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What is neuropsychoanalysis? Clinically relevant studies of the minded brain

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Abstract

Neuropsychoanalysis seeks to understand the human mind, especially as it relates to first-person experience. It recognizes the essential role of neuroscience in such quests. However, unlike most branches of neuroscience, it positions mind and brain on an equal footing. It recognizes that the mammalian brain is not only an information processing device for behavior, but also the fount of the dynamics that is called `mind', from joyous and sad feelings to banal cognitions and idiosyncratic flights of fancy. It is impossible to explain complex behaviors without reference to neural networks that mediate subjective mental events: that is, the causal effects of thoughts and feelings. Neuropsychoanalysis accordingly counters the prevailing extreme reductionism in neuroscience and biological psychiatry. Neuromental explanatory concepts will not vanish as the brain becomes more thoroughly understood. Affective states and subjective intentionality are intrinsic to the brain. They are part of nature, exerting causal effects. Mind arises from complex brain network functions that need to be studied concurrently in humans and other animals. It is especially important to illuminate the cross-species affective foundations of the mind, given that many cognitive processes are motivated by emotional states. Neuropsychoanalysis emerged during the 1990s as a response to the need to reconcile psychoanalytic and neuro-scientific perspectives on the mind, with the goal of yielding a better understanding of the basic emotional foundations of psychiatric disorders, in the hope of promoting better nosology and therapeutics. Abundant research and discussions in the area have been disseminated through the house-journal of the International Neuropsychoanalysis Society, Neuropsychoanalysis. Since the beginning of this century, the Society has organized a dozen annual world congresses, each focusing on different heuristic themes, with prominent neuroscientists and psychoanalysts openly engaging the interfaces between neural dynamics and subjective mind. The 2012 Congress will take place in Athens, June 14-16, focusing on the topic of 'Neuropsychoanalytic Perspectives on Craving, Caring and Clinging'. (See http://www. neuropsa. org.uk for further information.) Neuropsychoanalysis is especially interested in brain functions that govern instinctual life, in particular those that are foundational for understanding subjectivity, agency and intentionality. As Freud wrote: No knowledge would have been more valuable as a foundation for true psychological science than an approximate grasp of the common characteristics and possible distinctive features of the instincts. But in no region of psychology were we groping more in the dark.

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... Beyond a theory of affective instincts, this dialogue with neuroscience implies a different conception of the mind than what Freud proposed. Such a conception is compatible with (but not explicit in) the models proposed by Mark Solms (Kaplan- Panksepp & Solms, 2012;Solms, 2013Solms, , 2017b. This model, which I describe below, asserts different levels of consciousness (and unconsciousness), as a greater distinction between the initial systems (conscious, preconscious, unconscious) described by Freud (1915c). ...
... While I do not disagree with the fundamental claims of Solms' model, existing debates around concerning the "conscious id" might be clarified by a more precise dissection of consciousness. To do this, it is helpful to consider a broader picture of functional neuroanatomy as envisioned within neuropsychoanalysis. Panksepp and Solms (2012) propose a model of mental processes that involves three levels. The first level involves subcortical, primary process emotions-the innate drives of affective consciousness discussed above. ...
... While affect might be linked to cognitive representations (thus allowing cognitive consciousness to emerge), affective consciousness is not reducible to cognition. Therefore, when reading Solms' conscious id alongside this neuropsychoanalytic model of levels of mental processes (Panksepp & Solms, 2012), one might suggest two effects: (1) different levels of consciousness, and (2) dynamic disjunctures between levels of consciousness. Specifically, the disjuncture between raw affective consciousness and cognitive representation points to the persistence of affect outside of cognitive processes. ...
Article
Psychoanalysis prioritizes the subjective experience of the mind. Neuroscience studies the objective aspects of the brain. These different focuses are the advantage—and the difficulty—of a dialogue between the two fields. Some argue that the emergence of “neuropsychoanalysis” reduces the mind to meaningless biological correlates. However, dialogue with neuroscience differs from reduction to objective explanation. Rather, through theoretical exchange, neuropsychoanalysis opens avenues for new possibilities of meaning. A dialogue with neuroscience can elucidate new relationships between different subjective phenomena, such as the vicissitudes of basic motivational systems. Whereas the opponents of neuropsychoanalysis argue that drives and affects are irreducible to biology—implying that they are the limit of neuroscience—this article argues that these concepts are instead the critical juncture of this dialogue. From such an intersection, a neuropsychoanalytic model of levels of the mind is proposed, where the unconscious is reframed as a dynamic effect of disjunctures between levels of consciousness.
... Researchers have recognized that this discourse calls for a statement of one's metaphysical assumptions with respect to the relationship between mind and body (e.g. Fotopoulou, 2012;Panksepp, 2011;Panksepp & Biven, 2012;Panksepp & Solms, 2012;Solms, 2021;Solms & Turnbull, 2011;Yovell et al., 2015). Solms and Turnbull (2011) state that "if we are to correlate our psychoanalytic models of the mind with what we know about the structure and functions of the brain, we are immediately confronted with the philosophical problem of how mind and brain relate" (p. ...
... This precedence has continued with the advent of neuropsychoanalysis, where reviews of the relationship between psychoanalysis and neuroscience (all those identified in the present study) explicitly adopt a position of dual-aspect monism (e.g. Fotopoulou, 2012;Panksepp, 2011;Panksepp & Biven, 2012;Panksepp & Solms, 2012;Solms, 2021;Solms & Turnbull, 2011;Yovell et al., 2015). If one were to study the mindbody problem by reference to the neuropsychoanalytic literature alone, they would be sure to conclude that the answer is to be found in dual-aspect monism. ...
Article
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The alignment of neuroscientific research with psychoanalytic theory and practice has led researchers in the emerging field of neuropsychoanalysis to scrutinize their metaphysical assumptions with respect to the relationship between mind and matter. The position which has achieved prevalence is dual-aspect monism. However, this trend is naïve to the fact that no consensus has been reached on the mind–body problem in the philosophy of mind literature. Moreover, like all metaphysical positions, dual-aspect monism contains conceptual flaws and is inconsistently defined, but these issues have not been sufficiently addressed in the neuropsychoanalytic literature. The present study reviews materialism, dual-aspect monism and transcendental idealism as candidate positions on which to ground neuropsychoanalytic thought. Whilst materialism holds that mind is ultimately reducible to material processes and dual-aspect monism holds that mind and matter are two irreducible perspectives on one underlying ontological domain, Kantian transcendental idealism views both mental and physical processes as subjective representations of a numinous reality which cannot be experienced directly. Instances are highlighted where neuropsychoanalytic dual-aspect monism slips into tacit forms of materialism and transcendental idealism. Transcendental idealism is conceived of as an epistemologically modest position which holds that inquiry into the mind–body relationship can only begin through exploring the boundaries of representation. It is submitted that the neuropsychoanalytic approach to the mind–body problem is implicitly aligned with transcendental idealism, and that this should be stated explicitly. Some clinical implications of these variations in metaphysical framing are discussed.
... However, without emotional intelligence, education in the metaverse may lack the crucial element of empathetic and nuanced interactions, potentially limiting the depth of understanding and human connection that traditional education can provide. FIGURE 7: A conceptual framework depicting the significance of primary affective states (lower order brain functions) in learning and memory processes [123]. EIM-based virtual education applications can employ this framework to enhance the learning experience. ...
... and affective states and allows them to explore more flexible teaching methods. Moreover, the role of affective states in associative learning and memory phenomena is emphasised in [123]. The conceptual framework comprising two-way emotional control presented in Figure 7 highlights that lowerorder primary affective processes influence and augment higher-order brain functions including learning and memory processes. ...
Article
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The metaverse is currently undergoing a profound transformation, fundamentally reshaping our perception of reality. It has transcended its origins to become an expansion of human consciousness, seamlessly blending the physical and virtual worlds. Amidst this transformative evolution, numerous applications are striving to mould the metaverse into a digital counterpart capable of delivering immersive human-like experiences. These applications envisage a future where users effortlessly traverse between physical and digital dimensions. Taking a step forward, affective computing technologies can be utilised to identify users' emotional cues and convey authentic emotions, enhancing genuine, meaningful, and context-aware interactions in the digital world. In this paper, we explore how integrating emotional intelligence can enhance the traditional metaverse, birthing an emotionally intelligent metaverse (EIM). Our work illuminates the multifaceted potential of EIM across diverse sectors, including healthcare, education, gaming, automotive, customer service, human resources, marketing, and urban metaverse cyberspace. Through our examination of these sectors, we uncover how infusing emotional intelligence enriches user interactions and experiences within the metaverse. Nonetheless, this transformative journey is riddled with challenges, and we address the obstacles hindering the realisation of EIM's full potential. By doing so, we lay the groundwork for future research endeavours aimed at further enhancing and refining the captivating journey into the world of EIM.
... Thus, some analysts have supported revised paradigms, such as attachment theory, that are better supported by evidence [3] . Others have taken the view that Freud's ideas concerning the unconscious mind are compatible with modern neuroscience [4] . Still others have moved in the opposite direction, arguing that it is sufficient to offer a coherent interpretation of psychological phenomena [5] . ...
... It taught a generation of psychiatrists how to understand life histories and to listen Attentively to what patients say. In an era dominated by neuroscience, diagnostic checklists, and psychopharmacology, we need to find a way to retain psychotherapy, whose basic concepts can be traced back to the work of Freud, as part of psychiatry [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] . ...
