From Body to Mind: Fetus–Child Development — 1st Conference on Neuropsychoanalysis of Infancy

Morning Session

Chair: A. Clarici

10.00 A. Clarici: Opening

10.30-11.15 K. Fotopolou: Sentience and the Breast: How Psychophysiological Parent-Infant Interactions gives Rise to the Psychological Self

11.15-12.00 I. Barzel-Raveh: The process and the transformational mechanism of imitation: From Chaos to structure, free will, and Creativity

12.00-13:00 Audience Discussion

Afternoon Session 1st part

Chair: Y. Salz

14.00 Y. Salz: Opening

14.15-15.00 R. Spagnolo: Two bodies-two brains relationship

15.00-15.45 C. Alberini: Learning and memory in early life and the biological basis of individuality

Afternoon Session 2nd part

16.00-16.45 G. Esposito: The Synchronising Brain in Early Development: Pathways to Attachment, Regulation, and Social Understanding

16.45-17.30 P. Moore: Does the foetus dream? Sleep organization from foetus to childhood

17.30-18.30 Audience discussion

Biographies and Abstracts

Andrea Clarici (MD)

Bio: Psychiatrist and psychoanalytic psychotherapist based in Trieste. Professor of Advanced Dynamic Psychology and Child Neuropsychiatry at the University of Trieste (UNITS). International Liaison Officer for the Society of Neuropsychoanalysis. He has edited the Italian translations of seminal works by Jaak Panksepp and Mark Solms (including The Consciousness of the Id and The Hidden Spring).

• Opening Remarks: He will retrace the contributions of developmental neuropsychoanalysis from 2000 to the present, highlighting why infant research has become a priority for the movement in recent years, culminating in the Rome 2026 Congress.

Cristina Alberini (PhD)

Bio: Professor at the Center for Neural Science, New York University. She specialises in the molecular mechanisms of long-term memory and has received numerous awards (NIH-MERIT, Golgi Medal). She is a certified psychoanalyst at NPAP, New York.

• Abstract: Alberini's research demonstrates that early-life experiences are not forgotten (infantile amnesia) but stored in a latent, implicit form. These early "schemas" influence adult learning and constitute the biological basis of individuality and the Freudian unconscious.

Rosa Spagnolo (MD)

Bio: Child neuropsychiatrist and psychoanalyst (SPI/IPA). Lecturer at Tor Vergata University, Rome. Author of The Dynamic Self in Psychoanalysis (2022) and editor of international columns on psychoanalysis in the age of neuroscience.

• Abstract: Explores foetal brain development as a process highly sensitive to the maternal uterine environment. The "two bodies–two brains" interaction during gestation is fundamental for understanding future cognitive and emotional capacities.

Irith Barzel-Raveh (PhD)

Bio: Clinical psychologist and supervisor, founder of the Israeli Forum for Neuropsychoanalysis. Expert in neuro-developmental infant assessment, influenced by the work of Panksepp and Solms.

• Abstract: Reconceptualises imitation as a primary learning mechanism that begins in utero (General Movements). Through imitation of the caregiver, the infant "maps the other" to build a cohesive Self and reduce uncertainty (free energy).

Aikaterini Fotopoulou (PhD)

Bio: Professor of Psychodynamic Neuroscience at University College London (UCL). She directs the ERB Centre and studies the "Bodily Self" and the importance of affective touch.

• Abstract: Analyses how the allostatic interaction between parent and child shapes the psychological Self. Affective touch and breastfeeding are key drivers for the development of brain circuits and the prevention of somatic and eating disorders.

Gianluca Esposito (PhD)

Bio: Director of the Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences at the University of Trento. Expert in the neurobiology of attachment and social interaction through hyperscanning techniques (fMRI, fNIRS).

• Abstract: Introduces the concept of the "synchronised brain". Neural synchrony between caregiver and child, influenced by stress and attachment patterns, serves as scaffolding for the development of subjectivity and empathy.

Paul Moore (PhD)

Bio: Psychologist and psychotherapist in Dublin, Course Director at Trinity College. He collaborates with Oliver Turnbull's laboratory on memory and psychoanalytic treatment of amnesia.

• Abstract: Does the foetus dream? Moore analyses prenatal sleep organisation not as narrative experience but as endogenous stimulation (proto-mentality) necessary for brain development, linking neuroscientific data to the theories of Freud, Klein, and Winnicott.