1
|
Schmautz B, Fuchshuber J, Andres D, Prandstätter T, Roithmeier L, Freund A, Schwerdtfeger A, Unterrainer HF. Is there an affective neuroscience of spirituality? The development and validation of the OCEANic feelings scale. Front Hum Neurosci 2024; 18:1329226. [PMID: 38304059 PMCID: PMC10828027 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1329226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Oceanic feelings represent a phenomenological structure of affective sensations that characteristically involve feelings of self-dissolution and feelings of unity and transcendence. This study presents the preliminary version of a self-report instrument to measure individual dispositions toward oceanic feelings in order to enable further research within the concept of primary emotions postulated by Jaak Panksepp. Methods A first version of the questionnaire was applied to a total sample of 926 German-speaking adults of the general population. After performing item analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) in a first study (N = 300), the questionnaire was shortened. In a second study (N = 626), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted and emerged scales were related to the already established instruments for the assessment of primary emotions (BANPS-GL) and Big Five personality traits (BFI-44). Results The OCEANic scale exhibited reliabilities ranging from Cronbach's α = 0.82 (positive) to α = 0.88 (negative) and plausible correlations with behavioral traits related to the seven affective neurobiological systems (ANGER, FEAR, CARE, SEEK, PLAY, SADNESS, and LUST) as well as with personality factors measured by the Big Five Inventory. For CFA, a bifactorial model with an overall factor demonstrated good fit: RMSEA = 0.00 (90% CI:0.00, 0.03); TLI = 1.00; CFI = 1.00; NFI = 0.99. Discussion The OCEANic scale enables the operationalization of oceanic feelings comprising two subscales and one total scale. The results indicate good reliability and acceptable factorial validity. Establishment and further validation of the OCEANic scale within future research will be needed to fully understand the role of oceanic feelings within the human affective life, especially the personality trait of spirituality.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Beate Schmautz
- Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Jürgen Fuchshuber
- Center for Integrative Addiction Research (CIAR), Grüner Kreis Society, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Comprehensive Center for Clinical Neurosciences and Mental Health, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Deborah Andres
- Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | | | | | - Anton Freund
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Human-Friedrich Unterrainer
- Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- Center for Integrative Addiction Research (CIAR), Grüner Kreis Society, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria
- Department of Religious Studies, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Guidetti C, Brogna P, Chieffo DPR, Turrini I, Arcangeli V, Rausa A, Bianchetti M, Rolleri E, Santomassimo C, Di Cesare G, Ducci G, Romeo DM, Brogna C. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) as a Possible Evidence-Based Rehabilitation Treatment Option for a Patient with ADHD and History of Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Case Report Study. J Pers Med 2023; 13:jpm13020200. [PMID: 36836434 PMCID: PMC9961224 DOI: 10.3390/jpm13020200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) having a history of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) could be very difficult to treat with standard psychotherapeutic approaches. Some children diagnosed with ADHD may have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or have had experienced a significant traumatic event. Trauma and PTSD could exacerbate ADHD core symptoms and be a risk factor of poor outcome response. OBJECTIVE to report for the first time the history of a patient with ADHD and ACE successfully treated with an EMDR approach. CONCLUSION EMDR could be a promising treatment for ADHD children with a history of traumatic experiences in addition to pharmacological treatments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Clotilde Guidetti
- Pediatric Neurology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Patrizia Brogna
- Complex Operative Unit Prevention and Early Interventions (PIPSM), Department of Mental Health ASL ROMA 1, 00193 Rome, Italy
| | - Daniela Pia Rosaria Chieffo
- Clinical Psychology Unit, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario “A. Gemelli”, IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy
- Department Women Children and Public Health, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Ida Turrini
- Pediatric Neurology Unit, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario “A. Gemelli”, IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Valentina Arcangeli
- Clinical Psychology Unit, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario “A. Gemelli”, IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Azzurra Rausa
- Pediatric Neurology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | | | - Elisa Rolleri
- Pediatric Neurology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Chiara Santomassimo
- Complex Operative Unit Prevention and Early Interventions (PIPSM), Department of Mental Health ASL ROMA 1, 00193 Rome, Italy
| | - Gianluigi Di Cesare
