This article was downloaded by: [Adelphi University]

On: 22 August 2014, At: 23:47

Publisher: Routledge
Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer
House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Neuropsychoanalysis: An Interdisciplinary Journal for

Psychoanalysis and the Neurosciences
Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:
http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rnpa20

Review on the Stockholm Neuro-Psychoanalysis

Congress on Sexuality and GenderSeptember 2002
Maria Sonia Goergen MD

Neuropaediatrician, Coordinator of Brazilian Southern Group of Neuro-Psychoanalysis

(SSBNP), Porto AlegreRSBrazil, E-mail:
Published online: 09 Jan 2014.

To cite this article: Maria Sonia Goergen MD (2002) Review on the Stockholm Neuro-Psychoanalysis Congress on Sexuality
and GenderSeptember 2002, Neuropsychoanalysis: An Interdisciplinary Journal for Psychoanalysis and the Neurosciences,
4:2, 209-210, DOI: 10.1080/15294145.2002.10773399
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15294145.2002.10773399

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the Content) contained
in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no
representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of
the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors,
and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied
upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall
not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other
liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or
arising out of the use of the Content.
This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic
reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any
form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://
www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

209

Review on the Stockholm Neuro-Psychoanalysis Congress

on Sexuality and GenderSeptember 2002

Downloaded by [Adelphi University] at 23:47 22 August 2014

Maria Sonia (Brazil)

In July 2000, the rst Neuro-Psychoanalysis

Conference on Emotion left us with the feeling
that a new era was beginning. Freud's neurological work was nally reintegrated to his
psychoanalytic theory. Finally we had the neuroimaging technology to continue the work that
Freud had begun. The dreams of the participants
seemed to have come true . . .
During the second conference, on Memory,
in April 2001, the underpinnings of the International Neuro-Psychoanalysis Society where still
under construction. The hippocampus was still
consuming information in order to build the
foundation of long-term memory. The lectures
were more specic and less introductory. We
confronted the bonding of brain, mind and
bodythe cognitive-emotional dialogue.
The third meeting was held in Stockholm in
September 2002. The title of this conference was
``Neuroscientic and Psychoanalytic Perspectives
on Sexuality and Gender''. At the Annual
General Meeting of the International NeuroPsychoanalysis Society we discussed the ways in
which the Society needed to be carried forth.
Faces were no longer strangers. Memory could be
brought to consciousnessthe hippocampus was
maturing! From the very beginning, Mark Solms
was the grand master, Paula Barkay was the link
between all of us, and Irene Matthis and the
members of her excellent Organizing Committee
were those who made it happen. We felt we
belonged.
This year, as we go to Toronto for the 4th
Congress on ``The Unconscious in Cognitive
Neuroscience and Psychoanalysis'' (July 2528,
2003) we will have a body in which interdisciplinary ideas can be discussed constructively. The
memory retrieval will occur and new associative
neural pathways will be created.
The Stockholm congress was opened by the
Co-Chair of the Society, Mark Solms. He also
substituted for Jacob Arlow (who was unable to
attend) on psychoanalytic drive theory. In the

same session Larry Kunstadt spoke on the

evolutionary biology of sex. Donald Pfa then
gave a presentation on neural, hormonal and
genetic contributions to the understanding of
primitive drive components. The interchange was
multidisciplinary, as the boundaries needed a
consilience to uently draw together theories
brain architecture, evolution and inuence of
the environment.
Jaak Panksepp provided a wonderful demonstration of this interdisciplinary consilience.
Using poetry as an introduction was incredibly
illustrative. He brilliantly summed up how
theories of dynamic localization and sex dierences have to be concrete, but not static.
Panksepp had to contend with Lesley Rogers,
Eleanor Galenson and Judith Gurewich, who
were empowered by the COWAP (International
Psychoanalytical Association Committee on Women and Psychoanalysis) meeting held the two
previous days on feminist issues! This produced
an enchanting demonstration of a lively intellectual and scientic interaction.
The opportunity to hear Richard Green's
hard neuroscientic presentation, with commentaries from Colette Chiland and Marianne Blevis
was a charming interdisciplinary exercise. Chiland
provided a Kleinian psychoanalytic counterpoint,
and Blevis mentioned Levy Strauss in her
Lacanian discussion.
Paedophilia is a topic that was very well
presented by Robert Hale and Jaak Panksepp.
They illustrated the possible mechanisms of this
pathology/deviation. Both speakers stressed the
importance of the interactive knowledge as the
traumatic imprinting can dramatically modify the
outcome of a human being in development.
At the closing session, Mark Solms' relieved
smile suggested that everything ends well when
you work with such a capable team.
I was unable to attend The Research Day but
the reports on it have been extremely positive. For
this reason, I am very glad that this important day

Downloaded by [Adelphi University] at 23:47 22 August 2014

210

Review on the Stockholm Neuro-Psychoanalysis Congress

has been integrate into the main Congress program

for 2003. Thanks to Oliver Turnbull, I had the
opportunity to read nearly all of the abstracts.
The meeting was opened by Jaak Panksepp,
including an introduction on the eects of motor
imagery of laughter and crying on mood. There
was a paper by Klaus Roeckerath on the
psychoanalytic treatment of neurological patients
with hemi-neglect syndrome. And also a paper by
Marianne LeuzingerBohleber and Stephan Hau
on Freud's dream theory, bridging it into
neuroscience with neuro-imaging (fMRI).
Mark Solms, Katerina Fotopoulou and
Oliver Turnbull presented papers in a session
dedicated to the topic of confabulation in
neurological patients. Solms described the cases
of confabulation in patients with lesions of the
ventromesial frontal lobe. The essential claim is
that these patients hold false beliefs that can
readily be interpreted as having features described
by Freud (1915) as properties of the System
Unconscious. Fotopoulou described some data
from a patient seen together with Solms and
Turnbull, and nally Turnbull closed this session
by describing more quantitative investigations of

the patients Solms described.

In the afternoon, Patricia Harte Bratt's
presented some case material on the topic of
emotional memory. Ariane Bazan spoke on the
role of the phonology in the neurophysiology of
emotional language. Andrea Clarici presented a
single case study of a right hemisphere lesioned
patient. Serge Stoleru presented functional imaging data on sexual arousal. And nally Mark
Solms closed this important day which was the
result of the two previous meetings in which the
need for research-onlyorientated presentations
and discussions emerged.
Thus, the Toronto Congress provided a day
of research discussion open to everyone in which
interdisciplinary ideas can work together. The
retrieval can occur; new associative neural pathways can be made.
Maria Sonia Goergen, MD,
Neuropaediatrician,
Coordinator of Brazilian Southern Group of
Neuro-Psychoanalysis (SSBNP)
Porto AlegreRSBrazil
E-mail: m.sonia@terra.com.br