... In other words, the lexical approaches underlying FFM theory argue how human personality might be manifested in the linguistic materials we use to describe ourselves and others . Although the FFM is lacking of a neuroscientific-evidence-based theoretical basis underlying individual differences in human personality (Davis et al., 2003;Montag and Davis, 2018), it was hypothesized to be linked to genotypic personality traits (McCrae and Costa, 1996), thus being in accordance with Panksepp's theory of biological foundations of personality Panksepp and Solms, 2012). Indeed, it was proposed that personality traits, as conceptualized by the FFM, could have genetic and physiological roots (Canli et al., 2001;Depue and Collins, 1999;Eysenck, 1990). ...
... These hypotheses were further supported by findings outlined by the metaanalytic study of Marengo et al. (2021), which found how higher SEEKING scores were associated to increased Openness to Experience, higher PLAY scores to increased Extraversion, high CARE and low ANGER to increased Agreeableness, and high FEAR, SADNESS and ANGER scores to increased Neuroticism. Taken together, these findings seem to highlight how individual differences in primary emotional systems might reflect specific expressions of given personality traits, thus representing their biological foundations Panksepp and Solms, 2012). ...
Article
Background Affective neuroscience (AN) theory assumes the existence of seven basic emotional systems (i.e., SEEKING, ANGER, FEAR, CARE, LUST, SADNESS, PLAY) that are common to all mammals and evolutionarily determined to be tools for survival and, in general, for fitness. Based on the AN approach, the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS) questionnaire was developed to examine individual differences in the defined basic emotional systems. The current systematic review aims to examine the use of ANPS in clinical contexts attempting to define those behavioral elements associated with underlying stable personality traits. Methods The systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA statements. PubMed and PsycInfo were used for research literature from March 2003 to November 2021. Results Forty-four studies including ANPS were identified from 1763 studies reviewed. Sixteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Limitations The review comprised some papers with incomplete psychological assessments (e.g., lack of other measures in addition to the ANPS) and missing information (e.g., on the [sub]samples), which may affect the generalizability of findings. Conclusion Specific endophenotypes and/or patterns of emotional/motivational systems were found for several mental disorders. Specifically, endophenotypes emerged for the Depressive and Autism Spectrum Disorders, Borderline and Avoidant Personality Disorders, type I and II Bipolar Disorders, and the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. The endophenotypes can provide useful reflective elements for both psychodiagnosis and intervention. Overall, the current study may represent an attempt to contribute to the understanding of the basic emotional systems involved in the psychopathological manifestations identified by AN.
... Since Descartes, in both science and medicine, theorists have almost exclusively linked "behavior" to psychological function (Panksepp and Solms, 2012;Damasio and Carvalho, 2013). Contemporary theories variously define emotions as "instinctual influences, " "bodily impulses" or simply "reflexes" stating that "emotions" arise from autonomic function (Tyng et al., 2017; Figure 7). ...
... Note in this model, signaling is entirely internal and environmental signaling is not accounted for. Note also the deprecatory relationship between primary "bottom-up" "instinctual influences" (lower brain function) and secondary and tertiary processes of the cognitive system (higher brain function) adapted with permission from Panksepp and Solms (2012). ...
Article
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We have previously proposed that mothers and infants co-regulate one another’s autonomic state through an autonomic conditioning mechanism, which starts during gestation and results in the formation of autonomic socioemotional reflexes (ASRs) following birth. Theoretically, autonomic physiology associated with the ASR should correlate concomitantly with behaviors of mother and infant, although the neuronal pathway by which this phenomenon occurs has not been elucidated. In this paper, we consider the neuronal pathway by which sensory stimuli between a mother and her baby/child affect the physiology and emotional behavior of each. We divide our paper into two parts. In the first part, to gain perspective on current theories on the subject, we conduct a 500-year narrative history of scientific investigations into the human nervous system and theories that describe the neuronal pathway between sensory stimulus and emotional behavior. We then review inconsistencies between several currently accepted theories and recent data. In the second part, we lay out a new theory of emotions that describes how sensory stimuli between mother and baby unconsciously control the behavior and physiology of both. We present a theory of mother/infant emotion based on a set of assumptions fundamentally different from current theories. Briefly, we propose that mother/infant sensory stimuli trigger conditional autonomic socioemotional reflexes (ASRs), which drive cardiac function and behavior without the benefit of the thalamus, amygdala or cortex. We hold that the ASR is shaped by an evolutionarily conserved autonomic learning mechanism (i.e., functional Pavlovian conditioning) that forms between mother and fetus during gestation and continues following birth. We highlight our own and others research findings over the past 15 years that support our contention that mother/infant socioemotional behavior is driven by mutual autonomic state plasticity, as opposed to cortical trait plasticity. We review a novel assessment tool designed to measure the behaviors associated with the ASR phenomenon. Finally, we discuss the significance of our theory for the treatment of mothers and infants with socioemotional disorders.
... Building upon prior conceptual (Afzali et al., 2017;Panksepp, 2010;Panksepp and Solms, 2012;Watt and Panksepp, 2009;Zellner et al., 2011) and psychometric (Fuchshuber and Unterrainer, 2020;Montag et al., 2022;Montag et al., 2017) research, the observed close ties between SADNESS and depression aligns with our expectations. Generally, there is a conceptual overlap between both psychiatric symptoms of depression and SADNESS as personality concept. ...
Article
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Objectives Recent years have seen an increased interest regarding theoretical and empirical associations of adult attachment security and primary affective traits concerning psychiatric disorders. In this study, network analysis technique is applied to dissect the links between both psychodynamic personality constructs and an array of psychopathological symptoms. Methods A total sample of 921 (69.9 % female) participants from the general population was investigated. A regularized cross-sectional partial correlation network between attachment (Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised [ECR-RD8]), primary affective traits (Brief Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales [BANPS-GL]) and psychopathological symptoms (ICD-10-Symptom-Rating Questionnaire [ISR]) was estimated via the EBICglasso algorithm. Node centrality, predictability and bridge centrality were analyzed. To evaluate the stability of the network and evaluate the significance of differences, we employed bootstrap techniques. Results The network was found to be stable, allowing reliable interpretations. We observed SADNESS, as well as depressive, PTSD and anxiety symptoms as the most influential nodes within the investigated network. Attachment AV and SADNESS were observed as nodes with the highest bridge centrality. Conclusions The results provide a data-driven in-depth look into the complex dynamics between psychopathological symptoms, attachment security and basic affective traits. Results underscore the critical interconnections between affect, attachment, and psychopathology, advocating for a psychodynamically informed systems approach in psychological research that considers the affective dimensions underlying human mental health.
... Secondly, there are clear developments in showing that these individual emotions are organized in a hierarchy, such that the more foundational elements (for example in the upper brain stem) seem dedicated to the core experience of emotion, while higher levels of the system (for example in the amygdala) are dedicated to functions such as emotional memory (LeDoux, 1992;Panksepp & Solms, 2012;Panksepp & Watt, 2011, Turnbull & Salas, 2021. The highest levels of these systems seem to involve the role of emotion in complex decision-making, where the importance of the ventro-mesial frontal lobes, discussed above, is a clear link to the human lesion literature. ...
Article
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Aleksandr Luria repeatedly emphasised the importance of emotions and the right hemi- sphere in his neuropsychological writings. It is surprising, therefore, that Luria's most influential book, The Working Brain, appears to lack an explicit section on these topics. This is especially notable because of a comment in the book's English-language Introduction, by Karl Pribram, referencing Luria's thoughts about precisely this material. Remarkably, it seems that Luria did write such an explicit chapter, in the original Russian edition. How- ever, in the English-language version, the relevant sections were separated, embedded elsewhere without chapter headings, and altered, presumably following an explicit translation decision. The present paper tracks the nature of these changes and, 50 years later, presents the material for the first time translated and reunited in English, as Luria intended. After the translation, we offer a brief commentary, on the ways in which Luria's ideas were in some respects prescient, and in other respects less well-informed about the brain basis of emotions and the right hemisphere. This reunification offers an interesting time capsule on the opinions of one of neuropsychology's greatest minds, on a topic which Luria admits had, at the time, only a modest empirical foundation.
... A modest but increasing body of literature has emerged in recent years to investigate the overlap between phenomenology and neuroscience. Studies on visual acuity (Lutz, 2002), meditation (Hobson, 2009), the onset of epileptic seizures (Le Van Quyen and Petitmengin, 2002), and works on elucidating mental processes that coincide with the DMN activation (Panksepp and Solms, 2012) all demonstrate to this pattern (Garrison et al., 2013). There are, however, several obstacles that must be overcome before first-person data can be effectively integrated into the experimental methods of cognitive neuroscience. ...
Article
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Neurophenomenology is a research program that seeks to integrate the fields of neuroscience and phenomenology for the purpose of investigating the nature of human experience. Contemporary neurocognitive models pertaining to self-regulation and execution suggests that individuals interpret objects they perceive and approach as definite in their experiential encounter. Yet, a comprehensive analysis on the phenomenology of awareness and behavior reveals that during the process of detecting or interacting with objects, we experience them in a convoluted manner that underlies an adversarial association of default and executive control networks. In this regard, numerous studies have invested in specific tasks involving creative-thinking that engage large-scale networks during artistic performance to understand the intricate cognitive processes of goal-oriented, self-generated thinking when subjects interact with objects and the world around them. This perspective provides a cognitive neuroscience lens on first-person narrative and third-person neural data co-development through the use of neurofeedback, aiming to enhance our understanding of the dynamic interplay between large-scale neural networks and acknowledges the challenges associated with the concurrent acquisition of both phenomenological and neuroscientific data. By doing so, research gaps and explanations for apparent discrepancies are elaborated, supporting executive function with a more in-depth phenomenological understanding of ourselves.
