Psychobiological Mechanisms in the Pathogenesis of the Neuroses

Abstract

This presentation of the psychobiological system has attempted to describe in physiological terms the normal homeostatic mechanisms that insure the physical and psycho-logical survival of the individual. In keeping with the general principles of homeostasis, most physiological and psychological mechanisms are controlled by feedforward-feedback mechanisms that maintain the operation of any particular function at its optimal level. “Optimal” almost always means “moderate” since the human physical and mental organism is usually damaged when the operation of any function goes to one extreme or the other. This basic principle of biological homeostasis was described earlier in this volume in Chapter 3 where the inverted U-shaped curve was cited as prototypical for emotional reactivities (see Fig. 3-1). Since then it has been presented in several situations as governing optimal performance for most biological systems.