A Disruption of Extended Consciousness and its Effect on Autobiography in Neuropsychoanalysis with Emphasis on the Antonio Damasio's View

In our era, psychoanalysis has aligned itself with the advancements in neuroscience to enhance its effectiveness. Neuroscience, benefiting from its objective stance, has provided a solid foundation for re-evaluating psychoanalytic hypotheses. Awareness is considered a complex and abstract concept shared between neuroscience and psychoanalysis, falling under cognitive and mental function-related categories. Today, most neuroscientists, including Antonio Damasio, focus on the issue of consciousness. Damasio views consciousness as the product of a vast neuronal network. Therefore, this research aims to answer the following questions: In non-material consciousness—the sense of identity we have of our own existence-which parts of the brain are involved, and what neural processes are associated with them? Furthermore, what psychological consequences does consciousness impairment entail for an individual? Using content analysis, this study briefly examines Damasio’s perspectives on consciousness. Damasio does not consider consciousness to be merely an awareness of internal states. He categorizes consciousness into two types: core consciousness and extended consciousness. Core consciousness provides a momentary sense of self. It occurs when the brain generates a nonverbal and imagistic report of how an individual is affected by an object during processing. Extended consciousness, on the other hand, gives an individual a detailed sense of self, forming their autobiographical self. This process depends on higher prefrontal structures, and any damage to these structures leads to executive dysfunction, resulting in behavioral imbalance. Such impairments prevent the expression of certain emotions and feelings that naturally flow within consciousness.