- Complex Operative Unit Prevention and Early Interventions (PIPSM), Department of Mental Health ASL ROMA 1, 00193 Rome, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Ducci
- Complex Operative Unit Prevention and Early Interventions (PIPSM), Department of Mental Health ASL ROMA 1, 00193 Rome, Italy
| | - Domenico M. Romeo
- Pediatric Neurology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy
- Pediatric Neurology Unit, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario “A. Gemelli”, IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Claudia Brogna
- Pediatric Neurology Unit, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario “A. Gemelli”, IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy
- Correspondence: or ; Tel.: +39-06-30155340; Fax: +39-06-30154363
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Denche-Zamorano Á, Barrios-Fernandez S, Galán-Arroyo C, Sánchez-González S, Montalva-Valenzuela F, Castillo-Paredes A, Rojo-Ramos J, Olivares PR. Science Mapping: A Bibliometric Analysis on Cyberbullying and the Psychological Dimensions of the Self. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 20:209. [PMID: 36612526 PMCID: PMC9819207 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20010209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Revised: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Cyberbullying prevalence is increasing in the world, being a form of abuse that follows victims into their most intimate settings. Cyberbullying affects victims' mental health, self-esteem, emotions, and academic performance. Cyberbullies present low levels of self-control and empathy. This research aimed to map scientific research on Cyberbullying and the Psychological Dimensions of the Self. A bibliometric analysis of scientific documents published in journals indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) was performed. Traditional bibliometric laws were applied and VOSviewer was used to generate visualizations. The annual publications followed exponential growth. Computers in Human Behaviour was the journal with the most publications. Researchers from the USA and Spain were the most prolific. Sameer Hinduja and Justin Patchin were the most cited authors. Hence, there is a growing interest among researchers in Cyberbullying and the emotional aspects of children and adolescents. The USA and Spain were the leading countries in research on this subject. Rosario Ortega-Ruiz, Sameer Hinduja and Justin Patchin were the most prolific and influential authors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ángel Denche-Zamorano
- Promoting a Healthy Society Research Group (PHeSO), Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Extremadura, 10003 Cáceres, Spain
- Faculty of Education, Psychology and Sport Sciences, Universidad de Huelva, 21007 Huelva, Spain
| | - Sabina Barrios-Fernandez
- Occupation, Participation, Sustainability and Quality of Life (Ability Research Group), Nursing and Occupational Therapy College, University of Extremadura, 10003 Cáceres, Spain
| | - Carmen Galán-Arroyo
- Promoting a Healthy Society Research Group (PHeSO), Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Extremadura, 10003 Cáceres, Spain
| | | | - Felipe Montalva-Valenzuela
- Laboratorio de Fisiología del Ejercicio y Metabolismo, Escuela de Kinesiología, Universidad Finis Terrae, Providencia 7501015, Chile
| | - Antonio Castillo-Paredes
- Grupo AFySE, Investigación en Actividad Física y Salud Escolar, Escuela de Pedagogía en Educación Física, Facultad de Educación, Universidad de Las Américas, Santiago 8370040, Chile
| | - Jorge Rojo-Ramos
- Physical Activity for Education, Performance and Health, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Extremadura, 10003 Caceres, Spain
| | - Pedro R. Olivares
- Faculty of Education, Psychology and Sport Sciences, Universidad de Huelva, 21007 Huelva, Spain
- Facultad de Educación, Universidad Autonoma de Chile, Talca 3480094, Chile
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Surov IA. Quantum core affect. Color-emotion structure of semantic atom. Front Psychol 2022; 13:838029. [PMID: 36248471 PMCID: PMC9554469 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.838029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychology suffers from the absence of mathematically-formalized primitives. As a result, conceptual and quantitative studies lack an ontological basis that would situate them in the company of natural sciences. The article addresses this problem by describing a minimal psychic structure, expressed in the algebra of quantum theory. The structure is demarcated into categories of emotion and color, renowned as elementary psychological phenomena. This is achieved by means of quantum-theoretic qubit state space, isomorphic to emotion and color experiences both in meaning and math. In particular, colors are mapped to the qubit states through geometric affinity between the HSL-RGB color solids and the Bloch sphere, widely used in physics. The resulting correspondence aligns with the recent model of subjective experience, producing a unified spherical map of emotions and colors. This structure is identified as a semantic atom of natural thinking-a unit of affectively-colored personal meaning, involved in elementary acts of a binary decision. The model contributes to finding a unified ontology of both inert and living Nature, bridging previously disconnected fields of research. In particular, it enables theory-based coordination of emotion, decision, and cybernetic sciences, needed to achieve new levels of practical impact.
