In Self-Defense: Disruptions in the Sense of Self, Lateralization, and Primitive Defenses

Neuropathologies of the self and the right hemisphere: a window into productive personal pathologies

“…Alternatively, the right hemisphere may play some additional critical role in regulating or suppressing the immature defenses. Along these lines, Salas and Turnbull (2010) suggested that the emergence of immature defenses in these conditions could be caused by a failure in the regulation of arousal and negative emotional states (an “arousal regulation capacity”) which is a component of the mature defenses. If the capacity were lateralized to the right hemisphere, damage to the right hemisphere would impair this regulation.…”

Neural and Mental Hierarchies

“…Feinberg’s model has been criticized by some authors for being too structurally oriented and less dynamic. In contrast, Salas and Turnbull ( 2010 ) proposed a more psychodynamic approach, suggesting that the recrudescence of primitive defense mechanisms in the neuropathologies of the self may be caused by a failure in the capacity to regulate the intensity of arousal and negative emotional states. Thus, from this perspective it is not that primitive defenses “take over” due to damage to the right hemisphere, but that this damage impairs the arousal regulation capacity, which forms one component of mature defenses.…”