It is said that it is difficult to explain the therapeutic effect and mechanism of occupational therapy in psychiatry.For example, one of the characteristics of occupational therapy is that occupational activities (e.g., handicraft activities) and groups are included in the treatment structure. It has been reported that there is an increase in heart rate and smooth improvement in daily life.However, their physiological effects have not been clarified.
This time, a group from Osaka Public University and Osaka Kawasaki Rehabilitation University focused on a "parallel space" (in which each person performs a different task while others are present in the same room), which has been considered effective as occupational therapy. Focusing on handicraft activities in Japan, we examined their effects from the viewpoint of brain waves and autonomic nervous activity.
Thirty healthy people were the subjects of the study, and the conditions for handicraft activities were three: "one person", "two people doing each work (parallel)", and "two people working and non-workers (observer)". EEG and autonomic nerve activity during work were measured and analyzed.
As a result, there was no difference in the progress of handicraft activities between the conditions, but parasympathetic nerve activity, which indicates a relaxing effect, was significantly higher in the case of ``two people working independently (parallel)'' compared to ``one person''. was rising.It was also revealed that parasympathetic nerve activity was significantly higher in those who showed the EEG of Fmθ, which is an indicator of the state of concentration, than in those who did not.
From the above, in the “parallel field” where two people share the field, which is the treatment structure of occupational therapy, it is possible to work together without direct contact or talking, and each person can concentrate on the work. was shown to be effective in relieving tension and relaxing.It can be said that setting up a "parallel place" may be effective in reducing these in occupational therapy for subjects with strong tension and anxiety in clinical settings.
In the future, we will further investigate the effects of occupational therapy in groups according to the characteristics of the subjects through experiments targeting people with mental disorders and experiments with groups of three or more people.
Paper information:[Neuropsychobiology] Social Buffering Effects during Craft Activities in Parallel Group SessionRevealed by EEG Analysis and Parasympathetic Activity