Collapse
|
5
|
Scalabrini A, Mucci C, Northoff G. The nested hierarchy of self and its trauma: In search for a synchronic dynamic and topographical re-organization. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:980353. [PMID: 36118976 PMCID: PMC9478193 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.980353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The sense of self has always been a topic of high interest in both psychoanalysis and most recently in neuroscience. Nowadays, there is an agreement in psychoanalysis that the self emerges from the relationship with the other (e.g., the caregiver) in terms of his/her capacity to attune, regulate, and synchronize with the emergent self of the infant. The outcome of this relational/intersubjective synchronization is the development of the sense of self and its regulatory processes both in dynamic psychology and neuroscience. In this work, we propose that synchrony is a fundamental biobehavioral factor in these dialectical processes between self and others which shapes the brain-body-mind system of the individuals, including their sense of self. Recently in neuroscience, it has been proposed by the research group around Northoff that the self is constituted by a brain-based nested hierarchical three-layer structure, including interoceptive, proprio-exteroceptive, and mental layers of self. This may be disrupted, though, when traumatic experiences occur. Following the three levels of trauma theorized by Mucci, we here suggest how different levels of traumatic experiences might have an enduring effect in yielding a trauma-based topographic and dynamic re-organization of the nested model of self featured by dissociation. In conclusion, we propose that different levels and degrees of traumatic experience are related to corresponding disruptions in the topography and dynamic of the brain-based three-layer hierarchical structure of the self.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Scalabrini
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Clara Mucci
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Georg Northoff
- Faculty of Medicine, Centre for Neural Dynamics, The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research, Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Mental Health Centre, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
- Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Margariti MM, Vlachos II. The concept of psychotic arousal and its relevance to abnormal subjective experiences in schizophrenia. A hypothesis for the formation of primary delusions. Med Hypotheses 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2022.110915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
|
7
|
Cieri F. Memory for the Future: Psychodynamic Approach to Time and Self Through the Default Network. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:885315. [PMID: 35782047 PMCID: PMC9245038 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.885315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
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.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Filippo Cieri
- Department of Neurology, Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Las Vegas, NV, United States
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Müller CP. Serotonin and Consciousness-A Reappraisal. Behav Brain Res 2022; 432:113970. [PMID: 35716774 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.113970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Revised: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The serotonergic system of the brain is a major modulator of behaviour. Here we describe a re-appraisal of its function for consciousness based on anatomical, functional and pharmacological data. For a better understanding, the current model of consciousness is expanded. Two parallel streams of conscious flow are distinguished. A flow of conscious content and an affective consciousness flow. While conscious content flow has its functional equivalent in the activity of higher cortico-cortical and cortico-thalamic networks, affective conscious flow originates in segregated deeper brain structures for single emotions. It is hypothesized that single emotional networks converge on serotonergic and other modulatory transmitter neurons in the brainstem where a bound percept of an affective conscious flow is formed. This is then dispersed to cortical and thalamic networks, where it is time locked with conscious content flow at the level of these networks. Serotonin acts in concert with other modulatory systems of the brain stem with some possible specialization on single emotions. Together, these systems signal a bound percept of affective conscious flow. Dysfunctions in the serotonergic system may not only give rise to behavioural and somatic symptoms, but also essentially affect the coupling of conscious affective flow with conscious content flow, leading to the affect-stained subjective side of mental disorders like anxiety, depression, or schizophrenia. The present model is an attempt to integrate the growing insights into serotonergic system function. However, it is acknowledged, that several key claims are still at a heuristic level that need further empirical support.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christian P Müller
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Clinic, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schwabachanlage 6, 91054, Erlangen, Germany; Centre for Drug Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Minden, Penang, Malaysia.
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
The Animal-Human Interface in Farm Animal Production: Animal Fear, Stress, Reproduction and Welfare. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12040487. [PMID: 35203194 PMCID: PMC8868546 DOI: 10.3390/ani12040487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Revised: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary For at least the last four decades, the focus of animal welfare research, quality assurance, and policy initiatives has been on measuring behavioural and physiological stress responses in animals. In the last decade, however, this focus of animal welfare research has shifted to the consequences of these behavioural and physiological stress responses rather than only the responses per se. Modern-day farming, even with the intensification and automation requires regular monitoring and interactions by stockpeople. Research conducted in both experimental and commercial settings has shown widespread effects of the human-animal interactions on behaviour, physiology, and reproductive performance in farm animals. In this paper, we review the implications of human-animal interactions on reproduction in farm animals. Abstract A negative human-animal relationship (HAR) from the perspective of the animal is a limiting factor affecting farm animal welfare, as well as farm animal productivity. Research in farm animals has elucidated sequential relationships between stockperson attitudes, stockperson behaviour, farm animal fear behaviour, farm animal stress physiology, and farm animal productivity. In situations where stockperson attitudes to and interactions with farm animals are sub-optimal, through animal fear and stress, both animal welfare and productivity, including reproductive performance, can be compromised. There is a growing body of evidence that farm animals often seek and enjoy interacting with humans, but our understanding of the effects of a positive HAR on stress resilience and productivity in farm animals is limited. In this review, we explore the pathways by which stress induced by human-animal interactions can negatively affect farm animal reproduction, in particular, via inhibitory effects on the secretion of gonadotrophins. We also review the current knowledge of the stockperson characteristics and the nature of stockperson interactions that affect fear and physiological stress in farm animals. The contents of this review provide an insight into the importance of the HAR on farm animal welfare and reproduction while highlighting the gap in knowledge regarding the effects of a positive HAR on farm animals.
