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What is neuropsychoanalysis? Clinically relevant studies of the minded brain
Author(s): J. Panksepp, Solms, M.
Journal Title: Trends in Cognitive Sciences
NIFP Rating:
5
NIFP Note: An opinion piece relating the differences between neuropsychoanalysis and neuroscience with the opinon that one has to know the neuronetworks from an evolutationary standpoint to understand the details of mental life of humans. Play is implicit in the wide range of affective experiences discussed.
First paragraph of this paper: Neuropsychoanalysis seeks to understand the human mind, especially as it relates to first-person experience. It recognizes the essential role of neuroscience in such quests. However, unlike most branches of neuroscience, it positions mind and brain on an equal footing. It recognizes that the mammalian brain is not only an information processing device for behavior, but also the fount of the dynamics that is called ‘mind’, from joyous and sad feelings to banal cognitions and idiosyncratic flights of fancy. It is impossible to explain complex behaviors without reference to neural networks that mediate subjective mental events: that is, the causal effects of thoughts and feelings.