The brain and the unconscious

Journal title PSICOBIETTIVO
Author/s Alberto Oliverio
Publishing Year 2016 Issue 2016/3 Language Italian
Pages 9 P. 251-259 File size 91 KB
DOI 10.3280/PSOB2016-003015
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Many executive functions, from memory to decisional processes, have an unconscious dimension that emerges from a series of clinical trials. The unconscious component of many cognitive processes is nowadays the focus of several neuroscientific studies. For example, it is now well understood that it is possible to track down and use a past experience without being aware of making use of pre-existing memories. A very clear case are the implicit memories, including the procedural memory, which is linked to "knowing how" rather than to "describing how" of the semantic memory. Psychoanalysis has had a considerable influence in directing neuroscientists to many research areas, although it must be reckoned that between the two disciplines there are numerous discrepancies, that the methodological differences are deep, and that language is very different. The fact remains that, even with a different view and methodological approaches, neuroscience are exploring aspects of the mind that, for a long time, have been neglected or considered of minor importance in the context of a reductionist approach.

Keywords: Neuroscience; Consciousness; Perception; Memory; Unconscious

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Alberto Oliverio, Il cervello e l’inconscio in "PSICOBIETTIVO" 3/2016, pp 251-259, DOI: 10.3280/PSOB2016-003015