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.
Freud proposed that much of human behavior is influenced by unconscious process. He described this unconscious as a psychological structure containing socially unacceptable motives, memories, and desires, unwanted in consciousness due to the emotional pain and conflict they produce. He said these thoughts are forced down both consciously and unconsciously through various defensive mechanisms. The questions I ask myself in response to such a dramatic psychoanalytic concept are ones seeking a neurobiological understanding. What is the neural basis for both conscious and unconscious thought? What neural mechanisms underlie their proposed interaction? How do conscious thoughts become unconscious and vice versa? More broadly, how can a neurobiological understanding be helpful in the clinical sphere? Some would argue that neuropsychoanalysis is not helpful and pursuing these questions puts the validity of psychoanalysis in the hands of neuroscientists. However, I strongly believe that one’s subjective experience, although not quantifiable, can be framed in a quantitative lens advantageous to the patient. Thus far, the questions I have proposed have no definitive answer. But, I hope I can begin to understand the fragile network that connects these two historically opposed fields.
Berlin, H. A. (2011). The neural basis of the dynamic unconscious. Neuro-Psychoanalysis, 13(1), 5–31.
It is accepted in neuroscience that lower levels of processing can occur without conscious perception, such as motor reflexes. When you go to the doctor and they hit your knee with a tiny rubber hammer you don’t consciously extend your leg. No matter how hard you focus on not extending your leg, your leg will still extend after being hit. However, the notion that higher levels of mental processing, such as your emotional state, can be produced unconsciously is still controversial in neuroscience. Many experiments with brain lesion patients have been done to try and prove that n