A Note on the Indelible
N. Fischer
Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association February 1, 2018 DOI: 10.1177/0003065117752892 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | An 80-year-old man |
| Key findings | The author speculates that an 80-year-old man's recurrent nightmare of an irremovable gummy substance in his mouth rekindles a distressful neonatal breastfeeding experience stored in his earliest pre-representational memory, and argues that clinical reports of preverbal infant trauma can elucidate the earliest infant-mother dyad. |
Abstract
An eighty-year-old man reports a recurrent nightmare involving a gummy substance being stuffed into his mouth and, despite his anxiety-driven efforts, being unable to remove it. A narrative of his neonatal years is developed and it is speculated that this nightmare is a rekindling of his very distressful breast feeding experience—an experience memorialized in his earliest pre-representational memory. Rich clinical reports of preverbal infant trauma help elucidate the earliest infant-mother dyad.