Beyond the death drive: Entropy and free energy

Quantum concepts in Psychology: Exploring the interplay of physics and the human psyche

This paper delves into the innovative intersection of quantum mechanics and psychology, examining the potential of quantum principles to provide fresh insights into human emotions, cognition, and consciousness. Drawing parallels between quantum phenomena such as superposition, entanglement, tunneling, decoherence and their psychological counterparts, we present a quantum-psychological model that reimagines emotional states, cognitive breakthroughs, interpersonal relationships, and the nature of consciousness. The study uses computational models and simulations to explore this interdisciplinary fusion's implications and applications, highlighting its potential benefits and inherent challenges. While quantum concepts offer a rich metaphorical lens to view the intricacies of human experience, it is essential to approach this nascent framework with enthusiasm and skepticism. Rigorous empirical validation is paramount to realize its full potential in research and therapeutic contexts. This exploration stands as a promising thread in the tapestry of intellectual history, suggesting a deeper understanding of the human psyche through the lens of quantum mechanics.

The tendency of the schematic structure to maintain stability can be interpreted as mental inertia

This paper incorporates schematic concepts related to mental inertia and provides an avenue for interpreting psychology using the principles of classical mechanics. Schemas find wide application in diverse fields, ranging from ergonomics to psychotherapy. Nonetheless, it is crucial to incorporate schemas themselves into a more unified and comprehensive theoretical framework. Drawing upon the free energy principle (FEP) and the second law of thermodynamics, it is evident that humans possess a natural inclination to construct and maintain consistent cognitive structures. This characteristic contributes to the stability of schemas within a defined range. The particular scope of the model is closely intertwined with its structure, leading to variations among individuals in diverse environments. The coherence of the schema within a defined range can be perceived as the magnitude of mental inertia. This psychological analogy emphasizes the importance of considering the influences exerted by the external environment and their effects on mental inertia when predicting the human mind and behavior.

The ego in psychedelic drug action - ego defenses, ego boundaries, and the therapeutic role of regression

The ego is one of the most central psychological constructs in psychedelic research and a key factor in psychotherapy, including psychedelic-assisted forms of psychotherapy. Despite its centrality, the ego-construct remains ambiguous in the psychedelic literature. Therefore, we here review the theoretical background of the ego-construct with focus on its psychodynamic conceptualization. We discuss major functions of the ego including ego boundaries, defenses, and synthesis, and evaluate the role of the ego in psychedelic drug action. According to the psycholytic paradigm, psychedelics are capable of inducing regressed states of the ego that are less protected by the ego's usual defensive apparatus. In such states, core early life conflicts may emerge that have led to maladaptive ego patterns. We use the psychodynamic term character in this paper as a potential site of change and rearrangement; character being the chronic and habitual patterns the ego utilizes to adapt to the everyday challenges of life, including a preferred set of defenses. We argue that in order for psychedelic-assisted therapy to successfully induce lasting changes to the ego's habitual patterns, it must psycholytically permeate the characterological core of the habits. The primary working principle of psycholytic therapy therefore is not the state of transient ego regression alone, but rather the regressively favored emotional integration of those early life events that have shaped the foundation, development, and/or rigidification of a person's character - including his or her defense apparatus. Aiming for increased flexibility of habitual ego patterns, the psycholytic approach is generally compatible with other forms of psychedelic-assisted therapy, such as third wave cognitive behavioral approaches.

Neural correlates of psychodynamic and non-psychodynamic therapies in different clinical populations through fMRI: A meta-analysis and systematic review

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the ongoing crisis in psychiatric and psychological care, contributing to what we have identified as a new psychological and psychiatric pandemic. Psychotherapy is an effective method for easing the psychological suffering experienced also by the various impacts of COVID-19. This treatment can be examined from a neurological perspective, through the application of brain imaging techniques. Specifically, the meta-analysis of imaging studies can aid in expanding researchers' understanding of the many beneficial applications of psychotherapy.

Objectives

We examined the functional brain changes accompanying different mental disorders with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), through a meta-analysis, and systematic review in order to better understand the general neural mechanism involved in psychotherapy and the potential neural difference between psychodynamic and non-psychodynamic approaches.

Data sources

The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were employed for our systematic review and meta-analysis. We conducted a computer-based literature search, following the Population, Intervention, Comparison and Outcomes (PICO) approach, to retrieve all published articles in English regarding the above-described topics from PubMed (MEDLINE), Scopus, and Web of Science.

