Brain Science as the Analytic Fourth: Commentary on Paper by Michael J. Gerson

Abstract

I support Michael J. Gerson’s aim to further the dialogue between neuroscience and psychoanalysis, especially in light of increasingly sophisticated brain imaging. Enhanced capabilities for simultaneous brain measurements inch interpersonal neurobiology ever closer to the psychoanalytic concept of intersubjective space. While it is inherently meaningful to distinguish between self and identity using lenses of brain science, Gerson’s argument would be significantly bolstered by a developmental perspective.

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Notes on contributors

Terry Marks-Tarlow

Terry Marks-Tarlow, Ph.D., teaches affective neuroscience at Reiss Davis Child Study Center and is a research associate at the Institute of Fractal Research in Kassel, Germany. Her books include Psyche’s Veil: Psychotherapy, Fractals and Complexity (2008, Routledge); Clinical Intuition in Psychotherapy (2012; Norton); and, most recently, Awakening Clinical Intuition: An Experiential Workbook (2014, Norton). Dr. Marks-Tarlow illustrates her own books and has twice curated and produced the art exhibition “Mirrors of the Mind: The Psychotherapist as Artist.” She is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Santa Monica, California.