Evolution of Psychoanalytic Interactions and Conflicts in Vertebrates

In this article, it is attempted to extend the Freudian psychoanalysis as the interactions and conflicts of the realities or memories with the instinctual drives to the vertebra subphylum in ecology and evolution. During waking, as learning and memory occurring in all vertebrates, it is obvious that the interactions and conflicts of realities or memories with instinctual drives are present in all vertebrate animals in waking in ecology. As to the rapid eye movement (REM) dream sleep, it is involved in processing the emotional memories, while disrupting the emotional balance toward depression. Recently, it was sketchily depicted the evolution of REM sleep as the early acquisition of atonic functions in reptiles, ostrich, and platypus, responsible for reduction of muscular tone and improvement of muscular efficiency, resulting in reduction in motivation from drives; the later addition of emotional memory processing in all mammals with desynchronized forebrain sleep; and the last addition of sexual drive dissipation in humans; so as to gradually establish the interactions and conflicts of learned memories with disinhibited drives during REM sleep in evolution. As to the slow-wave sleep (SWS), it was early demonstrated by Cai (Physiology & Behavior, 50, 53-60, 1991) as ameliorating the depression caused by accumulated emotional memories, supplementing a new half story neglected by Freudian psychoanalysis. It is well known that SWS is conserved in all higher vertebrates including mammals, birds and some reptiles, so are the functions of SWS supplemental to psychoanalysis. Herein, it is briefly demonstrated the evolution of psychoanalytic interactions and conflicts in vertebrates.