Oxytocin, Well-Being and Affect Regulation

This book brings together neuroscience and psychoanalysis to explain the complex interactions between neurobiological and psychological phenomena involved in the development of human attachment and affect regulation. The author reviews research from the burgeoning fields of affective neuroscience and neuropsychoanalysis to tell the story of how the discovery of a specific hormone - oxytocin - paved the way for the study of the neurobiological bases of emotions in a way that can contribute to integrate neuroscientific research into psychotherapy, especially for the treatment of anxiety disorders.

The book starts by presenting a brief history of neuroscience, spanning from the discovery of oxytocin, at the beginning of the 20th century, until the emergence of affective neuroscience and neuropsychoanalysis as new scientific fields at the turn of the 20th to the 21st century. Then it reviews the long tradition of psychoanalytic research on human attachment starting with John Bowlby’s seminal Attachment Theory and explains how these early findings have been complemented by neuroscientific and psychological research on brain development and affect regulation. Finally, the two last chapters of the book show how this prolific dialogue between neuroscience and psychoanalysis can contribute to the future of psychotherapy.

Oxytocin, Well-Being and Affect Regulation was originally published in Portuguese for the Brazilian market and this English edition for the international market is a revised version with two new additional chapters. It will be of interest to both students and professionals from different fields within the behavioral and health sciences, such as psychology and medicine, who will find in this book a brief and accessible introduction to key topics in the emerging fields of affective neuroscience and neuropsychoanalysis.

The translation of the original manuscript in Portuguese into English was done with the help of artificial intelligence. A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content.

Eliana Nogueira-Vale is a Brazilian clinical psychologist and neuroscientist with a master’s degree in clinical psychology and a doctorate in Neuroscience and Behavior from the Institute of Psychology (IP) at the University of São Paulo (USP) (2019). Principal Researcher in Pilot Project: Natural Stimulation of Oxytocin and Affect Regulation: an investigation with middle-aged women in the city of São Paulo, Federal University of São Paulo (2010). Principal Researcher of the Thesis: Oxytocin, attachment and sleep in people with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (USP, 2019). Studies in Affective Neuroscience focusing on Oxytocin, Attachment and Affect Regulation (since 1997). Member of the Mind-Body Group of the Brazilian Society of Psychoanalysis of São Paulo (2005-2007); of The International Neuropsychoanalysis Society (since 2001); of the Anesthesiology Pain Control Group, Medicine School of USP (from 2007-2015); of the SuCor Laboratory - Subject and Body, Clinical Psychology of IP USP (2015-2019). Principal Author of Oxytocin & well-being as promoters of affect regulation and homeostasis: a neuroscientific review. Psico, Porto Alegre, v. 51, n. 2, p. 1-12, abr.-jun. 2020. [Os rumos da psicanálise no Brasil: um estudo sobre a transmissão psicanalítica]. The pathways of psychoanalysis in Brazil: a study on psychoanalytic transmission (Ed. Escuta, 2003), of [Ocitocina, bem-estar e regulação do afeto] Oxytocin, well-being and affect regulation (Ed. Manole, 2022), and several chapters in other books, as well as well as scientific articles in journals. Private Clinical Practice (since 1975).