Scientists challenge The Body Keeps the Score with a new predictive model of trauma
A recent theoretical paper published in Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience suggests that psychological trauma is not literally stored in the tissues of the body. Instead, the authors propose that trauma creates a rigid pattern of threat prediction within the brain, reducing cognitive flexibility. This updated perspective provides evidence that therapies focusing on mental state shifting, such as flow states, may help retrain the nervous system and support recovery. In 2014, psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk published The Body Keeps the Score, a book suggesting that trauma alters the nervous system and becomes physically lodged in the body. The bestseller popularized the idea that individuals cannot simply talk through trauma, as the body continues to react to past threats. While the book gained immense public and clinical popularity, some scientists have criticized its underlying biological mechanisms. Scientists Steven Kotler, Michael Mannino, Glenn Fox, and Karl Friston recently authored a paper to address these mechanistic discrepancies. They argue that the popular metaphor of somatic storage is biologically inaccurate. They propose an alternative model based on computational neuroscience. …