Collapse
|
10
|
Le Mouël C. A Logical Theory of Life. PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES-A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF JUNGIAN THOUGHT 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/00332925.2020.1852838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
|
11
|
Silverstein SM, Lai A. The Phenomenology and Neurobiology of Visual Distortions and Hallucinations in Schizophrenia: An Update. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:684720. [PMID: 34177665 PMCID: PMC8226016 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.684720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia is characterized by visual distortions in ~60% of cases, and visual hallucinations (VH) in ~25-50% of cases, depending on the sample. These symptoms have received relatively little attention in the literature, perhaps due to the higher rate of auditory vs. visual hallucinations in psychotic disorders, which is the reverse of what is found in other neuropsychiatric conditions. Given the clinical significance of these perceptual disturbances, our aim is to help address this gap by updating and expanding upon prior reviews. Specifically, we: (1) present findings on the nature and frequency of VH and distortions in schizophrenia; (2) review proposed syndromes of VH in neuro-ophthalmology and neuropsychiatry, and discuss the extent to which these characterize VH in schizophrenia; (3) review potential cortical mechanisms of VH in schizophrenia; (4) review retinal changes that could contribute to VH in schizophrenia; (5) discuss relationships between findings from laboratory measures of visual processing and VH in schizophrenia; and (6) integrate findings across biological and psychological levels to propose an updated model of VH mechanisms, including how their content is determined, and how they may reflect vulnerabilities in the maintenance of a sense of self. In particular, we emphasize the potential role of alterations at multiple points in the visual pathway, including the retina, the roles of multiple neurotransmitters, and the role of a combination of disinhibited default mode network activity and enhanced state-related apical/contextual drive in determining the onset and content of VH. In short, our goal is to cast a fresh light on the under-studied symptoms of VH and visual distortions in schizophrenia for the purposes of informing future work on mechanisms and the development of targeted therapeutic interventions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Steven M Silverstein
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United States.,Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United States.,Department of Ophthalmology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United States.,Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United States
| | - Adriann Lai
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United States
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Budaev S, Kristiansen TS, Giske J, Eliassen S. Computational animal welfare: towards cognitive architecture models of animal sentience, emotion and wellbeing. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2020; 7:201886. [PMID: 33489298 PMCID: PMC7813262 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.201886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 12/04/2020] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
To understand animal wellbeing, we need to consider subjective phenomena and sentience. This is challenging, since these properties are private and cannot be observed directly. Certain motivations, emotions and related internal states can be inferred in animals through experiments that involve choice, learning, generalization and decision-making. Yet, even though there is significant progress in elucidating the neurobiology of human consciousness, animal consciousness is still a mystery. We propose that computational animal welfare science emerges at the intersection of animal behaviour, welfare and computational cognition. By using ideas from cognitive science, we develop a functional and generic definition of subjective phenomena as any process or state of the organism that exists from the first-person perspective and cannot be isolated from the animal subject. We then outline a general cognitive architecture to model simple forms of subjective processes and sentience. This includes evolutionary adaptation which contains top-down attention modulation, predictive processing and subjective simulation by re-entrant (recursive) computations. Thereafter, we show how this approach uses major characteristics of the subjective experience: elementary self-awareness, global workspace and qualia with unity and continuity. This provides a formal framework for process-based modelling of animal needs, subjective states, sentience and wellbeing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sergey Budaev
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, PO Box 7803, 5020 Bergen, Norway
| | - Tore S. Kristiansen
- Research Group Animal Welfare, Institute of Marine Research, PO Box 1870, 5817 Bergen, Norway
| | - Jarl Giske
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, PO Box 7803, 5020 Bergen, Norway
| | - Sigrunn Eliassen
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, PO Box 7803, 5020 Bergen, Norway
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Francesetti G, Alcaro A, Settanni M. Panic disorder: attack of fear or acute attack of solitude? Convergences between affective neuroscience and phenomenological-Gestalt perspective. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 23:421. [PMID: 32913822 PMCID: PMC7451360 DOI: 10.4081/ripppo.2020.421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2019] [Accepted: 02/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
