Abstract
Over the past 20 years, the advent of advanced techniques has significantly enhanced our knowledge on the brain. Yet, our understanding of the physiological and pathological functioning of the mind is still far from being exhaustive. Both the localizationist and the reductionist neuroscientific approaches to psychiatric disorders have proven to be largely unsatisfactory and are outdated. Accruing evidence suggests that psychoanalysis can engage the neurosciences in a productive and mutually enriching dialogue that may further our understanding of psychiatric disorders. In particular, advances in brain connectivity research have provided evidence supporting the convergence of neuroscientific findings and psychoanalysis and helped characterize the circuitry and mechanisms that underlie higher brain functions. In the present paper we discuss how knowledge on brain connectivity can impact neuropsychoanalysis, with a particular focus on schizophrenia. Brain connectivity studies in schizophrenic patients indicate complex alterations in brain functioning and circuitry, with particular emphasis on the role of cortical midline structures (CMS) and the default mode network (DMN). These networks seem to represent neural correlates of psychodynamic concepts central to the understanding of schizophrenia and of core psychopathological alterations of this disorder (i.e., ego disturbances and impaired primary process thinking).
Highlights
Current etiological models of mental disorders are complex and multifactorial
He later focused on gene-environment interaction research and theorized a novel biological approach to psychiatry and psychotherapy, in which the latter is conceived as a learning process that can, determine changes in genes and modify the strength of synaptic connections (Kandel, 1999, 2005)
A rich body of literature suggests that abnormalities in the interactions of brain network components play a vital role in psychiatric disorders, and damage to specific functional connectivity networks can result in corresponding psychopathology
Summary
Current etiological models of mental disorders are complex and multifactorial. The dichotomy between biological and psychological interpretations is outdated. Brain connectivity research has provided evidence supporting the notion that the study of the Self and Ego functions is relevant to the understanding of schizophrenia; in the present paper we will, focus primarily on these two areas. We focused on two concepts in particular, the ‘‘Self’’ and the ‘‘Ego functions and the unconscious’’, with the ultimate goal of shedding light on specific aspects of schizophrenia This choice was largely motivated by the fact that neuroscientific research has provided evidence supporting the notion that the study of the Self and Ego functions is relevant to the understanding of schizophrenia. From a technical standpoint this implies investigating the complex functioning of specific brain networks
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