... Recently, many theorists have tried to do this through a recent field of study, that is, neuropsychoanalysis. Exploring the role of drives and instincts in the functioning of the human mind (see for example Aragno, 2019;Panksepp and Solms, 2012;Solms, 2018). However, on the contrary notion of the archetype's bottom-up function, in the case of Solms and his followers, there is a top-down perspective, where the unconscious itself is largely a product of the functioning of consciousness (Nir and Tononi, 2010). ...
... On this background, addiction might be seen as a dysfunctional attempt to regulate overwhelming feelings of loss, sadness, grief and isolation mediated by an overactive PANIC/GRIEF system. Furthermore, the predominantly primary emotion systems, are considered as connected to secondary order processes, which includes attachment patterns in mammals (23). The development of attachment bonds, which is especially driven by the SADNESS system, and addictive behavior has strong similarities (24,25). ...
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Objectives To date there is no universally accepted model that describes the development of substance related addictive behavior. In order to address this gap, the study sought to examine whether the association between primary emotions and the inclination toward addictive behavior is mediated by an anxious attachment style. Methods The total sample consisted of 900 nonclinical young adults (Age: M = 27; SD = 9.60; 71.6% female). Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was applied to examine the connection between the primary emotions (SADNESS and ANGER), and the latent variables attachment anxiety and symptoms of addictive behavior. Results Substance use symptomatology was correlated with higher attachment anxiety (r = .15), SADNESS (r = .15) and ANGER (r = .11). The effect of SADNESS on addictive behavior is mediated by attachment anxiety (p < .01) whereas ANGER had a direct effect on addictive behavior (p < .01). The final SEM explains 4% of the variance of addictive behaviors and 22% of attachment anxiety. Conclusions Our findings suggest that both SADNESS and ANGER, along with attachment anxiety, are dispositions that contribute to the risk of engaging in addictive behavior. However, while ANGER directly influences addictive behavior, SADNESS acts through its impact on attachment anxiety.
... Recent developments in neuroscience have fertilized and intensified an interdisciplinary dialogue between psychoanalysis and neuroscience (e.g., Kandel, 1998Kandel, , 2013Carhart-Harris and Friston, 2010;Prosser et al., 2018;Solms, 2021a,b). The cooperation between the two disciplines has resulted in numerous experimental studies that shed new light on psychoanalytic constructs and techniques (e.g., Solms, 2011;Panksepp and Solms, 2012;Böker et al., 2013;Shevrin et al., 2013). One study group recently focused on neural responses on free association in healthy individuals Schmeing et al., 2013). ...
... Recent developments in neuroscience have fertilized and intensified an interdisciplinary dialogue between psychoanalysis and neuroscience (e.g., Kandel, 1998Kandel, , 2013Carhart-Harris and Friston, 2010;Prosser et al., 2018;Solms, 2021a,b). The cooperation between the two disciplines has resulted in numerous experimental studies that shed new light on psychoanalytic constructs and techniques (e.g., Solms, 2011;Panksepp and Solms, 2012;Böker et al., 2013;Shevrin et al., 2013). One study group recently focused on neural responses on free association in healthy individuals Schmeing et al., 2013). ...
Article
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Background Previous studies detected changes in the electroencephalographic (EEG) signal as an effect of psychoanalytic interventions. However, no study has investigated neural correlates of specific psychoanalytic interventions in the EEG power spectrum yet. In the present case study, we contrasted three types of interventions (clarification, confrontation, and interpretation) and a neutral control condition during a structural psychoanalytic interview conducted while EEG was recorded. Methods A 27-year-old male patient diagnosed with major depressive disorder and borderline personality disorder with recurrent suicidal and self-injurious behavior underwent a structural interview while recording EEG. Two independent experts selected by consensus the characteristic episodes of the four conditions (clarification, confrontation, interpretation, and neutral control) within the interview, which were included in the EEG analyses. Fast Fourier transformation (FFT) was applied to subsegments of the intervention type to analyze the EEG power spectra. Alpha and beta power from central, frontal, and parietal sites were considered in linear mixed-effects models with segments as a random factor with maximum-likelihood estimates due to the lack of balance in the length of the interview segments. Results The interventions “interpretation” and “confrontation” showed a significantly lower alpha power compared with the control condition in the central electrodes. In the frontal and parietal sites of the alpha power and all beta power sites, the omnibus tests (full model/model without intervention) and comparisons relative to control conditions showed no significant overall result or failed significance after alpha error correction. Conclusion Incisive interventions, such as confrontation with discrepancies and interpretation of unconscious intrapsychic conflicts, may have provoked temporary emotional lability, leading to a change in psychic processing akin to interference from external stimuli. This conclusion is consistent with the finding that interpretations, which are potentially the most concise interventions, had the strongest effects on alpha power. Using EEG during therapeutic psychoanalytic intervention techniques might be a helpful tool to evaluate differential responses to the psychotherapeutic process on a neural level. However, this single-case result has to be replicated in a larger sample and does not allow generalizations.
... Mental imagery has been maintained to be the basis of beliefs combining cognitive dimensions, culture, and social interactions [15] interwoven with emotional processes which are linked to cognitive operations and reflective awareness [16,17]. Importantly, personal beliefs might be challenged and even modified in such abnormal circumstances, as they are susceptible to new information contradicting earlier experiences [18]. ...
Article
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Cognition, emotion, emotional regulation, and believing play a special role in psychosocial functioning, especially in times of crisis. So far, little is known about the process of believing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to examine the process of believing (using the Model of Credition) and the associated psychosocial strain/stress during the first lockdown in the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey via LimeSurvey was conducted using the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and a dedicated Believing Questionnaire, which assesses four parameters of credition (propositions, certainty, emotion, mightiness) between April and June, 2020, in Austria. In total, n = 156 mentally healthy participants completed all questionnaires. Negative credition parameters were associated with higher global symptom load (from BSI-18): narratives: r = 0.29, p < 0.001; emotions r = 0.39, p < 0.001. These findings underline the importance of credition as a link between cognition and emotion and their impact on psychosocial functioning and stress regulation in implementing novel strategies to promote mental health.
... The paper makes the case for art therapy to incorporate principles of neuroscience, neural processes and neural imaging, and explores how these are informing literature relevant to the profession. Invaluably, it also argues for consideration of the important emerging field of neuropsychoanalysis and the work of researchers such as Panksepp and Solms (2012) and Fotopoulou (2012). She suggests that existing literature (46 studies were found) provides knowledge to better understand the client's therapeutic process and ways of expression through art materials, in turn helping to validate art therapy to other professions. ...
... Emotional processes are linked to cognitive operations and reflective awareness with a language based broad spectrum of complex memory. Cognitive and executive functions are linked to mentalization identity narratives and mindfulness 18 . The relation of cognition and emotion with the underlying structure of personality might be important when considering personality functioning and vulnerability. ...
Article
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. Impairment of mentalization may impact coping strategies, regulation of affect and stress. The influence of impaired mentalization on dissociation in patients with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) could be important for treatment strategies. The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between ACEs, mentalizing and dissociation in adult individuals. Sixty-seven patients with ACEs completed the Mentalization Questionnaire (MZQ), the Essener Trauma Inventory (ETI) and the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18). The SPSS PROCESS macro tool was applied to test if mentalization mediated the relationship of ACEs and dissociation. ACEs were significantly associated with higher dissociation (β = 0.42, p < 0.001) and lower mentalization (β = − 0.49, p < 0.001). When mentalization was added to the model as a predictor, the association of ACEs with dissociation was no longer significant (β = 0.11, p = 0.31) and a statistically significant indirect effect was found (β = 0.32, 95% CI 0.16–0.47). The overall explained variance of dissociation notably improved after inclusion of mentalization (17.5% to 49.1%). Thus, the results indicated that the association of ACEs on dissociation was fully mediated by mentalization. Our results suggest that ACEs are associated with lower mentalization and higher dissociation. Lower mentalization was also associated with worse depression, anxiety, somatization and PTSD symptoms. These findings underline the increasing importance of early treatment of individuals affected by ACEs with a focus to foster the development of mentalization.
... The issue of the neural mechanism of emotions is not unambiguous, however. The so-called neuropsychoanalytical (Panksepp & Solms, 2012) Freudian approach, influenced by the Darwinian theory of evolution, divided the mind into the conscious and the unconscious, while current neuroscience locates emotions in different brain layers or regions, namely in the subcortex, basal ganglia and upper limbic system, and the neocortex. There is allegedly a nested hierarchy between these layers. ...
Book
This book focuses on foreign policy decision-making from the viewpoint of psychology. Psychology is always present in human decision-making, constituted by its structural determinants but also playing its own agency-level constitutive and causal roles, and therefore it should be taken into account in any analysis of foreign policy decisions. The book analyses a wide variety of prominent psychological approaches, such as bounded rationality, prospect theory, belief systems, cognitive biases, emotions, personality theories and trust to the study of foreign policy, identifying their achievements and added value as well as their limitations from a comparative perspective. Understanding how leaders in world politics act requires us to consider recent advances in neuroscience, psychology and behavioral economics. As a whole, the book aims at better integrating various psychological theories into the study of international relations and foreign policy analysis, as partial explanations themselves but also as facets of more comprehensive theories. It also discusses practical lessons that the psychological approaches offer since ignoring psychology can be costly: decision-makers need to be able reflect on their own decision-making process as well as the perspectives of the others. Paying attention to the psychological factors in international relations is necessary for better understanding the microfoundations upon which such agency is based. Christer Pursiainen is Professor of Societal Security at the Arctic University of Norway (UiT) in Tromsø, Norway. Tuomas Forsberg is Director of the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies at the University of Helsinki and Professor of International Relations at Tampere University, Finland.
