The Unconscious ─ A Bridge Between Psychoanalysis and Cognitive Neuroscience

Psychoanalysis was characterised by Freud as ‘the science of the unconscious mind’, and he never gave up hope that future developments in the neurosciences might contribute to a scientific foundation of psychoanalysis. This book explores the critical interdisciplinary dialogue between contemporary psychoanalysis and cognitive science, building bridges between researchers and clinicians to enable a better understanding of their passions, professional realities and engagement with psychoanalysis. Each chapter presents clinical case studies of the unconscious, alongside key areas of debate and development, including: what are the differences between the conceptualisation of ‘the unconscious’ in psychoanalysis and in cognitive science? Are core concepts of psychoanalysis still plausible? And are such understandings of the unconscious still central to treating patients in contemporary psychotherapy?

Mark Solms is a psychoanalyst and Lecturer in Neurosurgery at the St Bartholomew's Hospital and the Royal London School of Medicine, UK.

Marianne Leuzinger-Bohleber is Professor of Psychoanalysis at the University of Kassel, Germany, and Head Director of the Sigmund Freud Institute, Frankfurt/Main, Germany.