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Published on: December 16, 2022
The human biology--saturated with experience.
Linn Getz1, Anna Luise Kirkengen, Elling Ulvestad
1General Practice Research Unit, Department of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 8905, 7491 Trondheim, Norway. linngetz@med.is
Summary
Human experiences and relationships are biologically incorporated, influencing health and disease. Understanding this mind-body connection is crucial for medical practice and societal well-being.
Area of Science:
- Integrative medicine
- Psychoneuroimmunology
- Systems biology
Background:
- Humans are complex organisms seeking meaning through self-reflection, relationships, and goals.
- Integrating knowledge on experience, self-awareness, relationships, and values into health and disease is a medical challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize new scientific knowledge on the interplay between life experiences and human biology.
- To explore how biographical information is incorporated into the human organism and impacts health outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Theory-guided synthesis of recent scientific literature.
- Inclusion of research from epigenetics, psychoneuroendocrinoimmunology, stress research, and systems biology.
- Analysis of articles and books linking life history (biography) with the human body (biology).
Main Results:
- Biographical information, including experienced meaning and relationships, is biologically integrated.
- Epigenetics demonstrates the body's adaptive potential to environmental and experiential contexts.
- Existential stressors can disrupt physiological adaptation and brain structures, increasing disease vulnerability.
- Social connection and acknowledgment promote health and recovery.
Conclusions:
- Traditional biomedical approaches overlook the medical significance of subjective experience.
- A paradigm shift is needed in medical theory and practice to incorporate the impact of experience on health.
- Reorientation is necessary for both individual patient care and public health strategies.
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