... The issue of the neural mechanism of emotions is not unambiguous, however. The so-called neuropsychoanalytical (Panksepp & Solms, 2012) Freudian approach, influenced by the Darwinian theory of evolution, divided the mind into the conscious and the unconscious, while current neuroscience locates emotions in different brain layers or regions, namely in the subcortex, basal ganglia and upper limbic system, and the neocortex. There is allegedly a nested hierarchy between these layers. ...
Chapter
Chapter 4 of The Psychology of Foreign Policy ponders whether beliefs matter. Conventional wisdom holds that decision-making depends more on people’s beliefs about the reality than on the external reality as such. The chapter scrutinizes the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, how it affects decision-making, and the methodologies related to how these issues can be studied and used as explanatory causal factors in the study of foreign policy decision-making. The chapter looks at such research fields as belief systems, studies of ideologies, images, cognitive maps, and operational codes. A number of prominent foreign policy applications are reviewed, and the respective theoretical and methodological challenges discussed. These include the notion that while information about beliefs can be relatively easily gathered from public sources such as speeches and other discourse, unlike in most psychological approaches, foreign policy decision-makers may hide their real motives and thoughts regarding an action and use popular ideologies as a smokescreen for both domestic and foreign audiences.
... The issue of the neural mechanism of emotions is not unambiguous, however. The so-called neuropsychoanalytical (Panksepp & Solms, 2012) Freudian approach, influenced by the Darwinian theory of evolution, divided the mind into the conscious and the unconscious, while current neuroscience locates emotions in different brain layers or regions, namely in the subcortex, basal ganglia and upper limbic system, and the neocortex. There is allegedly a nested hierarchy between these layers. ...
Chapter
Chapter 7 of The Psychology of Foreign Policy discusses personality. The personalization of politics seems to be a pervasive trend in world politics, judging by the daily news as well as political and diplomatic discussions. This is in stark contrast to current mainstream International Relations theorizing, which concentrates on the structures and has either neglected the personality factors or placed them artificially outside the scope of the discipline. The chapter takes an in-depth look at the theoretical and methodological opportunities for integrating personality into the study of foreign policy decision-making. The issue at stake is whether personality matters, or whether systemic drivers suppress personal qualities and characteristics. The chapter starts by reviewing the generic personality theories, such as psychohistorical and psychoanalytical approaches, theories on personality types, and those based on personality traits and their sub-categories in different combinations. We then move to applications of these theories in the field of International Relations by looking at key research literature on personalities of foreign policy leaders and leadership traits. In a more detailed fashion, short illustrative psychological profiles of two great-power leaders are delineated. Finally, the challenges of the above approaches are discussed critically but constructively, pointing out the obvious data and methodological problems, but also issues such as whether personalities are subject to change, and what that would entail.
... The issue of the neural mechanism of emotions is not unambiguous, however. The so-called neuropsychoanalytical (Panksepp & Solms, 2012) Freudian approach, influenced by the Darwinian theory of evolution, divided the mind into the conscious and the unconscious, while current neuroscience locates emotions in different brain layers or regions, namely in the subcortex, basal ganglia and upper limbic system, and the neocortex. There is allegedly a nested hierarchy between these layers. ...
Chapter
Chapter 5 of The Psychology of Foreign Policy addresses heuristics and cognitive biases that have often been regarded as being at the core of psychological approaches to foreign policy. This field does not constitute a unified theory as such but concerns a variety of cognitive mechanisms that affect decision-making. We start by briefly outlining the main theoretical approaches concerning these phenomena before taking a closer look at some of the most foreign policy relevant biases. In order to illustrate the diversity of the factors we look at confirmation bias, overconfidence, attribution error, cognitive dissonance, misleading historical analogies, groupthink and polythink. After that, representative examples of their applications in the empirical analysis of foreign policy decisions are presented. In the discussion part, conceptual, theoretical and methodological challenges are identified, such as the difficulties involved in verifying those circumstances where biases have or have not materialized.
... The issue of the neural mechanism of emotions is not unambiguous, however. The so-called neuropsychoanalytical (Panksepp & Solms, 2012) Freudian approach, influenced by the Darwinian theory of evolution, divided the mind into the conscious and the unconscious, while current neuroscience locates emotions in different brain layers or regions, namely in the subcortex, basal ganglia and upper limbic system, and the neocortex. There is allegedly a nested hierarchy between these layers. ...
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Chapter 3 of The Psychology of Foreign Policy concerns prospect theory, which originates from behavioural economics but has been increasingly applied to International Relations and Foreign Policy Analysis. It is one of the most influential cognitive psychological decision-making theories. The theory arose to challenge the straightforward expected utility-based rational choice theory. Prospect theory claims that people hardly ever make choices on the basis of the mathematical utility value of the available options, as the expected utility theory models the decision-making situation. Focusing on risky decision-making, the theory argues that the way in which a decision is framed, that is, whether it is understood to be in the realms of loss or gain, defines whether the decision-maker is a risk-taker or risk-averse. After carefully considering the generic theory, the chapter presents its applications to foreign policy decision-making. In addition to methodological challenges, the critical discussion deals with the issue of whether a theory based on average behaviour and tested by small monetary values in controlled circumstances can be applied to foreign policy decision-making.
... The issue of the neural mechanism of emotions is not unambiguous, however. The so-called neuropsychoanalytical (Panksepp & Solms, 2012) Freudian approach, influenced by the Darwinian theory of evolution, divided the mind into the conscious and the unconscious, while current neuroscience locates emotions in different brain layers or regions, namely in the subcortex, basal ganglia and upper limbic system, and the neocortex. There is allegedly a nested hierarchy between these layers. ...
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Chapter 6 of The Psychology of Foreign Policy deals with the issue of how emotions shape foreign policy decisions and whether they can be seen as causal factors in the process. As emotions have become a topical theme in many disciplines close to International Relations, the chapter starts with presenting generic approaches to human emotions and their relation to decision-making. This is a field where the recent advances in neuroscience and brain research have influenced decision-making studies in general. We discuss such issues as conceptualising, measuring and behavioural effects of emotions by looking at the implications of Basic Emotions Theory, the dual process model (System 1 and System 2) as well as more sociological approaches including the question of how emotions are collective. The chapter then reviews the existing research literature on emotions and foreign policy, focusing not only on negative emotions such as anger or fear, but also on positive emotions such as empathy. The critical discussion highlights the difficulties in operationalizing the available hypotheses and more developed theories in the study of contemporary foreign policy decisions, due to the absence of reliable data extraction methods in this field.
... The issue of the neural mechanism of emotions is not unambiguous, however. The so-called neuropsychoanalytical (Panksepp & Solms, 2012) Freudian approach, influenced by the Darwinian theory of evolution, divided the mind into the conscious and the unconscious, while current neuroscience locates emotions in different brain layers or regions, namely in the subcortex, basal ganglia and upper limbic system, and the neocortex. There is allegedly a nested hierarchy between these layers. ...
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Chapter 9 of The Psychology of Foreign Policy provides a systematic and structured comparison of the psychological approaches discussed in the book. It concludes by summarising their ontological, epistemological, and axiological assumptions, and discusses the methodological solutions as applied to foreign policy decision-making. In an encompassing manner, it elaborates on the issues of the reliability and validity of psychological theories in the context of foreign policy decision-making studies. The chapter discusses the (im)possibility of creating a single research programme around the psychological theories when studying foreign policy decision-making, noting that this would be a challenge without any clear common core of basic assumptions. Nevertheless, the chapter identifies those areas where research shows the most promise in producing new theoretical innovations and empirical explanations within the field of foreign policy analysis. It also outlines practical takeaways for foreign policy decision-makers and practitioners.
... The issue of the neural mechanism of emotions is not unambiguous, however. The so-called neuropsychoanalytical (Panksepp & Solms, 2012) Freudian approach, influenced by the Darwinian theory of evolution, divided the mind into the conscious and the unconscious, while current neuroscience locates emotions in different brain layers or regions, namely in the subcortex, basal ganglia and upper limbic system, and the neocortex. There is allegedly a nested hierarchy between these layers. ...
Chapter
Chapter 2 of The Psychology of Foreign Policy discusses the extent to which foreign policy decisions can be deemed rational. The chapter provides a reasoned justification for why one must go beyond the rational choice models towards psychological theories when explaining decision-making. In addition to a rather critical but nonetheless constructive discussion of instrumental rationality, the chapter reviews the theoretical and methodological foundations of two modifications of rational choice, namely bounded rationality and the poliheuristic theory of decision-making. Both take into account the cognitive limitations of information-gathering and decision-making, but the latter emerges more inherently from the tradition of Foreign Policy Analysis and is more adapted to empirical applications in this field. On this general basis, some relevant applications in the field of international politics and foreign policy are presented, illustrating the operationalization of the aforementioned approaches. In the discussion part, the conceptual, theoretical and methodological challenges and limitations are identified. The question of whether and how one can apply the theoretical assumptions of these schools in empirical studies and gather the required data is considered, as well as the degree to which these approaches add to the pure rational choice analysis explanation.
... Emotional processes are linked to cognitive operations and reflective awareness with a language based 46 broad spectrum of complex memory. Cognitive and executive functions are linked to mentalization 47 identity narratives and mindfulness (11). The relation of cognition and emotion with the underlying 48 structure of personality might be important when considering personality functioning and vulnerability. ...
