Psychoanalytic affect theory in the light of contemporary neurobiological findings

This paper reviews the parallel evolution of the psychoanalytic theory of affects, the neuropsychological theories leading to a contemporary affect theory from that perspective, and the neurobiological research on the brain structures and functions involved in affect activation. The paper concludes with a theoretical proposal that integrates neurobiological findings and contemporary affect theory, and illustrates the utilization of this model in the psychotherapeutic situation.