A neuropsychoanalytic perspective on substance use disorder

Neuropsychoanalysis

Abstract

This article discusses the views of neuropsychoanalysis on the etiology of substance use disorder. Neuropsychoanalysis explores the relationship between recent advances in neuroscience and psychoanalytic models of of the human mind. It revises psychoanalysis' perspective on disturbances in human development and functioning based on a new understanding of how the brain works. Neuropsychoanalysis' views on the etiology of addiction disorders grow out of affective neuroscience and the seven emotional drives identified by neuroscientist Jak Panksepp. The paper discusses those emotional drives that contribute most to the formation of addiction. It also analyses the similarities between depression and addiction and reviews recent empirical research on the relationship between childhood trauma, emotional drives and personality structure. Finally, a conceptual neuropsychoanalytic model of the etiology of addiction disorders and implications for treatment with psychotherapy are discussed.