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Background: Impairment of mentalization may impact coping strategies, regulation of affect and stress. So far, little is known about the influence of impaired mentalization on dissociation in patients with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between ACEs, mentalizing and dissociation in adult individuals. Methods: Sixty-seven patients with ACEs completed the Mentalization Questionnaire (MZQ), the Essener Trauma Inventory (ETI) and the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18). The SPSS PROCESS macro tool was applied to test if mentalization mediated the relationship of ACEs and dissociation. Results: ACEs were significantly associated with higher dissociation (β=.42, p<.001) and lower mentalization (β=-.49, p<.001). When mentalization was added to the model as a predictor, the association of ACEs with dissociation was no longer significant (β=.11, p=.31) and a statistically significant indirect effect was found (β=.32, 95% CI: .16-.47). The overall explained variance of dissociation notably improved after inclusion of mentalization (17.5% to 49.1%). Thus, the results indicated that the association of ACEs on dissociation was fully mediated by mentalization. Conclusion: Our results suggest that ACEs are associated with lower mentalization and higher dissociation. Lower mentalization was also associated with worse depression, anxiety, somatization and PTSD symptoms. These findings underline the increasing importance of early treatment of individuals affected by ACDs with a focus to foster the development of mentalization.
... In contrast to psychotherapies that rely on more structured techniques, psychoanalysis always emphasized open-ended free association and attention to the fluid dynamics of the here-andnow patient-therapist interaction. Freud's dream of the "science of the mind" is embodied in the budding discipline of neuropsychoanalysis, which aims to integrate first-person experience with deeper understanding of information processing networks in the brain that give rise to it (Panksepp & Solms, 2012). The Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman's (2011) research established a paradigm of the automatic experiential-intuitive system, which operates implicitly and provides holistic analysis of organism-environment interactions based on parallel channels of associative memory and affective valence. ...
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Intuitive response has been a cornerstone of patient–therapist interactions in all schools of therapy. In addition, persistent instances of “uncanny” intuitive knowing, such as “thought transference,” telepathic/precognitive dreams, distant awareness, and synchronicity have been identified since the very beginnings of psychoanalysis. These phenomena have remained on the fringes of scientific exploration, partly because of the lack of a conceptual model that would bring them into the mainstream of clinical work. The authors propose a Nonlocal Neurodynamics model that complements classical local-interactive forms of sensory (verbal and nonverbal) communication with nonlocal-participatory informational channels arising from the fundamental quantum/classical nature of the body/brain/mind system. We suggest the need for a metaphor shift in psychoanalysis in order to incorporate the latest developments in complexity science and quantum neurobiology, which allow for a meta-reductive informational perspective that bridges the Cartesian mind-brain divide and enables a unified picture of psychophysical reality. We use clinical examples illustrating a full spectrum of local and nonlocal clinical intuition to help clinicians utilize these concepts in their daily work.
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To assess primary emotions in subcortical brain regions across all mammals, the affective neuroscience personality scales (ANPS) were created for use in research involving human subjects. Later revisions of the scales have been validated across many countries and are used in diverse fields of psychology. The ANPS revisions culminated in the most recent ANPS 3.1. In this study, we evaluated the psychometric properties of the ANPS 3.1 and its two abbreviated versions (affective neuroscience personality scales – brief (BANPS) and affective neuroscience personality scales – short version (ANPS-S)) in a Slovenian community sample of 502 young adults. We simultaneously examined several kinds of validity evidence across the three versions: construct validity, internal reliability, and convergent validity. Our findings revealed acceptable construct validity of the six-factor model of the BANPS that was superior to the ANPS-S and particularly to the ANPS 3.1. The latter exhibited incremental fit issues noted in previous versions. However, we revealed sufficient internal reliability and convergent validity of the scale scores against the Big Five personality traits, and the frequency of the participants’ recently felt positive and negative emotions across all three ANPS versions. Testing the measurement invariance of BANPS across sex suggested full metric invariance and partial scalar invariance which allows direct score comparisons between males and females.
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As the philosophical basis for neuropsychoanalysis, dual-aspect monism is fundamental to the entire neuropsychoanalytic project. However, dual-aspect monism has been criticized not only from without but also from within neuropsychoanalysis. This paper considers criticisms of dual-aspect monism from within neuropsychoanalysis. These might be summed up as a concern that the difference at the level of epistemology (neuroscience, psychoanalysis) and phenomena (objectivity, subjectivity) must not be washed away by an appeal to a common ontology. In response, I propose to supplement dual-aspect monism with the philosophical framework of Transcendental Materialism. In this view, epistemological difference between the dual aspects is secondary to antagonism at the level of monistic ontology. Transcendental Materialism begins with the question: what sort of nature must nature be to give rise to two irreducible perspectives such as neuroscience and psychoanalysis? I argue for supplementing dual-aspect monism with Transcendental Materialism through a review of Mark Solms’s work on the hard problem of consciousness via Karl Friston’s Free Energy Principle. Within the Solms-Friston framework, the informatic mechanisms that give rise to dual-aspect epistemologies rely upon ontological antagonism. Principles of a transcendental materialist dual-aspect monism for neuropsychoanalysis are put forward.
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The progress of scientific knowledge allowed for the opening of the new field of affective neuroscience. Around 1950, researchers of animal psychology discovered a new class of neuroactive substances called peptides, or neuropeptides, whose role was to trigger affects and emotions, leading to a body reaction and eventually, generating an action—a body-mind phenomenon. Oxytocin is a neuropeptide, and, together with its twin brother vasopressin, have a fundamental role in the regulation of affects and body homeostasis, besides activating mechanisms for the care of offspring and governing mammals’ social life. The triangulation of data among brain functions, the generation of cognitive and affective substrates, and a corresponding behavioral outcome is a suggested template for the study of body-mind phenomena in affective neuroscience.
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Neuropragmatism offers a non-dualistic conception of experience from which scientific inquiries can provide resources for sociocultural critique. This reconstructive effort addresses what Emma Dowling calls the care crisis without succumbing to what Mike W. Martin calls therapeutic tyranny. This tyranny relies on problematic dualisms, between mind/body, mind/world, and fact/value, that are also found in neuropsychoanalysis. While pragmatism and psychoanalysis more generally share an evolutionary perspective and can overlap in therapeutic approaches, neuropsychoanalysis diverges from this effort in its dual-aspect monism and positivistic conception of science. Where neuropsychoanalysis seeks to reconcile the first-person subjectivity of lived experience with the third-person objectivity of science, neuropragmatism offers reconstruction. In taking the neuropragmatic turn, neuropsychoanalysts can better utilize Freudian therapies in conjunction with active inference principles, such as the free-energy principle and allostasis. Along with neuropragmatism’s conception of experience as organism-environment dynamic engagement, neuropsychoanalysis can benefit from allostatic approaches to experience and inquiry without reducing experience to brute mechanism or denying the utility of such mechanisms for prediction and intervention. Understanding the value-ladenness of experience, primary and secondary, in everyday waking life and in reflective inquiry, empowers people to better care for themselves without succumbing to merely coping with neoliberal oppression.
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In a nonergodic (or nonrepeating) universe, evolution creates environments of great complexity whose events are beyond entailing law and parented by contingent histories. Our material context is therefore one of evental flow from one unique situation to another. The article outlines how this manifests in society, and illustrates the necessity of interpretive techniques. The current challenge of natural science is considered through a discussion of neuropsychology and psychoanalysis. The study affirms the role of natural science but argues that the hybrid, narrative and debate-led approaches of the humanities and social sciences are the most rational approaches to elucidating non-ergodic reality.
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A management framework for destination attributes is critical for the reasonable allocation of resources. However, existing management frameworks for destination attributes estimate the management value of attributes by calculating their contribution to cognitive satisfaction, which deviates from the “cognition-affection” relationship in psychology. In this scenario, destination attachment is an important concept reflecting the emotional values of attributes. This study proposes an attachment-based management framework for destination attributes based on the appraisal theories of emotion in the context of the progressive development of Hangzhou, China, as a typical mature destination. A networking method is applied to develop the management framework. This is the first study to establish an emotion-based management framework for destination attributes from a psychological perspective. Implications regarding the framework development method and destination attribute management are also provided.
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It has been suggested that counselling psychology can both harness from and add to the field of neuroscience in a unique way, to continually improve understanding and interventions for our species’ mental health (Goss, 2015; Rizq, 2007). However, this view is often communicated by single or collectively interested authors and may not represent the wider network of counselling psychologists. The aim of this research is to explore United Kingdom (UK) based counselling psychologists’ experiences and views on incorporating neuroscience into their work. These views may help shed some light on the current landscape of integration within the profession, and whether any further action could be beneficial for practice, research and clients.
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Dual-aspect monism is proposed as a model for understanding discrimination. What discrimination – specifically that against women – owes the subject-object/mind-body dichotomy long-privileged in Western thought is considered in the context of this perspective found in Freud and, today, in Neuropsychoanalysis. Explored in its relation to racism and other forms of prejudice, misogyny is shown to emanate from fear, fear of the weakness of self before the (real or imagined) power of the Other. And discrimination, more generally, is revealed as a means of disambiguating, of escaping the conflated intolerability of uncertainty and the uncomfortably familiar, the fusion, even, of self and non-self. Misogynism, in short, is shown to reveal not only the pathological origin of all prejudice and discrimination – the anxiety before the uncanny, before ambiguity and the ill-defined – but the reward to be reaped in circles of the like-minded: approval and relief from dread.
