Hierarchical control systems for the regulation of physiological homeostasis and affect: Can their interactions modulate mood and anhedonia?

Publication date: Available online 20 August 2019Source: Neuroscience & Biobehavioral ReviewsAuthor(s): Otto Muzik, Vaibhav A. DiwadkarABSTRACTPredominant concepts assert that conscious willful processes do not assert a significant influence on autonomic functions associated with physiological homeostasis (e.g., thermal regulation). The singular purpose of this review is to promote a reappraisal of concepts regarding the circumscribed role of hierarchical control systems. To effect this reappraisal, we assess the interaction between top-down and bottom-up regulatory mechanisms, specifically by highlighting the intersection between the “physiological” (specifically thermoregulatory pathways) and the “psychological” (specifically mood/anhedonia related processes). This reappraisal suggests that the physiological and psychological processes can interact in unanticipated ways, and is grounded in multiple lines of recent experimental evidence. For example, behavioral techniques that through a combination of hormesis (forced breathing, cold exposure) and meditation appear to exert unusual effects on homeostatic function (cold tolerance) and suppression of aberrant auto-immune responses. The molecular correlates of these effects (the putative release of endogenous cannabinoids and endorphins) may exert salutary effects on mood/anhedonia, even more significant than those exerted by cognitive behavioral techniques or meditation alone. By focusing on this interaction, we presen...
Source: Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research