Focus: Linguaggi, metodi e riflessioni cliniche
V. 36 N. 3 (2025)
Passato, presente e futuro dei disturbi di conversione: una comprensione e ridefinizione neuropsicologica dell’unità corpo-cervello-mente
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All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Pubblicato: 23 dicembre 2025
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I disturbi di conversione hanno accompagnato la storia della medicina dai tempi di Ippocrate e solo con Charcot, Freud e Breuer vengono “codificati”: i sintomi isterici non hanno cause organiche dirette, ma sono la somatizzazione di un disturbo psichico profondo, originato da un evento traumatico e inaccessibile alla consapevolezza del paziente. Da queste definizioni sono trascorsi oltre cento anni. Il disturbo di conversione appare essersi esso stesso convertito in nuovi sintomi, il che rende necessaria una ridefinizione ermeneutica ed al contempo una ri-comprensione da un’ottica più ampia, offerta non solo dalle recenti scoperte neuroscientifiche, ma soprattutto dalle nuove implicazioni e dalle cornici teoriche complessive che queste emergenze comportano. Attraverso una ricostruzione del contesto storico-sociale delle varie definizioni e manifestazioni del disturbo di conversione, e attraverso un parallelo con i disturbi e le patologie psicosomatiche, viene qui proposta un’interpretazione unitaria di confine per entrambe. Si manifesta con chiarezza un unico sistema corpo-cervello da cui emerge una mente incarnata. Il disturbo di conversione può quindi essere ri-compreso come un “messaggio” sullo stato della persona “a sua insaputa”, e la psicanalisi, intesa come “cura della parola”, può essere la via per dis-velare e comprendere un dialogo corpo-cervello-mente interrotto.
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Passato, presente e futuro dei disturbi di conversione: una comprensione e ridefinizione neuropsicologica dell’unità corpo-cervello-mente. (2025). Ricerca Psicoanalitica, 36(3). https://doi.org/10.4081/rp.2025.1047
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