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I describe an unusual approach to hone psychotherapy skills and enhance my understanding of complex psychological concepts. Using a few selected artworks, I discuss and illustrate how I used painting and the artworks themselves to enhance learning, explore theoretical confusions and express personal conflicts. I demonstrate how painting and the artworks themselves can enliven memory, illustrate the transference relationship, explore dreams and express deep anxieties experienced during a training psychoanalysis. I link the psychotherapist attuning to the transference in order to make interpretations, to the artist responding to the unexpected artwork emerging on the canvas.
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Despite Tennessee Williams's genius as a playwright who could represent his inner emotional struggles in his art, psychoanalysis was unable to free him from the powerful “blue devils” within him. Williams's inability to engage with psychoanalysis presents an opportunity to discuss ways that contemporary thinking about brain structure and function might guide our understanding and treatment of patients such as Williams. One of the core defensive behaviors that made analysis difficult for Williams was his avoidance of painful emotions through compulsive writing, sex, alcohol, and drug-addictive behaviors. These pre-mentalized reactions became Williams's habitual procedural body response, which occurs below the level of the self-reflective brain. Within a relatively traditional ego psychological frame, Lawrence Kubie, Williams's analyst in 1957, attempted to prohibit the compulsive behaviors to be able to process the underlying painful affects in the analysis. However, given that this level of mind and brain functions was Williams's chief means of regulation, Williams could not engage in the psychoanalytic process and left the treatment after one year. I propose that Williams was operating in brain circuits below the level of “higher” reflection or interpretation-receptive circuits and therefore he was unable to make use of a traditional ego psychological model. A review of these brain circuits seeks to encourage therapists to utilize simplified brain explanations for patients, which can destigmatize the pathologic behaviors and enhance engagement in the treatment process.
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Pourquoi cette traduction de Entropy, Free Energy, and Symbolization Jérôme Alain Lapasset 29 VII 2022 Je propose ici une traduction, en accès libre, d’un article en anglais qui se propose de contribuer à une réflexion dans le champ hautement spéculatif de la neuropsychanalyse. Il s’agit de : Rabeyron, T. and Massicotte, C. (2020). Entropy, Free Energy, and Symbolization : Free Association at the Intersection of Psychoanalysis and Neuroscience. Front. Psychol. 11 : 366. doi : 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00366 ; Frontiers in Psychology ǀ www.frontiersin.org. Je ne suis pas psychanalyste, j’ai néanmoins beaucoup travaillé pour comprendre au mieux les propos, tenter de respecter et d’éclairer les concepts qui ne sont pas au premier plan de ma pratique clinique, en fournissant les moyens au lecteur intéressé d’en saisir la substantifique moelle et, pourquoi pas, investiguer davantage la (ou les) question(s) que cet écrit ne peut manquer de soulever. Il va de soi que cette traduction a été soumise à l’auteur principal (le professeur Thomas Rabeyron), ce qui a ouvert à des discutions intéressantes et enrichissantes, dont je le remercie. Par nature, J’apprécie de me frotter à d’autres systèmes de pensée…. C’est ainsi, que la présente traduction est dans la continuation d’un travail de réflexions engagé depuis de nombreuses années et dont la mise en accès libre sur internet du Nouveau Projet pour une Psychologie Scientifique : schéma général (traduction de Mark Solms (2020): New project for a scientific psychology: General scheme, Neuropsychoanalysis, DOI: 10.1080/15294145.2020.1833361, en février 2021) n’est qu’un exemple. De formation scientifique, j’ai parfaitement conscience des limites de la science en général et des neurosciences en particulier [, là comme ailleurs, les lois de l’économie et de la performance (cf. la fameuse loi des trois P : « Publier, Publier ou Périr »), les pressions politico-sociales, s’exercent, et le fait qu’il s’agisse d’une pratique humaine, donne lieu à des choix arbitraires plus ou moins raisonnés (Giulia Anichini, 2018 ; Forest, 2014) ou pire, à des dérives aux promesses fallacieuses qui invitent à la plus grande vigilance (Forest, 2022). Dans un champ différent aux multiples recoupements, il en va de même de la psychanalyse. Le père emblématique de cette dernière a lui-même proposé trois topiques différentes à valeur heuristique, la neuropsychanalyse (Malaguarnera, 2017) pourrait donner jour à de nouveaux éclairages cliniques ou modélisation de la psyché, sans pour cela chercher de justification au travers des neurosciences. Elle pourrait même parvenir à une topic plus fine, par le dialogue qu’elle recherche à entretenir en favorisant la capacité à penser à la multiplicité des interprétations alternatives des processus incriminés], mais c’est précisément ce qui fait toute la valeur de la démarche scientifique… Si pour moi le cerveau est la plaque tournante (le « Hub » central de toute expérience vécue, les différents niveaux d’analyse que propose les neurosciences, disons, cognitive, affective et sociale, nous apportent des éclairages essentiels pour comprendre, critiquer, remanier, affiner des modèles de fonctionnement de la psyché pour les psychanalystes, de l’esprit incarné (fusse-t-il ou non un espace neuronal global de travail, pour moi) ; et impulser de nouvelles formalisation modélistique à partir des questionnements paradigmatiques … L’esprit critique constructif, l’analyse rigoureuse en collaboration et l’expérience partagée sont des traits dominant de mon travail (intellectuel, clinique, thérapeutique… et personnel sur moi-même)… En fait, rarement un livre ne m’a autant touché, sur les plans professionnel et personnel, que l’ouvrage récent « Un coup de hache dans la tête, Folie et créativité » du professeur Raphael Gaillard (2022)(1) … Un exemple de sens de la mesure, au travers de l’expression d’une intelligence humaine à la fois rigoureuse et lucide. Tout cela pour dire que, même si je reconnais le caractère révolutionnaire, à l’époque, de Sigmund Freud, le fait de vouloir prouver qu’il avait raison, m’irrite un peu et me semble aux antipodes des aspirations de l’homme lui-même… j’ai également apprécié l’esprit de mesure, la rigueur scientifique et l’attention portée à l’expérience humaine du dernier ouvrage de Jean Pol Tassin (2021) (2) qui propose également, tout en respectant les perspectives de chacun, une réelle intention, non de triturer des faits, mais de contribuer à une pensée novatrice, concrète et pertinente à une utilité réelle du soin. Je n’ai aucun esprit de chapelle ; ce n’est pas ce qui m’anime…. Je pense que la dimension politico-économique, ainsi que les prérogatives institutionnelles, ou les revendications théoriques exclusives, desservent autant les finalités desdites institutions qu’elles sont censées défendre que les individus qui ont l’ambition de s’y faire reconnaître, sans parler de l’aspiration à œuvrer pour une connaissance (à multiples facettes) véridique et au service du soin. C’est dans cette intention que je verse ce travail au débat. Ceci permettrait de passer, selon moi, non pas d’une « neuropsychanalyse » à une « psychanaloneuroscience », mais de définir où aller vers la précision de nouveaux concepts à la fois ancrés dans l’expérience clinique et les sciences du cerveau, à un autre niveau de complexité (niveau d’analyse et de développement), autre que la captation partielle de concepts, le plus souvent trop simplificateurs. N’oublions pas qu’aujourd’hui, le mercantilisme et l’industrie s’emparent des neurosciences pour asservir le grand public au libéralisme économique et imposer dans l’esprit du consommateur moyen la seule référence techno-cérébrale au service des pulsions d’achat ; ce que la psychanalyse a elle-même fait à sa manière devant sa remise en cause récente en France, au point que certains caciques (3) essaient d’introduire de pseudo méthodes d’évaluation, sous forme tautologique pour valider des pratiques hasardeuses…. (1) - Gaillard, R. (2022). Un coup de hache dans la tête, Folie et créativité, PARIS : Grasset Éd., 256 pages. (2) - Tassin, J.-P. (2021). Les coulisses du cerveau, l’inconscient aux commandes, MALAKOFF : Dunod Éd., 171 pages. (3) - Quatre sens existent à ce terme : 1. Vieux. Chef indien de certaines tribus d'Amérique ; 2. En Espagne et en Amérique espagnole, notable local qui exerce un contrôle de fait sur la vie politique et sociale de son district ; 3. Familier. Premier à un concours, en particulier à l'École normale supérieure : 4. Familier. Personne qui occupe socialement une des premières places. - Malaguarnera, S. (2017). La neuropsychanalyse: Enjeux théoriques et pratiques, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 164 pages ; - Anichini, G., (2018). La fabrique du cerveau, les dessous d’un laboratoire de neuro-imagerie, PARIS : Éditions Matériologiques, 261 pages ; - Forest, D., (2014). Neuroscepticisme, les sciences du cerveau sous le scalpel de l’épistémologie, PARIS : ‎Les Éditions d'Ithaque, 208 pages ; - Forest, D., (2022). Neuropromesses, une enquête philosophique sur les frontières des neurosciences, PARIS : ‎Les Éditions d'Ithaque, 327 pages)
Article
Albert Wojciech Adamkiewicz (1850-1821) was a Polish neurologist and researcher who is best known for his description of the so-called Adamkiewicz-artery. In contrast to his achievements in neurology, his research in psychiatry from his time in Vienna (1891-1921) is commonly overlooked. We examined all titles of his publications from 1891 to 1921 and provided a close reading of those works that were related to his research on the neural basis of mental phenomena and disorders. We demonstrate that, in later stages of his scientific career, Adamkiewicz critically engaged with contemporary positions in psychiatry and the psychogenic explanation of mental disorders. He developed a theory based on his neurological research, correlating central theorems of late-nineteenth-century psychiatry to neural networks in the human cortex. These achievements make him a historical forerunner of neuropsychiatric concepts of mental phenomena and disorders.
