THE NEW YORK PSYCHOANALYTIC SOCIETY & INSTITUTE:
Arnold Pfeffer Center for Neuropsychoanalysis
247 East 82nd St., between 2nd & 3rd, NY, NY
Saturday, March 6, 2010, 10 a.m.
Heather Berlin, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Psychiatry
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
The Neural Basis of the Dynamic Unconscious
Discussant: Eric A. Fertuck, Ph.D.
A great deal of complex cognitive processing occurs at the unconscious level and affects how people behave, think and feel. But scientists are only beginning to understand how this occurs on the neural level. Understanding the neural basis of consciousness requires an account of the neural mechanisms that underlie both conscious and unconscious thought, and their dynamic interaction. For example, how do conscious impulses, thoughts, or desires become unconscious (e.g. repression) or, conversely, how do unconscious impulses, desires, or motives become conscious (e.g. Freudian slips)? Research taking advantage of advances in technologies, like functional magnetic resonance imaging, has led to a revival and re-conceptualization of some of the key concepts of psychoanalytic theory, and progress at understanding their neural basis. According to psychoanalytic theory, unconscious dynamic processes defensively remove anxiety-provoking thoughts and impulses from consciousness in response to one’s conflicting attitudes. Within this framework, the processes that keep unwanted thoughts from entering consciousness include repression, suppression and dissociation. Studies from psychology and cognitive neuroscience in both healthy and patient populations are beginning to elucidate the neural basis of these phenomena. This will ultimately lead to more effective treatment options for certain psychological disorders and help us better understand our own consciousness.
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