Embodied neurology: an integrative framework for neurological disorders.

Patrick Freund,Dominik R Bach,Klaas E Stephan,Karl Friston,Siawoosh Mohammadi,Bogdan Draganski,John Ashburner,Armin Curt,Nikolaus Weiskopf,Zoltan Nagy,Martin E Schwab,Gunther Helms,Alan J Thompson

doi:10.1093/brain/aww076

Abstract

From a systems biology perspective, the brain and spinal cord are interwoven with the body: they are 'embodied'. Freund et al. propose an integrative framework based on biophysical models that aims to characterize neurological disorders and minimize their impact on patients by considering functional interactions between supra-spinal, spinal and peripheral regions simultaneously.

Highlights

From a systems biology perspective, the brain and spinal cord are interwoven with the body, through afferent and efferent synaptic connections—they are literally ‘embodied’ (Adams et al, 2013)
Neurologists appreciate the embodied nature of neurological disorders in terms of diagnosis, classification and their understanding of the underlying pathophysiology. They routinely use a combination of physical examinations in conjunction with physiological, biochemical and anatomical measures of the peripheral and central nervous system
Standard neurological assessments often fail to distinguish between pathogenic and compensatory processes. This state of affairs calls for a better understanding of neurological disease within a formal framework that links pathology to phenomenology. We suggest that such a framework should pay special attention to the embodied nature of the nervous system and the implicit pathophysiological and compensatory processes that can be present throughout the neuroaxis

Summary

Introduction

From a systems biology perspective, the brain and spinal cord are interwoven with the body, through afferent and efferent synaptic connections—they are literally ‘embodied’ (Adams et al, 2013). These advances—together with preclinical research—constitute the three tenets of embodied neurology: biophysical modelling, quantitative physiological measures (with an emphasis on non-invasive neuroimaging) and preclinical research on basic mechanisms.

Results

Conclusion