Schizophrenia as a psychosomatic illness: An interdisciplinary approach between Lacanian psychoanalysis and the neurosciences

Abstract

According to Lacan's theory of schizophrenia (as well as other delirious forms of psychosis), under certain conditions the signifying function breaks down, thus turning the schizophrenic individual's world into one in which a number of events become enigmatic and signal him or her. The schizophrenic individual tries to deal with these signs that besiege him or her either by means of an interpretative attitude (a stable delusional mood) or by apathy. These two types of responses correspond with the stereotypical (and mood) processes by which the schizophrenic individual attempts to avoid the distress provoked by the enigmatic desire of the Other, while simultaneously corresponding with psychosomatic processes of the brain organ.