ArticleFrontiers in psychology2022
"Death drive" scientifically reconsidered: Not a drive but a collection of trauma-induced auto-addictive diseases.
Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Updated Freudian drive theory: childhood trauma, epigenetics, serotonin and beta endorphin.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Prometheus unbound? Oceanic affectivity and the neuropsychodynamics of addiction.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Give me five! A modern perspective on addiction from the up-dated Freudian drive theory.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
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Abstract
Over the last 102 years, a lot of discussion was being held about the psychoanalytic conception of the "death drive," but still with inconclusive results. In this paper, we start with a brief review of Freud's conception, followed by a comprised overview of its subsequent support or criticisms. The core of our argument is a systematic review of current biochemical research about two proposed manifestations of the "death drive," which could hopefully move the discussion to the realm of science. It was already established that drive satisfaction leads to the secretion of beta-endorphins, and research evidence also shows that the same biochemical mechanisms get activated in the case of masochism and the gambling disorder but only if they are preceded by chronic frustration of the essential drives. We conclude that the actual situation is more complex than Freud hypothesized, and that a fundamental revision of the psychoanalytic drive theory is necessary.
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