Conflict and resolution. A historical perspective on the relationship between the neurosciences and psychoanalysis

Abstract

It is no exaggeration to state that during the last century neuroscience and psychoanalysis have been not only working separately, but also quarrelling and fighting each other. Exceptions to this rule have been few and isolated, but important. I will mention a few of them, starting from Freud. Today we see a radical shift. Since 2000, a new International Neuro-Psychoanalysis Society exists and several successful conferences have been held. A new International Neuro-Psychoanalysis Journal has been published (IUP). Joint research projects are under way. What has happened? And how do researchers in the different disciplines react to the changes? To understand the present situation better and prepare ourselves for a future co-operation across disciplinary borders that were thought, up to some years ago, to constitute an Iron Curtain, we need to look at and understand our own history. This paper intends to give a short introduction to the subject.