The Influence of Neuroscience on the Theory and Approaches to Panic Disorder and the Impact of Trauma

ABSTRACT

Our minds operate within the potentialities and limits of certain biologically based systems. Problems in the functioning of these systems, in conjunction with environmental pressures, can lead to psychopathology. A better understanding of these systems through the neuroscientific ideas of Jaak Panksepp and Antonio Damasio informs psychoanalytic conceptions of and approaches to panic disorder and trauma. Of particular relevance are systems that translate somatic states to emotions and symbolized representations, those that identify mental states in self and others, and those involving aggression, anxiety, and attachment. A series of recommendations regarding treatment interventions are made based on these ideas.