%0 Generic
%A Lissek, Thomas
%C Heidelberg
%D 2025
%F heidok:36145
%R 10.11588/heidok.00036145
%T Maladaptation diseases as disorders of goal state integration and intraorganismal individuation
%U https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/36145/
%X The present work introduces the hypothesis that various human maladaptation diseases including addiction, cancer, autoimmunity, fibrosis, depression, chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder share a universal functional pattern in that they are all caused by defects in goal state integration of physiological subsystems into whole-organism goal states and by the resulting emergence of new levels of individuality within the organism. In this framework, a general mechanism in ontogenetic maladaptation is the intraorganismal individuation of subsystems via physiological adaptation mechanisms, which results in these systems becoming uncoupled from the rest of the organism and pursuing a hyperoptimization of their own goals at the cost of whole organism health. A central mechanism for mediating continued dysfunction in these disorders is the formation and maintenance of maladaptive memories. A potential universal therapeutic principle for maladaptation disorders is to provide physiological integration pressure to force subsystems to integrate back into the functional organization of the whole organism.