From primordial inscription to word representation*

This work seeks to examine two aspects of the passage from the somato-sensory function to the psyche, in an attempt to explore in greater detail the construction of mental representations. The first aspect is the primordial inscription, which ends in the formation of a pictogram. This is an attempt to represent the "thing". The relevance of this work stems from the fact that the number of patients with difficulties in representation is increasing in clinical work. The second aspect addressed is word representation, which is necessary for the expression of meanings and for the development of a signifying chain, an essential element in the establishment of mental representations. Two questions arose during the writing of this work. The first: What enables a word to be incorporated in the psychic apparatus, with the functions of denoting, expressing and performing, thus achieving its relational and representational potential? The second and more important question: What enables words to come together and form the most varied and complex thoughts?