There is consensus among scientists in considering Panic Attack (PA) as an exaggerated fear response triggered by intense activation of the amygdala and related Fear brain network. Current guidelines for treatment (e.g. National Institute for Clinical Excellence, NICE, 2011), that are based on this view, do not achieve satisfactory results: one-third of all treated patients report persistent PAs and other Panic Disorder (PD) symptoms, and several meta-analyses report the high likelihood of relapse. Here we review findings from Affective Neuroscience and clinical insights from a phenomenological-Gestalt perspective, putting into question the link between PD and activation of the Fear brain network. We propose an alternative hypothesis about PD etiology: PD is mainly connected to the Panic system, that is activated in situations of separation from affective support and overexposure to the environment. In our view, PA can be understood as an acute attack of solitude which is not adequately recognized by the patient due to the intervention of a dissociative component that makes it impossible to integrate all neuro-physiological responses activated by the Panic/Separation brain system within a coherent emotional feeling. This perspective can explain many evidences that otherwise remain isolated elements without a comprehensive frame: i.e., the association with agoraphobia, the onset of PD during adolescence and young adult life, the need to be accompanied, the connection with air hunger and other respiratory anomalies, the efficacy of antidepressants and the lack of activation of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axe. We discuss future steps to test this hypothesis and the consequences for psychotherapeutic treatment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gianni Francesetti
- International Institute for Gestalt Therapy and Psychopathology - IPsiG.,Department of Psychology, University of Turin
| | - Antonio Alcaro
- Santa Lucia Foundation, European Centre for Brain Research, Italy
| | | |
Collapse
|
14
|
Goodwyn E. Comments on the 2018 IAAP Conference on Archetype Theory: defending a non‐reductive biological approach. THE JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2019; 64:720-737. [DOI: 10.1111/1468-5922.12543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
|
15
|
Jansen S. Men are emotionally competent: considerations on group therapy with men. SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1177/0081246319854360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
|
16
|
Scorolli C. Re-enacting the Bodily Self on Stage: Embodied Cognition Meets Psychoanalysis. Front Psychol 2019; 10:492. [PMID: 31024371 PMCID: PMC6460994 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2018] [Accepted: 02/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The embodied approach to cognition consists in a range of theoretical proposals sharing the idea that our concepts are constitutively shaped by the physical and social constraints of our body and environment. Still far from a mutually enriching interplay, in recent years embodied and psychoanalytic approaches are converging on similar constructs as the ones of intersubjectivity, bodily self, and affective quality of verbal communication. Some efforts to cope with the sentient subject were already present in classical cognitivism: having expunged desires and conflicts from the cognitive harmony, bodily emotions re-emerged but only as a noisy dynamic friction. In contrast, the new, neural, embodied cognitive science with its focus on bodily effects/affects has enabled a dialogue between neuro-cognitive perspectives and clinic-psychological ones, through shared conceptual frameworks. I will address crucial issues that should be faced on this reconciling path. With reference to two kinds of contemporary addictions - internet addiction disorder and eating disorders - I will introduce a possible therapeutic approach that is built upon the core role of the acting-sentient bodily self in a dynamic-social and affective environment. In Psychoanalytic Psychodrama, the spontaneous re-enactment of a past (socially and physically constrained) experience is actualized by means of the other, the Auxiliary Ego. This allows homeostatic and social-emotional affects, i.e., drives and instincts, to be re-experienced by the agent, the Protagonist, in a safe scenario. The director-psychoanalyst smoothly traces back this simulation to the motivated, and constrained, early proximal embodied interactions with significant others, and to the related instinctual conflicting aims. The psychoanalytic reframing of classical psychodrama does not merely exploit its original cathartic function, rather stands out for exploring the interpersonal constitution of the self, through an actual "re-somatization" of psychoanalytic therapy. Unspoken/unspeakable feelings pop up on stage: the strength of this treatment mainly rests on re-establishing the priority of the embodied Self over the narrative Self. By pointing out the possible conflicts between these two selves, this method can broaden the embodied cognition perspective. The psychodramatic approach will be briefly discussed in light of connectionist models, to finally address linguistic and methodological pivotal issues.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Scorolli
- Department of Philosophy and Communication Studies, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Schiffer F. The physical nature of subjective experience and its interaction with the brain. Med Hypotheses 2019; 125:57-69. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2019.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2018] [Revised: 01/30/2019] [Accepted: 02/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|
18
|
Kirsch M. On the Abilities of Unconscious Freudian Motivational Drives to Evoke Conscious Emotions. Front Psychol 2019; 10:470. [PMID: 30899234 PMCID: PMC6416170 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2018] [Accepted: 02/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Human beings use conscious emotions to direct their behaviors. There is some agreement in the scientific community that unconscious motivations are able to evoke conscious emotions. This manuscript focuses on Freudian motivational drives as inductors for unconscious motivation, and also on Panksepp's framework of affective neuroscience for describing the generation of emotions. Recently, it has been suggested that imperative motor factors of Freudian drives (i.e., the hormones ghrelin, testosterone, angiotensin II and adenosine) have the ability to activate both a drive-specific brain area and brain areas of the SEEKING command system. In fact, this manuscript contends that all imperative motor factors have typical SEEKING targets (i.e., so-called receptors) in the brain areas of both nucleus accumbens and lateral hypothalamus. In addition, all imperative motor factors are able to target the central amygdala directly, a brain area classified by Panksepp as the instinctual part of the FEAR command system. Another point of interest may be the evaluation