Biological Mechanism of Imagery Rescripting Psychological Intervention: A Critical Review

Imagery Rescripting (IR) has become a widely used intervention for modifying aversive autobiographical memories across different psychological disorders. However, the underlying biological mechanisms of this approach remain unclear. This critical review synthesizes recent studies from the past five years that offer emerging insight into biological processes potentially relevant to this intervention. The reviewed findings highlight a fragmented but promising pattern pointing toward distributed biological pathways that may support IR’s therapeutic effects. Evidence suggests that IR may engage multiple biological systems implicated in emotional processing, memory updating and reconsolidation, and more recently, interpersonal regulation. Limitations of the studies include the use of non-clinical samples and brief intervention protocols. The review concludes that future research must directly measure neural, physiological, and interpersonal responses during complete IR procedures using autobiographical material to clarify its specific biological mechanisms.