You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
In a previous paper, we critically examined claims put forth by proponents of the growing neuropsychoanalytic trend (Blass and Carmeli, 2007). In particular, we called into question the claim that neuroscientific findings are relevant and important for the development and justification of psychoanalytic theory and practice. We pointed to some of the intuitions that have led to the popularity of such neuropsychoanalytic claims, and then exposed the fallacies that underlie both the claims and the intuitions.
We also showed how the neuropsychoanalytic trend modifies the basic aims of the analytic process, shifting away from the unique psychoanalytic concern with the understanding of meanings and the role of interpersonal discourse in discerning and justifying these meanings. As such it was having a negative impact on the development of psychoanalytic thinking and practice.
The present paper expands on and further grounds these conclusions. It responds to claims put forth in the neuropsychoanalytic literature regarding an area of neuroscientific interest that we did not address in our previous work. This area of interest is the brain's plasticity (neuroplasticity). In short, brain plasticity denotes the capacity of the brain's structure and function to be altered by experience and input from the environment. Contemporary investigators of this plasticity offer evidence regarding the various forms of change that the brain remains open to throughout life, even in adulthood. It is often stressed that these findings challenge a view of the brain as immutable after a critical period during early childhood (Rakic, 2002).
Evidence associated with the notion of the brain's plasticity has recently been presented as supporting the idea that neuroscience can significantly influence psychological understanding and theoretical development. It has also been claimed that neuroplasticity is very relevant to psychoanalysis. Here, we show that the evidence associated with neuroplasticity in