Bochum Neuropsychoanalysis Group (BNG)

Description:

Our group is interested in studying the human psyche from a wide range of perspectives, reaching from the conscious and unconscious facets of feelings, fantasies, and self-perception, to basic processing at the neurophysiological level of brain functioning. We come from different professional backgrounds, working in- and outside of academic institutions as psychotherapists, philosophers, and cognitive neuroscientists. What unites us is a common interest in both neuroscience and the theory and practice of psychoanalysis. We believe that a dialogue between the different disciplines that study mind and brain offers the chance to gain insights that will eventually benefit not only research and theory but also as the practice of psychotherapy.

Projects

We attempt to operationalize repression using free association experiments as pioneered by Carl Gustav Jung. This experiment is then conducted with various modifications (including autobiographical conflict episodes and dreams) in healthy participants and patients. We have published several theoretical and empirical papers on this approach. In addition, we employ established paradigms to study memory inhibition as a potential mechanism underlying motivated forgetting in a larger scope.

We are currently developing a paradigm to investigate transference with neuroimaging methods.

We aim for a better understanding of the psychological processes and neural mechanisms leading to memory intrusions in cognitive paradigms and experimental models of posttraumatic stress disorder.

We study the neurobiological mechanisms of dreaming in connection with current theoretical accounts of memory consolidation and psychoanalysis.

We study emotion regulation and affective processing both clinically and experimentally.

We also discuss the relationship between psychoanalysis, cognitive psychology and neuroscience in our theoretical work.

Finally, we are interested in the neurobiological changes induced through psychotherapy.

Please look at our website for further information on group members and publications!

Group Coordinator:

Nikolai Axmacher
Email: bng@ruhr-uni-bochum.de

Website:

http://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/bng/index.html

Location:

Universitaetsstrasse 150
Bochum
NRW
44801
Germany

Meeting Schedule:

Neuropsychoanalysis Seminar: Each Thursday during the Semester term, 3:45 – 5:15pm.

 

Disclaimer: All affiliated Regional Groups must contain at least one active member of the International Neuropsychoanalysis Society to be listed on this website. The posting of information on Regional Groups does not imply any endorsement on the part of the Society of a group’s activities or philosophies. In addition, the Society is not a credentialing nor qualifying organization, and thus members of Regional Groups are not permitted to use their membership status for promotional purposes.