical signs.

It is not a diagnosis of exclusion.

Someone please have a word with the neurologists 🙏

Could you send me some links? - I’d be v interested to read. All the FND brain network research seems to involve limbic system- often hyper connecting to motor cortex, so it makes sense - a lot of overlap with pain science & PTSD

2/The brains threat systems keep pumping out pain signals or immobilising you with spasm, fatigue, seizures etc because they are convinced you are still under threat. Despite the fact the initial injury may have healed or the traumatic event may have passed.

1/In #FND , chronic pain & PTSD it seems like ‘threat detection’ areas of the brain are almost frozen in time. Even though the triggering event i.e injury, accident or psychological trauma are over- these deep unconscious areas of the brain are convinced they are still taking place.

That’s a good way of putting it 👍

😁👍👍👍

Thanks - good point 👍

Modern approach is holistic & doesn’t negate the fact FND is a ‘sensory processing disorder’ , so for some this can include problems with processing emotions, but even this aspect can manifest in a range of different ways - not JUST repressed emotions leading to symptoms

Yeah for me repressed emotion concept was a dead end and very unhelpful - many FND patients don’t have this issue, in my experience it’s only a small subset who do. Better to think about FND in broader more modern terms i.e predictive brain model and pain science

@fndportal.bsky.social @drzoffness.bsky.social @katerinafoto.bsky.social @popkirov.bsky.social @wesleytkerr.bsky.social @susannahpick.bsky.social @nielsdetert.bsky.social @sarahgarf.bsky.social

My attempt to summarise the ‘predictive brain model’ that is likely a core mechanism of #FND , in the simplest terms -

The brains assessment of probability, made by a combo of ‘beliefs’ + ‘prior experiences’

Does that seem accurate?

Seems in these conditions the brains threat detection systems become 'hyper vigilant',so for some, due to past experiences, the brain may have decided that to feel emotions is dangerous. For others the causes are very different, Sarno too simplistic, broader explanatory models are best in my view.

I know people who've found they get symptoms when they repress emotions, but I'm personally not a fan of Sarno as he limits cause 'only' to repressed emotion, there are many other ways to getting FND. As far as I can see this came out of Sarno but has now broadened to include modern pain science

YouTube video by Symptomatic PAIN SCIENCE PARADIGM SHIFT

Great video on the pain science revolution, highly relevant to #FND .
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpvP...

Delighted to see ‘A Trick of the Mind’ reviewed in @theguardian.com as Book of the Day! 🧠 🍎

Also in the print edition tomorrow 🗞️

www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...