[The network mechanisms of physiological regulation]

Area of Science:

• Systems Biology
• Computational Neuroscience
• Bioinformatics

Context:

• Regulatory processes in organisms are complex and involve multiple interconnected systems.
• Traditional approaches often study regulatory systems in isolation.
• A network perspective offers a more holistic view of biological organization.

Purpose:

• To review the connectionist or network approach for understanding biological regulatory processes.
• To introduce the concept of the organism as an integrative network system.
• To propose a novel approach called associative control for organism state management.

Summary:

• The review examines network models of neural, genetic, immune, and endocrine regulation.
• It presents the organism as an integrative network system.
• A new method, associative control, is proposed for managing organism states.

Impact:

• The proposed associative control approach has potential applications in medicine.
• Specific areas of interest include psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, and alternative medicine.
• This work may foster new therapeutic strategies by leveraging network principles.