The hippocampus facilitates integration within a symbolic field

Abstract

Translations of summaryThis paper attempts to elaborate a fundamental brain mechanism involved in the creation and maintenance of symbolic fields of thought. It will integrate theories of psychic spaces as explored by Donald Winnicott and Wilfred Bion with the neuroscientific examinations of those with bilateral hippocampal injury to show how evidence from both disciplines sheds important light on this aspect of mind. Possibly originating as a way of maintaining an oriented, first person psychic map, this capacity allows individuals a dynamic narrative access to a realm of layered elements and their connections. If the proposed hypothesis is correct, the hippocampus facilitates the integration of this symbolic field of mind, where narrative forms of thinking, creativity, memory, and dreaming are intertwined. Without the hippocampus, there is an inability to engage many typical forms of thought itself. Also, noting the ways these individuals are not impaired supports theories about other faculties of mind, providing insight into their possible roles within human thought. The evidence of different systems working in conjunction with the symbolic field provides tantalizing clues about these fundamental mechanisms of brain and mind that are normally seamlessly integrated, and hints at future areas of clinical and laboratory research, both within neuroscience and psychoanalysis.

Pragmatism or idealism: a systematic review and visual analysis of Winnicott’s psychoanalytical treatment views

“…For instance, J. F. Rabin (15) contends that, due to his personal history of childhood, the dual experience of child observation and analysis enabled Winnicott to introduce the maternal environment into the treatment and to develop a theoretical framework, which describes the psyche of the baby has a close relationship with the maternal psyche; Steven Groarke (16) elaborates the clinical significance of Winnicott's interpretation of trauma and its aftermath. He links the management of regression in the analytic setting to Winnicott's theory of being, and he puts forward the redemptive potential between psychoanalysis and poetry by particular reference to the relationship between Winnicott's work and that of T. S. Eliot; John Thor Cornelius (17) connects neuroscience with psychoanalysis by integrating Winnicott's theories of psychic spaces with the neuroscientific examinations of patients with bilateral hippocampal injury; Susan Linn (18) has used puppet shows to help children facing serious illness and hospitalization based on Winnicott's playing therapy theory; Martin Lawes (19) proposes an approach of improvisation-based music therapy, referring to Winnicott's theory of gaming, creativity, and psychological therapy. Luca Quagelli (20) makes a deep exploration of Winnicott's famous notion of regression to dependence.…”

Representation as the "basic cell" of psychological/structural organization

“…talks about a "symbolization field of thought", bringing arguments from psychoanalytic theory and practice as well as from neuroscience research, pointing out that symbolization is integrated at the hippocampal level. Also, in the hippocampus there is a series of cells responsible for the physical positioning and orientation of the individual in space, which may explain that the ability to symbolize is connected to self-identity, which will be discussed below (Cornelius, 2017).…”

The Neurophysiology Behind Trauma-Focused Therapy Modalities Used to Treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Across the Life Course: A Systematic Review

“…Each study is marked by which trauma-informed modalities they address. A number of studies, including the group of psychoanalysis studies, did not include particular statistical analysis methodologies (Amano & Toichi, 2016; Boeker & Kraehenmann, 2018; Boyd et al, 2018; Connolly & van Deventer, 2017; Cornelius, 2017; Feduccia & Mithoefer, 2018; Lane et al, 2015; Lentz, 2018; Tang & Leve, 2016). A majority of studies used analysis of variance (ANOVA) to measure differing means between fMRI data sets, while others used a number of psychometric testing instruments for PTSD, such as (CAPS), (SCID), (DTS), and (WSAS), which were compared with functional connectivity t -scores (Bryant, Erlinger, Felmingham, Klimova, et al, 2020; Bryant, Erlinger, Felmingham, Malhi, et al, 2020; Bossini et al, 2018; de Voogd et al, 2018; Nicholson et al, 2018; Jung et al, 2016; King, Block, Sripada, Rauch, Porter, et al, 2016; Nicholson et al, 2017; Gerin et al, 2016; Santarnecchi et al, 2019; King, Block, Sripada, Rauch, Giardino, et al, 2016; Shou et al, 2017; Young et al, 2017; Zotev et al, 2018; Zweerings et al, 2018).…”

“…Each study is marked by which trauma-informed modalities they address. A number of studies, including the group of psychoanalysis studies, did not include particular statistical analysis methodologies (Amano & Toichi, 2016;Boeker & Kraehenmann, 2018;Boyd et al, 2018;Connolly & van Deventer, 2017;Cornelius, 2017;Feduccia & Mithoefer, 2018;Lane et al, 2015;Lentz, 2018;Tang & Leve, 2016).…”