A Luso-Brazilian neuroscientist and psychoanalyst created an unprecedented theory on dealing with the psyche's trauma, based on "primitive memory," challenging classical studies.
Fabiano de Abreu has submitted his revolutionary technique in a paper titled "Psychoconstruction - The Architecture of the Human Mind: From Memory through the pituitary protected by the sphenoid to the Mitochondrial Eva," to the International Journal of Development Research (IJDR), published last November 24. Since then, de Abreu's theory has been approved by a university in the United States, a UNESCO institute in Brazil, and has attracted significant attention for challenging classical psychological theories such as the works of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan.
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The Psychoconstruction Theory
Fabiano de Abreu's theory inquires about the possibility of treating fears and traumas of an adult from a mapping of the primitive memory and analyses of the adult's current personality. The theory defines the primitive memory as something present in both a person's mind and his DNA, as a "genetic stamp" that predetermines our responses toward specific situations.
After discarding that the patient is not suffering from a physical condition, such as brain injury, de Abreu suggests that this primitive memory can be the key to addressing psychological trauma.
"By finding the nature of the problem that is stored in the unconscious, we also evaluate the primitive memory based on ancestry (experiences of their ancestors) and, from then on, trace the entire course of treatment necessary and appropriate for the patient," the Luso-Brazilian psychoanalyst explained.
Guiding the Patient into Forming An Engram
"We can make the patient create an engram through the memory brought to the consciousness of the reason for the trauma or fear as if it were a new mark," de Abreu said. He also suggested that as a methodology, the problem's nature be brought forward to the patient's consciousness. This engram - a theoretical unit of cognitive data - will impose on top of this traumatic event's vague memory and help the patient ease the associated pain.
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Fabiano de Abreu also argues that the human being can form memories, events and even create entire images in a form similar to a film, with abstract and unreal elements resembling actual memories from those who actually lived through the same experience. Additionally, he notes that bringing this traumatic experience into the patient's consciousness somehow softens the blow or the adverse effects related to the memory. However, "the true cure lies in behavior," he stressed.
"A trauma from the past triggers dysfunctions in our neurotransmitters and leads us according to the personality," de Abreu said. "A therapy based on the understanding of how the patient's organism works, with the details of its personality, can dictate behaviors and habits that linked to a diet according to the patient's genetics can not only alleviate the problem but also provide the "definitive cure."
More About Fabiano de Abreu
Fabiano de Abreu Rodrigues is a Luso-Brazilian (of mixed Portuguese and Brazilian ancestry) journalist with a Ph.D. and Master's in neuroscience and psychology from the Emil Brunner World University US, as well as the Université Libre des Sciences de l'Homme in Paris, France. He has also pursued postgraduate studies at Brazil's Faveni University, specializing in neurons' electrical properties.
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