Psychoanalysis in the Age of Neuroscience


In the current golden age of neuroscience, an increasing interest is revolving around psychoanalysis. After a long period in which science had been considered reliable only through its possibility of producing objective data, today, the perspective on subjectivity has recently been re-opened on many fronts. This has produced a new interest in psychoanalytical theorization. Psychoanalysis was built around subjective experience; the interior world has been was the object of investigation by Sigmund Freud. Since then, along the evolution of several different theoretical and clinical perspectives, a new mind/brain model is underpinning a new epistemology and new forms of treatment. 

Since the advent of neuroimaging, it has been possible to study the brain in vivo and to objectively explore higher mental functions, correlating two areas of research - only apparently so distant - such as psychology and neurology.

Two critical main questions have been the source of interest and controversies in recent years.

Are neuroscientific findings useful for psychoanalysis ?
How psychoanalysis can contribute to the understanding and further investigation of  neuroscientific findings?

The section is organised in 2 parts: 

Neuroscience in a nutshell
Neuroscience Today


Psychoanalysis & Neuroscience is an open window in both fields and their inter-complementary relations and is open to contributions. Write to [email protected] and [email protected]

Claudia Spadazzi and Rosa Spagnolo