Psychoanalysis and Neuroscience

The most recent scientific studies have brought a significant contribution to the understanding of basic mental functions such as memory, dreams, identification, repression, which constitute the basis of the psychoanalytical theory. As a matter of fact, numerous neuroscientific observations in recent years have laid the ground for hypotheses on the neurological organization of mental functions that are fundamental to psychoanalytical theory; the discovery of the implicit memory has extended Freud’s concept of the unconscious (1915) and highlighted the unrepressed unconscious connected particularly to experiences of the primary relation, stored in the implicit memory.

The book focuses on the possibility of interactions between psychoanalysis and neuroscience - i.e., emotions and the right hemisphere, serotonin and depression - and will be a unique tool not only for for professionals and students working in these fields, but also for operators of allied disciplines, such as psychology and psychotherapy.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Christopher J. Graver, PhD(Madigan Army Medical Center)
Description:Psychoanalytic constructs have long been rooted in theory with limited empirical support. This book provides a first look at the neuroscience evidence as it relates to psychoanalytic theory.
Purpose:The aim of this book is to review the neuroscience literature as it relates to various aspects of psychoanalytic theory. It does so through various avenues, including neuroimaging, neuropsychology, and neurophysiology.
Audience:Contributions from a conglomeration of international experts await the reader in this book aimed at neuroscientists, neuropsychologists, and other individuals interested in behavioral neuroanatomy and psychoanalysis. Graduate students in related fields would certainly find this written at an appropriate level.
Features:In the beginning, the editor lays out a succinct introduction to each of the main areas addressed in the text (e.g., emotions, memory, consciousness, and neonatal development). This is followed by more complete chapters on these topics. While some chapters begin with a helpful introduction and end with a summary, this is not the case for all chapters. Subsections help organize the chapters, but figures and tables are scarce. In addition, the basic editing is poor (e.g., punctuation, grammar, etc.) and at times the translation leaves the reader guessing as to the intended meaning. There also are other errors, such as figures being mislabeled or captions referring readers to incorrect pages. In terms of content, the review of the neuroscience literature is reasonable, as is the discussion regarding psychoanalytic constructs. The integration of these two concepts, however, is nebulous. Michael Anderson's chapter is one of the only chapters that seem to capture the essence of this book, as it discusses cognitive neuroscience evidence for the ability to voluntarily forget information (e.g., the psychoanalytic construct of repression). The references are fairly up to date, but the index is meager.
Assessment:This book certainly raises thought-provoking ideas based on the neuroscience literature, but ultimately leaves the reader unfulfilled regarding the specific application to psychoanalytic constructs. While there are some worthwhile aspects of this book, these can generally be found in any good neuroscience text. The scarcity of truly integrated chapters, problems with translation, and poor editing are regrettable in a book of such extraordinary cost.