Psychophysical Correlation

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Psychophysical correlation (synonym: principle of complementarity of body and soul) is an interaction between physical and psychological facts. The interdependent relationship between physical and psychological phenomena is used in empirical and scientific research as a term that deliberately distinguishes itself from the questions of the mind -body problem in the philosophy of mind.

Basic requirement of psychosomatic medicine

Psychophysical correlation or control loop on the animal level

The basic requirement of the psychophysical correlation states that the physical constitution determines the subjective well-being and, in particular, physical damage can trigger subjective complaints ( upward effect ). Conversely, psychological conditions can determine the physical condition positively and negatively and, in particular, disturbances of the subjective psychological well-being (mental states) cause physical lesions (downward effect), see Fig. The concept of psychophysical correlation is based on the hypothesis that the psyche is not an immaterial one Substance is, but manifests itself through physical processes that are in principle accessible to neurophysiological research. This requirement is expressly valid in psychophysiology . The model of this neurophysiological correlation is the neuronal excitation circuit . In this respect, the term psyche differs from that of the soul , as the psyche always refers to a physical and scientifically tangible principle, as is also expressed in the terms psychology and psychiatry as branches of a scientifically oriented science. In particular, this also requires the application of scientific research methods. There is expressly no mention of pastoral care . In this respect, pastoral care should not be confused with psychotherapeutic practice . This attempt at a conceptual demarcation is not about ideological partisanship or hidden spiritualism , but about very concrete problems from everyday medical practice. B. is about the distinction between organic and functional ailments .

Functional disorders of the organs

The fact that physical injuries or damage can lead to a functional disorder of the organs is understandable without explanation. - It is more difficult to assess psychological influences on the activity of the organs, although the phenomenon as such is generally known. Not only credible and z. T. specifically objectifiable gastrointestinal disorders, heart disorders, vasomotor disorders , secretion disorders, hearing disorders, voice disorders, menstrual disorders (absence or premature occurrence of menstrual bleeding), but also neurological findings such as paralysis, loss of sensitivity, tics, tremors, dizziness, etc. . U. traceable to psychological influences ( downward effects ). Both certain experiences or persistent states of mind come into question here, such as B. Hypochondriac Disorders . Although these influences are all too obvious, they are often misunderstood as such. This is the case as a heuristic problem with many functional syndromes . Be it that the patient himself keeps it away from consciousness and perceives it as something strange and “almost like a physical illness”, or it may be that the examiner feels called to search for an organic cause without looking into another origin to think. In the first case, the so-called somatization tendency of the patient, the examiner likes to speak of organ neurosis . The second case often results in time-consuming, complex and ultimately unsuccessful investigation procedures.

Variants of psychophysical correlation

Psychophysical correlation describes an interaction between psychological and physical phenomena and thus represents a principle of the totality of organic and functional aspects. The term complementarity between body and soul goes back to Niels Bohr and means the addition of differing conceptual systems similar to the various models of light ( wave theory of light and corpuscle theory ). Different aspects of the psyche and the body are spoken of. This approach could be illustrated using the example of a mountain that looks different from different valleys, but which is always one and the same mountain regardless of these different perspectives. In a similar way, the psychological and physical aspects should also be judged as complementary. - A distinction must be made between this and psychophysical parallelism . This is a philosophical teaching. An interaction between body and soul as in the psychophysical correlation is not meant by psychophysical parallelism. - In purely conceptual terms, a principle of opposition between psychic and somatic processes is often in use ( dualism ). On the other hand, there is often the principle of equality or a monistic conception . Albert Wellek outlined the relationship between monism and dualism with the formula: "Monism is theory, dualism is experience." This corresponds to the experience of conflict between body and soul, see → functional syndromes . In contrast to a metaphysics of the soul , the principle of equality in the sense of a physiological concept emphasizes the meaning of psyche one-sided, but clearly, namely as synonymous with conscious or conscious perceptions and sensations . There is no fundamental difference between physical and emotional reactions. Both are the result of not only endocrine and neural processes and differ only in the quality of consciousness .

Classic example

A classic example of the psychophysical correlation is the ballad vom Erlkönig, as it was translated by Goethe in poetry and by various musicians such as u. a. edited by Franz Schubert and Franz Liszt . If one assumes that the father presented his son to the doctor because of a febrile illness, it is easy to imagine that additional experiences of fear during the ride home had an unfavorable influence on and intensified the clinical picture. The tragic death of the child would then be seen as an increasingly worsening cycle ( vicious circle ) of a psychophysical correlation.

Web links

Literature on the mind-body problem

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Thure von Uexküll : Basic questions of psychosomatic medicine. Rowohlt Taschenbuch, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1963, p. 7 ff. Introduction - This is a “horror of philosophizing doctors”. The demand is made: “Shoemaker stick to your last”. Speculative presuppositions must be in agreement with the results of natural science and especially of physiology , which, however, as sciences cannot do without conceptual tools and thus rational psychology .
  2. ↑ Thure von Uexküll et al. (Ed.): Psychosomatic Medicine. 3. Edition. Urban & Schwarzenberg, Munich 1986, ISBN 3-541-08843-5 , pp. 24, 26, 613, 732, 773, 1286, 1288.
  3. ↑ The somatic disorders in their dependence on the soul. In: Karl Jaspers : General Psychopathology . 9th edition. Springer, Berlin 1973, ISBN 3-540-03340-8 , p. 200 ff.
  4. ↑ Albert Wellek : The body-soul problem and the wholeness of the person. In: A. Däumling (Ed.): Seeleleben und Menschenbild. Festschrift for the 60th birthday of Philipp Lersch . 1958, pp. 11-25
  5. ↑ Mind- body problem. In: Wilhelm Karl Arnold et al. (Hrsg.): Lexikon der Psychologie . Bechtermünz Verlag, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-86047-508-8 , Sp. 1225 ff.