NEUROSCIENCE AND PSYCHOANALYSIS
Instructor: Joye Weisel-Barth
This seminar will introduce some contemporary work in neuroscience with the goal of
exploring the question “What, if anything, do neuroscience concepts contribute to
psychoanalysis?” Do modern theories, including those of Solms, Ramachandran, Kandel,
Schore, Palombo,Watkins, Decety, Cacioppo, and more, have anything to offer us as
clinicians? Is the reductionism implicit in neurobiological theories fundamentally at odds
with the experiential foundations of self psychology, intersubjective theory, and
contemporary relational ideas? In short, how do thoughtful people think about the
relationship or bridge between psychoanalysis and neuroscience?
The course mirrors the one that John Watkins teaches. It borrows heavily from his broad
knowledge and expertise in the field of neuroscience. I will provide some introductory
material and then focus on several key concepts: empathy, memory, the self, and
affective regulatory functions all from the perspective of brain science. Because the field
is so vast, this reading (and watching) list is voluminous. Of course, I hope that you read
everything, but do as much as you can.
Objectives:
1. Review historical and contemporary theories bridging psychoanalysis and
neuroscience.
2. Review case studies from the published literature and as presented by seminar
participants that encompass issues that span both neurobiology and psychoanalysis.
3. Provide a conceptual framework for examining the relevance of psychoanalysis for the
treatment of individuals traditionally managed within a neurological or medical
framework.
Before the Course Begins:
1) Find and study some good maps of the brain—lots are available online--that
include the general anatomy, functional areas, and the specific regions that
constitute the emotional and associative brain.
2) Watch some of the wonderful, pertinent online videos that feature preeminent
figures in neuroscience and cognitive science. My favorites are V.S.
Ramachandran on Brain Functions and Mirror Neurons (2 separate videos) on
Ted Talks; Antonio Damasio on Consciousness also on Ted Talks; Mark Solms
“What is the mind?” on Vimeo; Gerald Edelman “From Brain Dynamics to
Consciousness” on Youtube in which he presents his Theory of Neuronal Group
Selection; Eric Kandel “Mapping Memory in the Brain”(1-6) also on Youtube;
The Charlie Rose Brain Series, Seasons one and two. And there are lots more that
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browsing will reveal (kiss your free time goodbye!).
Week 1 Introduction: Strategies for Bridging Psychoanalysis and Neuroscience
Kandel, E. R. (1999). Biology and the future of psychoanalysis: A new intellectual
framework for psychiatry revisited. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 505-524.
Schore, A. N. (1997). A century after Freud's Project: Is a rapprochement between
psychoanalysis and neurobiology at hand? Journal of the American Psychoanalytic
Association, 45(3), 807-840.
Watkins, J. M. (in press). On Aphasia, the Danger Situation, and Contemporary Efforts to
Link Psychoanalysis and Neuroscience
Chapter 2: In Watkins, J. M. Psychoanalysis and the New Sciences of the Brain
Solms, M. (2000) “Preliminaries for an Integration of Psychoanalysis and Neuroscience,”
Ann. Psychoanal. 28: 179-200.
Week 2: Introduction to Selected Neuroscience Concepts I: The neuron, neurotransmitters,
neuronal networks, mirror neuron, and Theory of Mind
Ramachandran, V.S. (2011). Introduction: “No mere ape” and Chapter 5: “Where is Steven? The
riddle of autism.” In The tell-tale brain: A neuroscientist’s quest for that makes us human. New
York: Norton.
Iacoboni, M. (2008). Chapter 1. “Monkey see, monkey do.” Chapter 6. “Broken Mirrors.”
In Mirroring People: The new science of how we connect with others. New York: Farrar
Straus Giroux.
Decety, J. and Lamm, C. (2006). Human empathy through the lens of social neuroscience.
The Scientific World JOURNAL 6, 1146–1163. DOI 10.1100/tsw.2006.221.
Gallese, V. (2003). The roots of empathy: The shared manifold hypothesis and the neural
basis of intersubjectivity. Psychopathology, 36, 171-180.
Week 3: Introduction to Selected Neuroscience Concepts II: MemoryMcNally, R.J.
Chapter 6: Theories of repression and dissociation. In Remembering Trauma. Cambridge,
MA: Belknap Press.
Sroufe, L.A., et al. (2005). Clinical Implications, Chapter 13 In The Development of the
Person, 265-286. New York: The Guilford Press.
Squire, L.R., & Kandel, E.R. (2009). Chapter 8: Priming, Perceptual Learning, and
nd
Emotional Learning. In Memory: From mind to molecules (2 Ed.). Greenwood Village,
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CO: Roberts.
Week 4: Solms’ Neuropsychoanalysis: Freud’s Mind and Luria’s Brain
Chapters 2, 9, 10. In Solms, M. & Turnbull, O. (2002). The brain and the inner world: An
introduction to the neuroscience of subjective experience. New York: Other Press.
Chapter 6: Psychoanalytic observations on a case of Wernicke’s aphasia: perforated
consciousness. In Kaplan-Solms, K. & Solms, M. (2002). Clinical studies in neuropsychoanalysis. New York: Karnac.
Solms, M. (2000). Freud, Luria and the clinical method. Psychoanalysis and History, 2,
76-109.
Chapters 1, 2, 4. In Brothers, L. (2001). Mistaken identity: The mind-body problem
reconsidered. New York: State University of New York Press.
Atwood, G. E., & Stolorow, R. D. (1997). Defects in the self: Liberating concept or
imprisoning metaphor? Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 7, 517-522.
Week 5: Schore’s Regulation Theory
Schore, A. N. (2003a). Chapter 6: The effects of a secure attachment relationship on right
brain development, affect regulation, and infant mental health, Affect dysregulation and
disorders of the self, New York: Norton
Schore, A. N. (2003b). Chapter 3: Clinical implications of a psychoneurobiological
model of projective identification; Chapter 8: The right brain as the neurobiological
substratum of Freud’s dynamic unconscious. Affect regulation and the repair of the self,
New York: Norton
Schore, A. N. (2003b). Chapter 4: Advances in neuropsychoanalysis, attachment theory,
and trauma research: Implications for self psychology, Affect regulation and the repair of
the self. New York: Norton.
Orange, D. (2003). Antidotes and alternatives: Perspectival realism and the new
reductionisms. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 20, 472-486.
Brothers, L. (2001). Mistaken identity: The mind-body problem reconsidered. Chapters, 3,
6. New York: State University of New York Press.
Week 6: New Neuroscience Applications for Psychoanalysis-Development and
Social NeuroscienceGerald Ele
Palombo, J. (2006). Nonverbal learning disabilities: a clinical perspective, Chapter 12:
Treatment, New York: W.W. Norton
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Watkins, J. M. Chapter 7: Neurodevelopmental Psychoanalytic Approaches, Psychoanalysis and
the New Sciences of the Brain.
Cacioppo, J. T. (2002). Social neuroscience: Understanding the pieces fosters
understanding of the whole and visa versa. American Psychologist, 57, 819-831.
Cacioppo, J. T. & Patrick, W. (2008). Chapters 1 to 5. Loneliness: Human nature and the
need for social connection. New York: W. W. Norton.
Watkins, J.M. Chapter 8, New strategies for bridging psychoanalysis and
neuroscience. .Psychoanalysis and the New Sciences of the Brain.
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