Affective neurobiological systems underlie emotional needs, interpersonal motivations and life themes from a biopsychosocial and contextual perspective

Efforts to spark the dialogue between affective neuroscience and psychotherapy are underway. A biopsychosocial and contextual approach may work as a framework to integrate environmental and genetic pressures regarding neurobiology, affective experiences, and interpersonal motivations. Contemporary conceptual and empirical findings suggest that underlying primary emotional brain processes may be several affective neurobiological systems (e.g., SEEKING/desire system or DISTRESS/separation system) associated with the human affective experience. Also, is suggested that it is through internal narrative processes that experience-based reflections lead to the higher-order symbolic meaning of specific life themes. Several theoretical models and psychotherapeutic approaches describe emotional needs and interpersonal motivational systems as essential to psychological well-being and mental health. Despite conceptual similarities between these constructs, theoretical approximations of emotional needs, interpersonal motivational systems and life themes are still lacking. Thus, a clear rationale for the underlying neural basis for emotional needs has not been made. In this sense, the present paper aims to make a brief theoretical approximation between neurobiology, needs, motivations and life themes. Several theoretical considerations are described along with empirical directions and future proposals.