that imperative motor factors of the sexual drive, hunger and thirst can directly activate the RAGE command system by targeting the medial amygdala. Surprisingly, all imperative motor factors are able to modulate Panksepp's granddaddy mechanism, i.e., to stimulate all seven command systems via the lateral hypothalamus. Orexinergic neurons exclusively located in the lateral hypothalamus have targets for imperative motor factors and project axons to characteristic brain areas of all seven command systems. From the fact that the imperative motor factors of the sexual drive and hunger act in an excitatory manner on orexinergic neurons whereas those of thirst and sleep inhibit such neurons, temporary termination of hunger by thirst may be understood as a very simple example of a co-regulation of Freudian drives. The author wishes to note that there are motivational drives other than the ones described by Freud. Bowlby was obviously the first in describing such drives, and Bowlbyian drive activities cannot be explained with the intermediacy of imperative motor factors. Nevertheless, the ignorance of the magnificent importance of imperative motor factors must be discarded.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael Kirsch
- Institute of Physiological Chemistry, Essen University Hospital, Essen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Alcaro A, Carta S. The "Instinct" of Imagination. A Neuro-Ethological Approach to the Evolution of the Reflective Mind and Its Application to Psychotherapy. Front Hum Neurosci 2019; 12:522. [PMID: 30728771 PMCID: PMC6351487 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2018] [Accepted: 12/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent neuro-psychoanalytic literature has emphasized the view that our subjective identity rests on ancient subcortical neuro-psychic processes expressing unthinking forms of experience, which are “affectively intense without being known” (Solms and Panksepp, 2012). Devoid of internal representations, the emotional states of our “core-Self” (Panksepp, 1998b) are entirely “projected” towards the external world and tend to be discharged through instinctual action-patterns. However, due to the close connections between the subcortical and the cortical midline brain, the emotional drives may also find a way to be reflected within an intrinsic self-referential processing, evident when the organism is not actively engaged with the external world. Thanks to such endogenous functioning, the core-Self emotional dispositions are not overtly executed, but they are organized within coherent dynamic mental structures, called “feeling-toned complexes” by C. G. Jung and “unconscious phantasies” by Melanie Klein. The intrinsic self-referential dynamism of the “brainmind” originated from REM sleep arousal and then evolved in the resting-state activity of a complex of cortico-limbic midline brain structures (CMS), also called Default Mode Network (DMN). From our neuro-ethological perspective, it is sustained by an “introverted” SEEKING activity leading to the subjective exploration of internally constructed virtual scenarios. This “mind wandering” function, implicated in dreaming, fantasy processing, remembering and thinking, is the essence of the imaginative function and constitutes the first form of reflection, where intentions and drives gain a primordial form of conscious (but not self-conscious) representation. During postnatal development, this original (“archetypal”) imaginative function is slowly attuned in a relational “transitional” space and may be expressed first in non-verbal and eventually in abstract-verbal social communicative patterns. Our view has noticeable implications for psychotherapy. Instead of trying to directly modify interpersonal, extrinsic relationships (a top-down approach), dysfunctional emotional-relational patterns may be modified by a process in which the patient is helped to let-go of the perceived feeling-objects in favor of an immersion, via the actual feeling, from the superficial level of perception towards a void feeling-state, empty of images. Only starting from this “anoetic” feeling-state, the deep imaginal creative and re-structuring self-referential activity may be reactivated by a process of spontaneous imagination.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Alcaro
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Carta
- Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, and Philosophy, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Giacolini T, Sabatello U. Psychoanalysis and Affective Neuroscience. The Motivational/Emotional System of Aggression in Human Relations. Front Psychol 2019; 9:2475. [PMID: 30692947 PMCID: PMC6340068 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2018] [Accepted: 11/21/2018] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
This article highlights the evolutionary biological epistemology in Freud psychoanalytic theory. The concepts of aggressive and sexual drives are cornerstones of the psychoanalytic epistemological system, concerning the motivational/emotional roots of mental functioning. These biological roots of mental functioning, especially with regard to aggressive drive, have gradually faded away from psychoanalytic epistemology, as we show in this article. Currently, however, Neurosciences, and in particular Affective Neuroscience (Panksepp, 1998), can help us to have a better understanding of the biological roots of human mental functioning. The motivational/emotional systems studied by Affective Neuroscience can give a new epistemological foundation to the aggressive drive concept in psychoanalytic theory. Over the course of human evolution, motivational/emotional systems have played a role in social relationships and also in mental functioning. In this regard, among the various types of aggression (ANGER in Panksepp taxonomy 1998) that we consider in our article, inter-male aggression, also named Dominance motivational/emotional system, is that which regulates social interactions between sexually matured adults. This type of aggression acts in complementary connection with FEAR motivational/emotional system that regulate submissive behavior and social defeat, and the latter one is of the more important stressors. The interaction between aggression and FEAR motivational/emotional systems gives rise to agonistic behavior or dominance/submission motivational/emotional system, as we propose in our article. There is now a large literature that identifies in the dynamic of Competitive behavior, which is one of the main factors of mental illness. When social interactions activate the competitive behavior, the subject can perceive himself as "destined to victory" or "destined to defeat," activating either behaviors or emotions connected to the Involuntary Defeat Strategy or Involuntary Dominant Strategy (Sloman, 2002), which we can find in many types of mental disorders, for example, mood disorders or anxiety disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Teodosio Giacolini