Study eligibility criteria participants and interventions

We combined terms related to psychotherapy and fMRI: ("psychotherapy" [All Fields] OR "psychotherapy" [MeSH Terms] OR "psychotherapy" [All Fields] OR "psychotherapies" [All Fields] OR "psychotherapy s" [All Fields]) AND ("magnetic resonance imaging" [MeSH Terms]) OR ("magnetic"[All Fields] AND "resonance"[All Fields] AND "imaging"[All Fields]) OR ("magnetic resonance imaging"[All Fields] OR "fmri"[All Fields]). We considered (1) whole brain fMRI studies; (2) studies in which participants have been involved in a clinical trial with psychotherapy sessions, with pre/post fMRI; (3) fMRI results presented in coordinate-based (x, y, and z) in MNI or Talairach space; (4) presence of neuropsychiatric patients. The exclusion criteria were: (1) systematic review or meta-analysis; (2) behavioral study; (3) single-case MRI or fMRI study; and (4) other imaging techniques (i.e., PET, SPECT) or EEG.

Results

After duplicates removal and assessment of the content of each published study, we included 38 sources. The map including all studies that assessed longitudinal differences in brain activity showed two homogeneous clusters in the left inferior frontal gyrus, and caudally involving the anterior insular cortex (p < 0.0001, corr.). Similarly, studies that assessed psychotherapy-related longitudinal changes using emotional or cognitive tasks (TASK map) showed a left-sided homogeneity in the anterior insula (p < 0.000) extending to Broca's area of the inferior frontal gyrus (p < 0.0001) and the superior frontal gyrus (p < 0.0001). Studies that applied psychodynamic psychotherapy showed Family-Wise Error (FWE) cluster-corrected (p < 0.05) homogeneity values in the right superior and inferior frontal gyri, with a small cluster in the putamen. No FWE-corrected homogeneity foci were observed for Mindful- based and cognitive behavioral therapy psychotherapy. In both pre- and post-therapy results, studies showed two bilateral clusters in the dorsal anterior insulae (p = 0.00001 and p = 0.00003, respectively) and involvement of the medial superior frontal gyrus (p = 0.0002).

Limitations

Subjective experiences, such as an individual's response to therapy, are intrinsically challenging to quantify as objective, factual realities. Brain changes observed both pre- and post-therapy could be related to other factors, not necessary to the specific treatment received. Therapeutic modalities and study designs are generally heterogeneous. Differences exist in sample characteristics, such as the specificity of the disorder and number and duration of sessions. Moreover, the sample size is relatively small, particularly due to the paucity of studies in this field and the little contribution of PDT.

Conclusions and implications of key findings

All psychological interventions seem to influence the brain from a functional point of view, showing their efficacy from a neurological perspective. Frontal, prefrontal regions, insular cortex, superior and inferior frontal gyrus, and putamen seem involved in these neural changes, with the psychodynamic more linked to the latter three regions.

Hyperactivity of the default mode network in schizophrenia and free energy: A dialogue between Freudian theory of psychosis and neuroscience

The economic conceptualization of Freudian metapsychology, based on an energetics model of the psyche's workings, offers remarkable commonalities with some recent discoveries in neuroscience, notably in the field of neuroenergetics. The pattern of cerebral activity at resting state and the identification of a default mode network (DMN), a network of areas whose activity is detectable at baseline conditions by neuroimaging techniques, offers a promising field of research in the dialogue between psychoanalysis and neuroscience. In this article we study one significant clinical application of this interdisciplinary dialogue by looking at the role of the DMN in the psychopathology of schizophrenia. Anomalies in the functioning of the DMN have been observed in schizophrenia. Studies have evidenced the existence of hyperactivity in this network in schizophrenia patients, particularly among those for whom a positive symptomatology is dominant. These data are particularly interesting when considered from the perspective of the psychoanalytic understanding of the positive symptoms of psychosis, most notably the Freudian hypothesis of delusions as an "attempt at recovery." Combining the data from research in neuroimaging of schizophrenia patients with the Freudian hypothesis, we propose considering the hyperactivity of the DMN as a consequence of a process of massive reassociation of traces occurring in schizophrenia. This is a process that may constitute an attempt at minimizing the excess of free energy present in psychosis. Modern models of active inference and the free energy principle (FEP) may shed some light on these processes.

