Affects Neuroscience and Psychoanalytic Theory

Journal title SETTING
Author/s Mario Ambrosioni
Publishing Year 2017 Issue 2015/40
Language Italian Pages 54 P. 11-64 File size 600 KB
DOI 10.3280/SET2015-040001
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The Author outlines the most recent results of Neuroscience research about emotions and affects, particularly Panksepp’s (see: Affective Neuroscience and Archeology of Mind) and Solms’. The core topics of Panksepp’s research focuses on primary emotional processes; his theoretical statement is fundumental for a new allocation of emotional life at the basis of the beginning and the development of the mental life, so moving the axis from a predominantly cognitive approach to an affective-motivational one. Panksepp’s seven basic Emotional Systems are presented, discussed and critically compared with Solms’ Neuropsychoanalysis, as well with Bucci’s, Le Doux’, Damasio’s, Edelman’s, Kandel’s, Schore’s and Gallese’s approaches and research. The main consequence of these different and partially convergent contributions shows that the mind models closer to Affective Neuroscience are not the Cognitive models of mind, but the Psychoanalytic one. The very interesting aim of the article is to suggest a new, neurobiological foundation of Freud’s metapsychological concepts of Es and Ego.

Keywords: Emotional Systems, Affective Dynamics, Motivational Systems, Neuropsychoanalysis, Theory of Mind, Metapsychology, Mind/Brain System, Psychoanalysis.

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Mario Ambrosioni, Neuroscienza degli affetti e teoria psicoanalitica in "SETTING" 40/2015, pp 11-64, DOI: 10.3280/SET2015-040001