Are microglia minding us? Digging up the unconscious mind-brain relationship from a neuropsychoanalytic approach

Abstract

The unconscious mind-brain relationship remains unresolved. From the perspective of neuroscience, neuronal networks including synapses have been dominantly believed to play crucial roles in human mental activities, while glial contribution to mental activities has long been ignored. Recently, it has been suggested that microglia, glial cells with immunological/inflammatory functions, play important roles in psychiatric disorders. Newly revealed microglial roles, such as constant direct contact with synapses even in the normal brain, have defied the common traditional belief that microglia do not contribute to neuronal networks. Recent human neuroeconomic investigations with healthy volunteers using minocycline, an antibiotic with inhibitory effects on microglial activation, suggest that microglia may unconsciously modulate human social behaviors as “noise.” We herein propose a novel unconscious mind structural system in the brain centering on microglia from a neuropsychoanalytic approach. At least to some extent, microglial activation in the brain may activate unconscious drives as “psychological immune memory/reaction” in the mind, and result in various emotions, traumatic reactions, psychiatric symptoms including suicidal behaviors, and (psychoanalytic) transference during interpersonal relationships. Microglia have the potential to bridge the huge gap between neuroscience, biological psychiatry, psychology and psychoanalysis as a key player to connect the conscious and the unconscious world.

Differential Modulation of TREM2 Protein during Postnatal Brain Development in Mice

“…Recently, the role of microglia and perinatal inflammation has been associated with certain psychiatric disorders [38], [68], [69], [70] while loss-of-function mutation of TREM2 has been associated with several neurodegenerative disorders or dementia [71], [72], [73], [74]. Therefore, the regional differences in TREM2+ microglia phenotype during postnatal development along with other genetic or environmental factors might be involved in pathological manifestations throughout life.…”

Possible Involvement of TLRs and Hemichannels in Stress-Induced CNS Dysfunction via Mastocytes, and Glia Activation

“…This fact also has been linked to the activation of microglia by viral infections early in life and that can be later reactivated more rapidly compared to microglia in normal state [252, 253]. Therefore, the possibility of having microglia (using minocycline) and mastocytes activation (with GRH-R antagonists) as therapeutic targets opens the possibility of their modulation as treatment for various neuropsychiatric disorders, viral infections, and other neuroinflammatory pathologies of the CNS.…”

Neuron-Glia Interaction as a Possible Glue to Translate the Mind-Brain Gap: A Novel Multi-Dimensional Approach Toward Psychology and Psychiatry (R1)

“…Thus, of course, these aspects are ingrained during childhood by various sociocultural experiences within family relationships, schools, and other areas of society in Japan. Early-life events may activate human microglia, establish a certain neurosynaptic connection, and this formation may determine personality and personality-oriented social behaviors in later life (59, 62). If these experiments are conducted in other countries with different sociocultural backgrounds, other personality traits may be identified.…”

“…What do neurobiological mechanisms justify their eventual role in bridging the gap between neuroscience and psychoanalysis? Answers to the above questions are not yet clear, but we have recently proposed a hypothesis creating a link between Freud’s unconscious drives such as the death drive and microglial activation (62). For example, microglial maladaptive over-activation in a certain brain region may activate human aggressive behaviors as a result of destructive drives [For the details, please see our recent article; Ref.…”

“…For example, microglial maladaptive over-activation in a certain brain region may activate human aggressive behaviors as a result of destructive drives [For the details, please see our recent article; Ref. (62)]. In the brain, not only microglia but also other glia such as astrocytes and oligodendrocytes exist, thus complicated neuron-glia interactions may modulate our mental activities including the unconscious (Figure 1).…”