An economic model of the drives from Friston's free energy perspective

This paper is focused on the theory of drives, particularly on its economic model, which was an integral part of Freud's original formulation. Freud was aiming to make a link between the psychic energy of drives and the biophysical rules of nature. However, he was not able to develop this model into a comprehensive system linking the body and the mind. The further development of psychoanalytic theory, in various attempts to comprehend the theory of drives, can be described as taking different approaches. Some of them equate drives with bodily impulses, others abandon the economic model, a few stay with Freud's original model. I believe that the Friston notion of free energy and the hierarchical model of the brain allows us to develop this model and to integrate the economic model into some contemporary theories of drives. I argue against those theories equating drives with biological impulses. My arguments are supported by Freud's project itself but also by recent developments within neuro-psychoanalysis describing the process of mentalizing homeostasis, interoceptive signals and relations with caregivers. I argue for those theories which see the drives as psychic forces, which through developmental processes and cathexes acquire aims and objects, and become intertwined with impulses originating internally and externally, such as affect, interoceptive impulses, perception of the external world, and impulses from erotogenic zones in particular. Here, I present my analysis of the compatibility and consistency of free energy and the hierarchical model perspective, and two psychoanalytical traditions of thoughts: French psychoanalysis and the post-Kleinian school of British psychoanalysis. In particular, my analysis focuses on the contemporary Kleinian notion of unconscious phantasies, especially Bronstein's description of their semiotic aspects. Secondly, I look at Segal's view of drives as dialectic forces of adaptation vs. conservatism. Analyzing the French tradition, I focus on Green's perspective on the drives, Lacan's distinction between drives and desire, and Penot's description of the process of subjectivation. I conclude that free energy, as described by Friston, can be seen as a source of the drives' energy and the process of minimizing it is an equivalent of what Freud described as binding the free energy, in which psychic unbound energy acquires distinctive features and becomes bound.

Psychoanalytic psychotherapies and the free energy principle

In this paper I propose a model of the fundamental components of psychoanalytic psychotherapies that I try to explicate with contemporary theories of the Bayesian brain and the Free Energy Principle (FEP). I first show that psychoanalytic therapies require a setting (made up of several envelopes), a particular psychic state and specific processes (transference, free association, dreaming, play, reflexivity and narrativity) in order to induce psychic transformations. I then analyze how these processes of transformations operate and how they can be enlightened by the FEP. I first underline the fact that psychoanalytic therapies imply non-linear processes taking time to unfold and require a setting containing high entropy processes. More precisely, these processes are characterized by an interplay between extension and reduction of free energy. This interplay also favors the emergence of new orders of subjective experience, which occur following states of disorder, according to a certain energetic threshold allowing the modification and improvement of mental functioning. These high entropy states are also characterized by random functioning and psychic malleability which favors the exploration of subjective experience in an original manner. Overall, the approach proposed in this paper support the dialogue between psychoanalysis and other fields of research while underlining how psychoanalytical theoretical and conceptual constructs can also be useful to other disciplines, in particular the neurosciences of subjectivity.

Memory for the Future: Psychodynamic Approach to Time and Self Through the Default Network

Time exists in us, and our self exists in time. Our self is affected and shaped by time to the point that a better understanding of the former can aid the understanding of the latter. Psychoanalysis works through self and time, where the self is composed of the biopsychosocial history (the past) of the individual and able to map a trajectory for the future. The psychoanalytic relationship starts from a "measurement": an active process able to alter the system being measured-the self-continuously built over time. This manuscript, starts from the philosophical and scientific tradition of a proximity between time and self, suggesting a neural overlapping at the Default Network. A historical and scientific background will be introduced, proposing a multidisciplinary dimension that has characterized the birth of psychoanalysis (its past), influencing its present and future in the dialogue with physics and neuroscience. After a historical scientific introduction, a neural entanglement between past and future at the Default Network level will be proposed, tracing a link with the self at the level of this network. This hypothesis will be supported by studies in cognitive neurosciences and functional neuroimaging which have used the resting state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. The ontogenetic development of time perception will be discussed, consistent with self-development and the Default Network's function. The most common form of dementia, the Alzheimer's Disease, in which the perception of time is brutally impaired together with a loss of the self's functions will be proposed to support this idea. Finally, the potential theoretical and clinical significance for psychoanalysis and psychodynamic neurosciences, will be discussed.