A psychoanalytic exploration into the memory and aesthetics of everyday life: Photographs, recollections, and encounters with loss

The project at hand explores some of the psychological functions of photography as both an everyday and an artistic cultural practice from a psychoanalytic perspective. It is proposed that, contrary to commonsensical opinion, photographs are not accurate depositories of memory, but rather function as a functional equivalent of screen memories, thus channeling the subject\u27s memory in ways that are objectively distorted and distorting, but psychologically meaningful and important; moreover, they are a special kind of screen memory in that they are often created pre-emptively and are physically instantiated. Additionally, it is suggested that, by dint of their materiality, photographs achieve a degree of autonomy from the purposes of their creators and viewers, with the result that they can also trigger unwanted and potentially traumatic recollections, along the lines of the Freudian notion of `deferred action\u27. Specifically, different ways in which photographs can enter into the experiencing and processing of loss are explored. It is proposed that photographs can either facilitate normal mourning or impede it. They can be used to either disavow loss, to repetitively fixate on it in a sadomasochistic manner, or to facilitate the transition to an acceptance of loss and moving on. Parallels are drawn between these various uses of photographs and three types of physical/emotionally charged objects: fetishes, transitional objects, and what I term `masochistic objects\u27. The paradox of the accrual of aesthetic value on certain photographs and not others is explored next. The attainment of aesthetic value is separated from the conscious intentions of the photographer, and is instead linked to certain underlying psychological parameters, primarily, the acceptance of the depressive position and of the separateness of the libidinal object, as well as the capacity to achieve a controlled surrender to primary-process functioning. These conceptualizations are illustrated by reference to specific photographs (taken by the author, who is also a recognized photographer), as well as through an analysis of several poems of the Greek poet Kiki Dimoula, in whose oeuvre photography is a prominent and recurrent theme

Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) Performance of Greek Preterm Infants: Comparisons With Full-Term Infants of the Same Nationality and Impact of Prematurity-Related Morbidity Factors

Background. Only a few studies have been conducted with the objective of creating norms of the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) for the assessment of gross motor development of preterm infants. The AIMS performance of preterm infants has been compared with that of the Canadian norms of full-term infants, but not with that of full-term infants of the same nationality. Moreover, the possible impact of prematurity-related morbidity factors on AIMS performance is unknown. Objectives. The aims of this study were: (1) to evaluate AIMS trajectory in a “large population of Greek preterm infants and create norms, (2) to compare it with the AIMS trajectory of Greek full-term infants, and (3) to examine the possible influence of neonatal morbidity on AIMS scores in the preterm sample. Design. This was a cross-sectional study. Methods. Mean AIMS scores were compared, per month (1-19), between 403 preterm infants (<= 32 weeks of age, corrected for prematurity) and 1,038 full-term infants. In preterm infants, the association of AIMS scores with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) of grade <= III, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and sepsis was assessed by hierarchical regression analysis. Results. Alberta Infant Motor. Scale scores were significantly lower in preterm infants than. in full-term infants. Mean AIMS scores in preterm infants were significantly associated with RDS (b= -1.93; 95% CI= -2.70, -1.16), IVH (b= -0.97; 95% CI= -1.69, -0.25), and ROP (b= -1.12; 95% CI= -1.99, -0.24) but not with BPD or sepsis in hierarchical regression analysis. Conclusions. Alberta Infant Motor Scale norms were created for Greek preterm infants. This study confirms that AIMS trajectories of preterm infants are below those of full-term infants of the same nationality. The influence of morbidity factors, including RDS, IVH, and ROP, should be taken into account when administering the AIMS in preterm infants