Article
Background Few studies have investigated brain responses to different art media. Investigations into brain processes during art making have highlighted important structures. Neuroimaging tools have been used to investigate activation of brain areas whilst artmaking, but not in a therapeutic setting. This review highlights recent advancements in this area and encourages researchers to be the first to apply this in the UK. Aim To understand how the principles of neuroscience are currently informing the literature to explain the effects of art media in art therapy practice. Methods Review of published peer-reviewed research between years 2000 and 2020 on neuroscience and art therapy. Results Findings were summarised into categories discussing psychological/neurobiological issues, art media, neuroimaging technology, and models posited. Forty-six studies were found; majority discussed the structure and function of the brain to explain art therapy processes. The Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) model theorised that media properties stimulate different levels of visual and cognitive processing. The novel Mobile Brain/Body Imaging (MoBI) neuroimaging technology may be used as a means of quantifying data. Conclusion Significant progress has been made in attempting to explain brain responses during the art therapy process. However empirical data is needed to prove theoretical models. The use of neuroimaging has started this process to lead research into evidence-based practice. Implications for practice/further research Evidencing the ground-breaking ETC model, using neuroimaging and MoBI technology is needed through close collaboration between transdisciplinary departments. Art therapists should be encouraged to use the ETC to inform art therapy assessment, planning and treatment. Plain-language summary Neuroscience is the study of the brain and its processes, and recently technology has been available to researchers to examine brain processes in detail. This systematic narrative review explores recent literature that uses the principles of neuroscience to investigate the effects of art therapy, with a specific interest in art media. A systematic narrative review is when the findings of the study rely on the use of words to summarise the data. Art media is an important part of art therapy, as it is through artistic expressions that the client communicates their inner troubles. Different art media has been shown to elicit different feelings and behavioural responses in clients. However, research showing brain responses to different art media is limited. This study highlights ways in which further research in this field can take place. Results show that significant advancements have already been made that identify important structures and functions of the brain accessed during art therapy. Important models which incorporate neuroscience principles and theorise the art therapy process are highlighted. A significant model is the Expressive Therapies Continuum. This model explains how the brain processes information when different art media is used. However empirical data is needed to substantiate the theory behind this model. The use of neuroimaging technology is one way to achieve this. Therefore, this paper encourages transdisciplinary research to further investigate the effects different art media has on the brain during the art therapy process.
Article
L’avènement des neurosciences dans le champ de la santé mentale a bouleversé les équilibres entre psychologie et « sciences du cerveau ». De très nombreuses connaissances nouvelles ont été apportées sur le fonctionnement cérébral. En regard, à la psychanalyse de plus en plus en repli dans le monde universitaire, il est reproché son inconsistance scientifique. Le vocabulaire neurologique et en particulier la référence au cerveau sont devenus les supports obligés des considérations sur le psychisme. Paradoxalement, depuis la création de la Société pour la Neuroscience en 1969, les apports thérapeutiques des neurosciences dans le champ des troubles mentaux ont été marginaux. La psychiatrie comme pratique repose toujours sur la clinique, les psychotropes et les psychothérapies élaborés ou découverts indépendamment des neurosciences. Malgré l’enthousiasme des premières découvertes comme les modifications de la dynamique des neuromédiateurs dans la dépression ou la schizophrénie, aucune affection ni trouble mental n’a trouvé un modèle neurophysiologique consistant et étayé scientifiquement pour expliquer sa symptomatologie ou expliquer son développement. Cet article a pour objet un examen historique et épistémologique de cette extraordinaire discordance. Il décrit à partir des conceptions du trauma psychique l’évolution historique des thérapeutiques et des conceptions en psychiatrie jusqu’aujourd’hui. Partant de Thomas Kuhn décrivant les révolutions scientifiques nous nous interrogeons sur le caractère de croyance de l’adhésion au discours neuroscientifique contemporain et sur la factualité de ses annonces.
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The author argues against neuropsychoanalysis by focusing on the metaphysical issues. Neuropsychoanalysts argue that the philosophical theories of dual aspect monism (DAM) and anomalous monism support their position. The author contends that not only do DAM and anomalous monism not offer support for neuropsychoanalysis; they are also inconsistent with its claims. The conceptual distinction between the mental and the physical — the so-called “epistemological dualism” cited by neuropsychoanalysis—stands as an insurmountable barrier to the project of neuropsychoanalysis. By way of example, the author offers an analogy with artworks. The author concludes the paper by arguing that neuropsychoanalysis deflects from the real project of psychoanalysis, which is the study of persons, not so-called “mindbrains.”
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While in the beginning of the twentieth century psychiatrists’ therapeutic interventions mainly addressed one’s psyche, using verbal psychoanalysis based on psychological theories, towards the end of the twentieth century and with the advancement of neuroscience, the biological approach to mental health took over, and most psychiatric interventions became pharmacological in nature, addressing one’s neurophysiology and brain function. In recent years, an integrative approach of combining psychological with biological interventions is advocated for psychiatric rehabilitation. In their chapter, Wengrower and Bendel-Rozow address primarily the psychological approach to psychiatry and discuss how dance movement therapy (DMT) with psychiatric patients corresponds with this approach and approved to be effective. In my commentary, I propose an explanation and some examples for the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying DMT’s methods and therapeutic effects, illustrating the effectiveness of DMT based on the principles of the biological and the integrative approaches to psychiatric rehabilitation. These underlying neurophysiological mechanisms include brain networks and mechanisms responsible for emotional processing and for the associations in the brain between certain proprioceptive input from the moving body and specific emotions, the mirror neurons and their contribution to empathy and understanding others’ emotions, neurophysiological findings regarding therapist–patient interbrain coupling, and principles of the Polyvagal Theory as applied in DMT.
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Teaching adult learners is challenging because the characteristics of adult learners and their expectations are different from children/early adolescence. Recent advances in digital technology offer various opportunities that are particularly useful in fostering adult learning by transforming traditional “live” classroom-based into “virtual.” This chapter aims to explore how the digital technologies affect the way the brain learns and memorizes, including cognitive, emotional, and behavioral dimensions to promote personal and professional development. First, this chapter presents the application of digital technologies that support and engage adult learners in enhancing knowledge acquisition and retention, discusses the specific engagement techniques for adult, along with the research on multimedia learning. This chapter also covered neuroscience studies related to brain-based learning and strategies. The opportunities and challenges of the use of digital technology and multimedia platform to be effective learning tools for academic context and lifelong learning are also presented.
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In the past few decades, we have accumulated an impressive amount of knowledge regarding the neural basis of the mind. One of the most important sources of this knowledge has been the in-depth study of individuals with focal brain damage and other neurological disorders. This book offers a unique perspective, in that it uses a combination of neuropsychology and psychoanalytic knowledge, from diverse schools (Freudian, Kleinian, Lacanian, Relational, etc.) to explore how damage to specific areas of the brain can change the mind. Twenty years after the publication of Clinical Studies in Neuro-Psychoanalysis, this book continues the pioneering work of Mark Solms and Karen Kaplan-Solms, bringing together clinicians and researchers from all over the world to report key developments in the field. They present a rich set of new case studies, from a diverse range of brain injuries, neuropsychological impairments and even degenerative and paediatric pathologies. This volume will be of immense value to those working with neurological popula- tions that want to incorporate psychoanalytic ideas in case formulations, as well as for those who want to introduce themselves in the neurological basis of psychoana- lytic models of the mind and the broader psychoanalytic community. “Understanding the biological underpinnings of human mental function- ing as seen through the lens of psychoanalytic observations was, of course, an initial goal of Sigmund Freud. This challenging, but intriguing task has been the focus of Neuropsychoanlaysis. This updated edited text by Salas, Turnbull and Solms summarizes in a very interesting manner the evolution of this field of study over the last twenty years. In addition, it provides sev- eral useful clinical examples of how psychological work with brain dysfunc- tional individuals have utilized psychodynamic insights. It is a book that both informs and inspires and is especially helpful in understanding the subjective experiences of some brain dysfunctional individuals.” — George P. Prigatano, Ph.D., Barrow Neurological Institute “This book is a must-read for anyone interested in, or working with, the mysteries of human minds. You will find new hypotheses, discussions, sug- gestions and examples of clinical cases from the interdisciplinary work of neuropsychoanalysis. This is a young but very important and innovative field proposing a new vision for studying and clinically approaching mental functions. A pleasure to read, it poses engaging, exciting, and innovative questions.” — Cristina M. Alberini, Professor of Neuroscience, New York University
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Background The issue of whether other animals have internally felt experiences has vexed animal behavioral science since its inception. Although most investigators remain agnostic on such contentious issues, there is now abundant experimental evidence indicating that all mammals have negatively and positively-valenced emotional networks concentrated in homologous brain regions that mediate affective experiences when animals are emotionally aroused. That is what the neuroscientific evidence indicates. Principal Findings The relevant lines of evidence are as follows: 1) It is easy to elicit powerful unconditioned emotional responses using localized electrical stimulation of the brain (ESB); these effects are concentrated in ancient subcortical brain regions. Seven types of emotional arousals have been described; using a special capitalized nomenclature for such primary process emotional systems, they are SEEKING, RAGE, FEAR, LUST, CARE, PANIC/GRIEF and PLAY. 2) These brain circuits are situated in homologous subcortical brain regions in all vertebrates tested. Thus, if one activates FEAR arousal circuits in rats, cats or primates, all exhibit similar fear responses. 3) All primary-process emotional-instinctual urges, even ones as complex as social PLAY, remain intact after radical neo-decortication early in life; thus, the neocortex is not essential for the generation of primary-process emotionality. 4) Using diverse measures, one can demonstrate that animals like and dislike ESB of brain regions that evoke unconditioned instinctual emotional behaviors: Such ESBs can serve as ‘rewards’ and ‘punishments’ in diverse approach and escape/avoidance learning tasks. 5) Comparable ESB of human brains yield comparable affective experiences. Thus, robust evidence indicates that raw primary-process (i.e., instinctual, unconditioned) emotional behaviors and feelings emanate from homologous brain functions in all mammals (see Appendix S1), which are regulated by higher brain regions. Such findings suggest nested-hierarchies of BrainMind affective processing, with primal emotional functions being foundational for secondary-process learning and memory mechanisms, which interface with tertiary-process cognitive-thoughtful functions of the BrainMind.
