Abstract
Attempts to revise the existing classifications of psychiatric disorders (DSM and ICD) continue and highlight a crucial need for the identification of biomarkers underlying symptoms of psychopathology. The present review highlights the benefits of using a Functional Constructivism approach in the analysis of the functionality of the main neurotransmitters. This approach explores the idea that behavior is neither reactive nor pro-active, but constructive and generative, being a transient selection of multiple degrees of freedom in perception and actions. This review briefly describes main consensus points in neuroscience related to the functionality of eight neurochemical ensembles, summarized as a part of the neurochemical model Functional Ensemble of Temperament (FET). None of the FET components is represented by a single neurotransmitter; all neurochemical teams have specific functionality in selection of behavioral degrees of freedom and stages of action construction. The review demonstrates the possibility of unifying taxonomies of temperament and classifications of psychiatric disorders and presenting these taxonomies formally and systematically. The paper also highlights the multi-level nature of regulation of consistent bio-behavioral individual differences, in line with the concepts of diagonal evolution (proposed earlier) and Specialized Extended Phenotype.
Highlights
That our bio-behavioral taxonomies include all of the numerous shades of consistent behavioural patterns (CBP) between temperament and psychopathology. This Theme Issue is focused on principles of bio-social complexity of behavioral regulation, and when it comes to complexity, much could be said, especially in regards to the regulation of human behavior
Details of the neurochemical systems of behavioral regulation were provided in this review in order to illustrate of their different functionality but did not cover everything that should be said about them
– to look for new formalisms of functional differentiation between systems of behavioral regulation; the Functional Ensemble of Temperament (FET) model is an example of using such formalisms, as illustrated in Table 1 and Figure 3
Summary
The author’s own search for mathematical formalisms of this complexity using existing models of non-linear dynamics and complex systems involved multiple approaches, including factor analysis [17, 18], multi-agent modeling of stochastic clustering [19,20,21], formal presentation of diversity [21] and analysis of functional differentiation [22, 23]. These approaches had some use, but overall current mathematics appeared to be insufficient for the formal description of natural systems of behavioral regulation. We use the abbreviation CBP for consistent bio-behavioral patterns (i.e., temperament traits and symptoms of psychopathology) and the expression behavioral alternatives, or behavioral elements that include motor actions and products of perception, images, thoughts, decisions, recalled elements, dispositions, programs of actions, etc. (i.e., all products of the activity of nervous system that are necessary to construct a behavioral act)
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