Binding,narcissistic pathology and the psychoanalytic process

This article discusses the question of truth claims in psychoanalysis, revolving around the concepts “construction”, “reconstruction”, “historical truth” and “narrative truth”. In Part I of the article, these concepts are discussed in an historical context, in particular, Freud's view, the narrative tradition and some of Bion's ideas. In Part II, an attempt is made to synthesize these concepts. It is argued that the constructed character of the unconscious has to be integrated into the patient's reconstruction of his/her life story. The psychoanalytic project enables the patient to create a new narrative that claims to possess historical validity. It is important in this context not to understand the notion of “history” objectivisticallv as if it were a question of revealing certain objective historical facts. Instead, it is suggested that the connection between the present understanding of the past and the past as it was experienced in the past should be understood as a fusion of horizons. Finally, the necessary function of consciousnesslself-consciousness for the psychoanalytic project of acquiring knowledge about one's unconscious is pointed out.     

Growth in infancy and childhood and hospitalization for personality disorders in adulthood: the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study

This study examined the associations between infant and childhood growth and severe personality disorders. Among 4,689 men and 4,200 women of the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study 1934-1944, 81 men and 68 women had been hospitalized with an ICD (-8, -9, -10) diagnosis of personality disorder in adulthood. Among men, slower gain in BMI between birth and 6 months, faster gain in weight and BMI between 6 months and 1 year, and slower gains in them between 7 and 11 years of age predicted an increased risk of hospitalization for personality disorders. Thinness at 6 months and again at 11 years also showed significant association with personality disorders among men. Among women, slower gain in height between 2 and 7 years predicted hospitalization for personality disorders. Our findings show the importance of early growth as a vulnerability factor of personality disorders severe enough to justify hospitalization.     

Intellectual ability in young men separated temporarily from their parents in childhood

We examined the effects of early life stress (ELS) on intellectual ability in 2,725 20-year-old male participants, of whom 321 were separated temporarily (mean 1.7 years) from both their parents during World War II, at an average age of 4.3 years. Intellectual ability was tested when entering compulsory military service. The separated men had − 0.28 (95% CI − 0.39, − 0.16), − 0.13 (95% CI − 0.25, − 0.01), − 0.18 (95% CI − 0.29, − 0.06), and − 0.19 (95% CI − 0.30, − 0.07) SD units lower verbal, visuospatial, arithmetic, and composite score of intellectual ability, respectively, compared to non-separated. Participants who were separated for more than a year and between two and four years had the lowest ability scores. ELS showed most consistent associations with verbal ability, but were not limited to it. Children beyond infancy and before their school-age may be the most vulnerable to the adverse effects of the ELS.     

Primal Scene Fantasies and Cathexis of Self as Reflected in the Psychoanalytic Situation

Close parallels are pointed out between the Jewish and the psychoanalytic way of structuring central patterns in their respective thinking. The central power in existence is The Undescribable One or That which is undescribable. The primary task of enlighted man is to remember and hope. An arch is raised from the past into the future and the creation appears as a so-far unfinished process—the final answers will be given first with the return of the profet Elias and Messiah. Thus, the preliminary nature of all our attempts at solutions is underscored.     

The theme of love in Henrik Pontoppidan's Nattevagt (Night watch) and other short novels

The subject of love may not seem an appropriate topic of scientific discourse, for we prefer turning to poetry to learn something meaningful about love. Nonetheless, we find three texts on the subject in Freud's work, all of which underline an internal division in love. He discussed the contrast between the affectionate and sensual aspects of love, while Lacanian writers have supplemented by pointing to the division between pleasure and desire. This article illustrates these concepts with cases taken from the Danish author Henrik Pontoppidan, one of the most prominent Danish writers from the turn of the 19^th century. He is well-known for his novels and for his short novels. One of these, Nattevagt, from 1894, has been read by critics as a marital conflict between the painter Jørgen Hallager and his fragile wife Ursula Branth, who succumbs to the brutality of her husband. The author supplements this simple version of the story with aspects made visible through the idea of an internal division in sexuality, which Freud elaborated into his theory of the death drive around 1920. By way of introduction, a few words are said about Pontoppidan, focusing on the theme of love in his short novels. Following is a brief summary of the plot of Nattevagt. Finally a more detailed reading of the dialogue between the two protagonists, Jorgen and Ursula, opens the way for a psychoanalytic interpretation of the tragic outcome of their love.     

Seeing patterns in the noise

How do observers detect the presence of objects or features in visual images? Stochastic stimuli (for example, white noise) have become popular choices for providing a linear characterization of early sensory mechanisms. A recent paper by Neri and Heeger takes this type of methodology a step further, and succeeds in isolating and characterizing non-linear mechanisms responsible for the detection and identification of a specific visual target.     

Personal goals and personality traits among young adults: Genetic and environmental effects

To assess genetic and environmental contributions to personal goals, 1279 twins aged 20-26 filled in Personal Project Analysis and NEO-FFI inventories. Personal goals relating to education, the respondent’s own family, friends, property, travel and self showed primarily genetic and unique environmental effects, whereas goals related to parents and relatives showed both shared and unique environmental effects. The variation in goals related to health, work, hobbies and life philosophy was attributable to non-shared environmental effects. Openness to experience and personal goals related to family, education and property shared a significant amount of genetic influence. The same was true for extraversion and self-related goals, and agreeableness and goals related to property.