- Department of Human Neuroscience, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | | |
Collapse
|
21
|
Schendan HE. Memory influences visual cognition across multiple functional states of interactive cortical dynamics. PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING AND MOTIVATION 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.plm.2019.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
|
22
|
Abstract
The self is a complex and heterogeneous phenomenon that is often described through its subcomponents (e.g., self-control, self-esteem, self-compassion). The entity that unifies these subcomponents is more elusive and difficult to access, at least with standard psychological methods. In the current inquiry we set out to illuminate and extend the understanding of the self by exploring the differentiation of the self as a “content” versus a “process” (e.g., self-schema vs. self-activity). We also differentiate the “self” from the “I,” exploring characteristics of a 3rd- versus a 1st-person perspective to this core psychological entity. We pursue an empirical 1st-person inquiry that is interdisciplinary in nature, drawing on concepts from both psychology and religious studies (in particular the “essential” or “core” self in psychology, as well as the “real” or “ideal” self in religious studies in the form of the “I Am” statements in the Gospels). Our approach illustrates how a consideration of phenomenological, 1st-person qualities of selfhood allows for an enriched, empirically based understanding of crucially important but subtle dimensions of I-ness that remain inaccessible to 3rd-person exploration.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ulrich Weger
- Department for Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Witten/Herdecke
| | - Klaus Herbig
- Psychotherapeutische Praxis Herbig, Zurich, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Walter U, Fernández-Torre JL, Kirschstein T, Laureys S. When is “brainstem death” brain death? The case for ancillary testing in primary infratentorial brain lesion. Clin Neurophysiol 2018; 129:2451-2465. [DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2018.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2018] [Revised: 06/20/2018] [Accepted: 08/25/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
|
24
|
Delafield‐Butt JT, Freer Y, Perkins J, Skulina D, Schögler B, Lee DN. Prospective organization of neonatal arm movements: A motor foundation of embodied agency, disrupted in premature birth. Dev Sci 2018; 21:e12693. [PMID: 29920860 PMCID: PMC6220947 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2017] [Accepted: 04/18/2018] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Prospective motor control moves the body into the future, from where one is to where one wants to be. It is a hallmark of intentionality. But its origin in development is uncertain. In this study, we tested whether or not the arm movements of newborn infants were prospectively controlled. We measured the spatiotemporal organization of 480 full-term neonatal arm movements and 384 arm movements of prematurely born infants at-risk for neurodevelopmental disorder. We found 75% of healthy term-birth neonatal movements and 68% of prematurely born infant movements conformed to the τG -coupling model of prospective sensorimotor control. Prospective coupling values were significantly reduced in the latter (p = .010, r = .087). In both cases prospectively controlled movements were tightly organized by fixed-duration units with a base duration of 218 ms and additional temporal units of 145 ms. Yet distances remained constant. Thus, we demonstrate for the first time a precise prospective spatiotemporal organization of neonatal arm movements and demonstrate that at-risk infants exhibit reduced sensorimotor control. Prospective motor control is a hallmark of primary sensorimotor intentionality and gives a strong embodied foundation to conscious motor agency.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan T. Delafield‐Butt
- Perception Movement Action Research ConsortiumThe University of EdinburghEdinburghUK
- Laboratory for Innovation in AutismFaculty of Humanities and Social SciencesUniversity of StrathclydeGlasgowUK
| | - Yvonne Freer
- Simpson Centre for Reproductive HealthThe Royal Infirmary of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Jon Perkins
- Perception Movement Action Research ConsortiumThe University of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - David Skulina
- Perception Movement Action Research ConsortiumThe University of EdinburghEdinburghUK
- School of PhysicsThe University of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Ben Schögler
- Perception Movement Action Research ConsortiumThe University of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - David N. Lee
- Perception Movement Action Research ConsortiumThe University of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Moccia L, Mazza M, Nicola MD, Janiri L. The Experience of Pleasure: A Perspective Between Neuroscience and Psychoanalysis. