Remembrances of Jaak Panksepp

The 18th congress of the International Neuropsychoanalysis Society had a special session dedicated to Jaak Panksepp's memory, which took place during the time that Jaak was scheduled to speak. Some of his friends and collaborators were asked to share some words about his life and work: Oliver Turnbull, Ken Davis, Yoram Yovell, Mark Solms, and Bonny Astor. What follows are revised versions of the spoken, heartfelt presentations during that session. We also asked two other close friends of Jaak, David Pincus and Doug Watt, who were not able to travel to London to join us, to contribute to this set of memorial essays.

Words are never good enough to express feelings, but some of us who had the great honor of sharing a few years of Jaak's life felt that we owed him a special record of his numerous and relevant contributions to the scientific study of emotions. He redefined consciousness and affects with his seven basic emotion systems. He sensitized many researchers about the features that all mammals share. His legacy is of undoubted importance and was a known fact before his passing. What seems most important is for us to remember the extraordinary human being that he was. Few people are so spontaneously generous and kind even when they are so busy, as Jaak was. His words and smile encouraged others to engage in their own endeavors. It was his own story transmitted through emotion, the topic that he knew most about. An emotionally moved audience in London had the chance to mourn and cry together. That day we acknowledged that a brilliant mind had left us, and that he had touched many hearts deeply. For all he left to us, we owe it to him to honor his memory by further developing and researching the contributions of affective neuroscience.

The study of the MindBrain will have forever changed after your work. Thank you, Jaak Panksepp!

Daniela Flores Mosri

dannmos@yahoo.com

In addition to the moving reflections from his friends and colleagues, we are also very honored to inclu