Is the Brainstem Really Sufficient for a Consciousness That Would Have Interested Freud?

Abstract

This is an interesting Target Article from Mark Solms, and I am grateful for having been asked to comment on it. However, I have to disagree with some of its main arguments—for example, that the brainstem is sufficient for a form of consciousness that is relevant to the Freudian model of the mind (which depends on the notion of conflict between the ego and the id), and that the id can be associated with the upper brainstem, and the ego with the cortex. I have argued that these ideas seem too crude and are lacking in a sufficient evidence base.

Keywords:

• brainstem
• consciousness
• cortex
• ego
• Freud
• id