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:359. [PMID: 30233347 PMCID: PMC6131593 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2018] [Accepted: 08/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Pleasure is more than a mere sensory event, but rather it can be conceptualized as a complex, multiform experience involving memory, motivation, homeostasis, and, sometimes, negative affects. According to Freud, affect is a perceptual modality that registers the internal drive state of the subject rather than the objective experience of the external world, and the quality of this perceptual modality is calibrated in degrees of pleasure and displeasure. Within this conceptual framework, the aim of drive is always pleasure, and objects become significant in so far as they provide a way of discharging drives pressure. Subsequent conceptual psychoanalytic developments have partially rejected such metapsychological theorizations, postulating that other intrinsic motivations that are independent from libido can be observed in humans. Intrinsic motivation broadly refers to a set of psychological concepts including the inherent propensity to pursue one's choices, to seek out novelty and challenges, to satisfy curiosity and competence, and to extend one's capacities and control over events. What these concepts have in common is an inner endorsement of one's action, which is the sense that action is self-generated and is one's own. The notions of pleasure, drives, and affects are all of utmost importance for a neuropsychoanalytic understanding of mental functioning, due to their capability to explain desire, thought, and behavior from the perspective of human subjective experience. The purpose of this paper is thus to discuss psychoanalytic conceptual developments that have addressed pleasure, drives, and affects, in the light of recent findings coming from neurosciences. In particular, we will explore for insights from Panksepp's theory of primary-process emotional feelings, including the notion of "wanting" and "liking" as dissociable components of reward. In the last part of the paper, we will indicate possible theoretical implications for a neuropsychoanalytic understanding of libido-independent intrinsic motivations and their relationship with the self, including neuroscientific observations on self-related processes, agency, body-ownerships, and attachment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lorenzo Moccia
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy
| | - Marianna Mazza
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy
- Centro Psicoanalitico di Roma, Società Psicoanalitica Italiana, Rome, Italy
| | - Marco Di Nicola
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy
| | - Luigi Janiri
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy
- Centro Psicoanalitico di Roma, Società Psicoanalitica Italiana, Rome, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Davis KL, Montag C. A Tribute to Jaak Panksepp (1943-2017). PERSONALITY NEUROSCIENCE 2018; 1:e9. [PMID: 32435729 PMCID: PMC7219686 DOI: 10.1017/pen.2018.5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
This article gives a short overview on the life and achievements of Jaak Panksepp. Jaak Panksepp dedicated his life to the study of mammalian emotions. By means of electrical stimulation of the brain and psychopharmacological challenges he carved out seven primary emotional systems being highly conserved across different species of mammals including homo sapiens. The primary emotional systems are called SEEKING, CARE, LUST, PLAY (positive emotions), and FEAR, RAGE, SADNESS (negative emotions). While his early career was characterized by the direct study of these primary emotions in mammals, in his late career he invested more and more time in applying his knowledge to different fields of psychology including personality neuroscience and psychiatry.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Christian Montag
- Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation/Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Kirsch M, Mertens W. On the Drive Specificity of Freudian Drives for the Generation of SEEKING Activities: The Importance of the Underestimated Imperative Motor Factor. Front Psychol 2018; 9:616. [PMID: 29774002 PMCID: PMC5943553 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2017] [Accepted: 04/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Doubters of Freud's theory of drives frequently mentioned that his approach is outdated and therefore cannot be useful for solving current problems in patients with mental disorders. At present, many scientists believe that affects rather than drives are of utmost importance for the emotional life and the theoretical framework of affective neuroscience, developed by Panksepp, strongly underpinned this view. Panksepp evaluated seven so-called command systems and the SEEKING system is therein of central importance. Panksepp used Pankseppian drives as inputs for the SEEKING system but noted the missing explanation of drive-specific generation of SEEKING activities in his description. Drive specificity requires dual action of the drive: the activation of a drive-specific brain area and the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Noticeably, as Freud claimed drive specificity too, it was here analyzed whether a Freudian drive can evoke the generation of drive-specific SEEKING activities. Special importance was addressed to the imperative motor factor in Freud's drive theory because Panksepp's formulations focused on neural pathways without specifying underlying neurotransmitter/endocrine factors impelling motor activity. As Panksepp claimed sleep as a Pankseppian drive, we firstly had to classified sleep as a Freudian drive by using three evaluated criteria for a Freudian drive. After that it was possible to identify the imperative motor factors of hunger, thirst, sex, and sleep. Most importantly, all of these imperative motor factors can both activate a drive-specific brain area and release dopamine from dopaminergic neurons, i.e., they can achieve the so-called drive specificity. Surprisingly, an impaired Freudian drive can alter via endocrinological pathways the concentration of the imperative motor factor of a second Freudian drive, obviously in some independence to the level of the metabolic deficit, thereby offering the possibility to modulate the generation of SEEKING activities of this second Freudian drive. This novel possibility might help to refine the general understanding of the action of Freudian drives. As only imperative motor factors of Freudian drives can guarantee drive specificity for the generation of SEEKING activities, the impact of Freud's construct Eros (with its constituents hunger, thirst, sex, and sleep) should be revisited.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael Kirsch
- Institute of Physiological Chemistry, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Mertens
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Bonn G. Commentary: The Affective Core of the Self: A Neuro-Archetypical Perspective on the Foundations of Human (and Animal) Subjectivity. Front Psychol 2017; 8:2098. [PMID: 29250019 PMCID: PMC5715505 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2017] [Accepted: 11/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
|