http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/philo/faculty/block/papers/BerlinTreatment.pdf
The Neural Basis of the Dynamic Unconscious
Heather A. Berlin (New York)
A great deal of complex cognitive processing occurs at the unconscious level and affects how humans behave, think, and feel. Scientists
are only now 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, but steps toward understanding their neural basis have only just commenced. According to psychoanalytic
theory, unconscious dynamic processes defensively remove anxiety-provoking thoughts and impulses from consciousness in response
to one’s conflicting attitudes. The processes that keep unwanted thoughts from entering consciousness include repression,
suppression, and dissociation. In this literature review, studies from psychology and cognitive neuroscience in both healthy and
patient populations that are beginning to elucidate the neural basis of these phenomena are discussed and organized within a conceptual
framework. Further studies in this emerging field at the intersection of psychoanalytic theory and neuroscience are needed.
Keywords: unconscious; psychodynamic; repression; suppression; dissociation; neural
Heather A. Berlin: Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, U.S.A.
“Nothing is so difficult as not deceiving oneself.”
Ludwig Wittgenstein [1889–1951]