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Major depressive disorder (MDD) has traditionally been characterized by various psychological symptoms, involvement of diverse functional systems (e.g., somatic, affect, cognition, reward, etc.), and with progress in neuroscience, an increasing number of brain regions. This has led to the general assumption that MDD is a stress-responsive brain 'system disorder' where either one or several alterations infiltrate a large number of functional systems in the brain that control the organism's somatic, affective, and cognitive life. However, while the effects or consequences of the abnormal changes in the functional systems of, for instance affect, cognition or reward have been investigated extensively, the underlying core mechanism(s) underlying MDD remain unknown. Hypotheses are proliferating rapidly, though. Based on recent findings, we will entertain an abnormality in the resting-state activity in MDD to be a core feature. Based on both animal and human data, we hypothesize that abnormal resting-state activity levels may impact stimulus-induced neural activity in medially situated core systems for self-representation as well as external stimulus (especially stress, specifically separation distress) interactions. Moreover, due to nested hierarchy between subcortical and cortical regions, we assume 'highjacking' of higher cortical affective and cognitive functions by lower subcortical primary-process emotional systems. This may account for the predominance of negative affect in somatic and cognitive functional system operations with the consecutive generation of the diverse symptoms in MDD. We will here focus on the neuroanatomical and biochemical basis of resting-state abnormalities in MDD including their linkage to the diverse psychopathological symptoms in depression. However, our 'resting-state hypothesis' may go well beyond that by being sufficiently precise to be linked to genetic, social, immunological, and endocrine dimensions and hypotheses as well as to clinical dimensions like endophenotypes and various diagnostic-prognostic biomarkers. Taken together, our 'resting-state hypothesis' may be considered a first tentative framework for MDD that integrates translational data, the various dimensions, and subcortical-cortical systems while at the same time providing the link to the clinical level of symptoms, endophenotypes and biomarkers.
Book
Neuropsychoanalysis in Practice discusses the various neuronal mechanisms that may enable the transformation of neuronal into psychological states, looks at how these processes are altered in psychiatric disorders like depression and schizophrenia, and focuses specifically on how the brain is organized and how it enables the brain to differentiate between neuronal and psychodynamic states, that is, the brain and the psyche.
Book
Can the psychodynamics of the mind be correlated with neurodynamic processes in the brain? The book revisits this important question - one that scientists and psychoanalysts have been asking for more than a century. Freud envisioned that the separation between the two approaches was just a temporary limitation that future scientific progress would overcome. Yet, only recently have scientific developments shown that he was right. Technological and methodological innovations in neuroscience allow unprecedented insight into the neurobiological basis of topics such as empathy, embodiment and emotional conflict. As these domains have traditionally been the preserve of psychoanalysis and other fields within the humanities, rapprochement between disciplines seems more important than ever. Recent advances in neurodynamics and computational neuroscience also reveal richer and more dynamic brain-mind relations than those previously sketched by cognitive sciences. Are we therefore ready to correlate some neuroscientific concepts with psychoanalytic ones? Can the two disciplines share a common conceptual framework despite their different epistemological perspectives? The book brings together internationally renowned contributors from the fields of Psychoanalysis, Neuroscience and Neuro-psychoanalysis to address these questions. The volume is organised in five clear sections, Motivation; Emotion; Conscious and Unconscious Processes; Cognitive Control; and Development of the Self. With a range of chapters written by leading figures in their fields, it gives the reader a strong flavour of how much has already been achieved between the disciplines and how much more lies ahead. This important new book reveals the intrinsic challenges and tensions of this interdisciplinary endeavour and emphasises the need for a shared language and new emerging fields such as Psychodynamic Neuroscience.
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Some investigators have argued that emotions, especially animal emotions, are illusory concepts outside the realm of scientific inquiry. With advances in neurobiology and neuroscience, however, researchers are proving this position wrong while moving closer to understanding the biology and psychology of emotion. In Affective Neuroscience, Jaak Panksepp argues that emotional systems in humans, as well as other animals, are necessarily combinations of innate and learned tendencies; there are no routine and credible ways to really separate the influences of nature and nurture in the control of behavior. The book shows how to move toward a new understanding by taking a psychobiological approach to the subject, examining how the neurobiology and neurochemistry of the mammalian brain shape the psychological experience of emotion. It includes chapters on sleep and arousal, pleasure and pain systems, the sources of rage and anger, and the neural control of sexuality. The book will appeal to researchers and professors in the field of emotion.
Article
Little is known about why clinical depression feels so bad, perhaps because optimal neural circuit-based animal models of depression do not yet exist. Our goal here was to develop a strategy of inducing and measuring depressive-like states in the rat using neural circuits as both the independent and major dependent variables. We hypothesized that repeated electrical stimulation of the brain (ESB) within the dorsal periaqueductal gray (dPAG) aversion circuits would lead to a long-lasting suppression of 50kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs), a validated measure of positive social affect. Fifteen consecutive daily 10min sessions of intermittent PAG-ESB reduced systematically evoked 50kHz USVs for up to 29 days following termination of ESB treatment, along with altering traditional measures of negative affect, including behavioral agitation, sucrose intake, and decreased exploratory behavior. These findings suggest a new affective circuit-based preclinical model of depression.
Article
The evidence that frequency modulated (FM) 50 kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) reflect a positive emotional state in rats is reviewed. Positive emotional states in humans are measured by facial-vocal displays (e.g., Duchenne smiling and laughter), approach behavior, and subjective self-report of feeling states. In laboratory animals, only facial-vocal displays, along with approach behavior can be measured. FM 50 kHz USVs are uniquely elevated by hedonic stimuli and suppressed by aversive stimuli. Rates of FM 50 kHz USVs are positively correlated to the rewarding value of the eliciting stimulus. Additionally, playbacks of these vocalizations are rewarding. The neural and pharmacological substrates of 50 kHz USVs are consistent with those of human positive affective states. By experimentally eliciting FM 50 kHz USVs, the novel molecular underpinning of positive affect can be elucidated and may be similar to those in humans. In humans, positive emotional states confer resilience to depression and anxiety, as well as promote overall health. Using rough-and-tumble play induced hedonic USVs, we have identified insulin like growth factor I and the NR2B subunit of the NMDA receptor as playing a functional role in positive affective states. From this research, we have developed a promising new class of antidepressants that is entering phase II clinical trials for the treatment of depression.
Article
The paradigmatic assumption that REM sleep is the physiological equivalent of dreaming is in need of fundamental revision. A mounting body of evidence suggests that dreaming and REM sleep are dissociable states, and that dreaming is controlled by forebrain mechanisms. Recent neuropsychological, radiological, and pharmacological findings suggest that the cholinergic brain stem mechanisms that control the REM state can only generate the psychological phenomena of dreaming through the mediation of a second, probably dopaminergic, forebrain mechanism. The latter mechanism (and thus dreaming itself) can also be activated by a variety of nonREM triggers. Dreaming can be manipulated by dopamine agonists and antagonists with no concomitant change in REM frequency, duration, and density. Dreaming can also be induced by focal forebrain stimulation and by complex partial (forebrain) seizures during nonREM sleep, when the involvement of brainstem REM mechanisms is precluded. Likewise, dreaming is obliterated by focal lesions along a specific (probably dopaminergic) forebrain pathway, and these lesions do not have any appreciable effects on REM frequency, duration, and density. These findings suggest that the forebrain mechanism in question is the final common path to dreaming and that the brainstem oscillator that controls the REM state is just one of the many arousal triggers that can activate this forebrain mechanism. The "REM-on" mechanism (like its various NREM equivalents) therefore stands outside the dream process itself, which is mediated by an independent, forebrain "dream-on" mechanism.
Textbook of Biological Psychiatry The Brain and the Inner World The 'resting-state hypothesis' of major depressive disorder-A translational subcortical-cortical framework for a system disorder
  • J Panksepp
  • M Solms
  • O G Turnbull
Panksepp, J. (2004) Textbook of Biological Psychiatry, Wiley 6 Solms, M. and Turnbull, O. (2002) The Brain and the Inner World, Other Press 7 Northoff, G. et al. (2011) The 'resting-state hypothesis' of major depressive disorder-A translational subcortical-cortical framework for a system disorder. Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 35, 1929-1945
Clinical Studies in Neuropsychoanalysis, Karnac Books 11 Solms The Neuropsycology of Dreaming Dreaming and REM sleep are controlled by different brain mechanisms
  • K Kaplan-Solms
  • M M Solms
Kaplan-Solms, K. and Solms, M. (2000) Clinical Studies in Neuropsychoanalysis, Karnac Books 11 Solms, M. (1997) The Neuropsycology of Dreaming, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 12 Solms, M. (2000) Dreaming and REM sleep are controlled by different brain mechanisms. Behav. Brain Sci. 23, 843-850
Textbook of Biological Psychiatry.
  • Panksepp J.
The Brain and the Inner World.
  • Solms M.
  • Turnbull O.
The Neuropsycology of Dreaming.
  • Solms M.