Division of Gerontology, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2013 Aug 1;45:287-93. doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2012.08.020. Epub 2012 Sep 15.
The dynamics of most healthy physiological processes are complex, in that they are comprised of fluctuations with information-rich structure correlated over multiple temporospatial scales. Lipsitz and Goldberger (1992) first proposed that the aging process may be characterized by a progressive loss of physiologic complexity. We contend that this loss of complexity results in functional decline of the organism by diminishing the range of available, adaptive responses to the innumerable stressors of everyday life. From this relationship, it follows that rehabilitative interventions may be optimized by targeting the complex dynamics of human physiology, and by quantifying their effects using tools derived from complex systems theory. Here, we first discuss several caveats that one must consider when examining the functional and rehabilitative implications of physiologic complexity. We then review available evidence regarding the relationship between physiologic complexity and system functionality, as well as the potential for interventions to restore the complex dynamics that characterize healthy physiological function.
大多数健康生理过程的动态是复杂的，因为它们由具有丰富信息量的波动组成，这些波动在多个时空尺度上相关。Lipsitz 和 Goldberger（1992）首次提出，衰老过程的特征可能是生理复杂性的逐渐丧失。我们认为，这种复杂性的丧失会通过减少对日常生活中无数压力源的可用适应性反应范围，导致机体功能下降。由此可知，通过针对人类生理学的复杂动态进行康复干预，并使用复杂系统理论得出的工具来量化其效果，可以使康复干预得到优化。在这里，我们首先讨论了在研究生理复杂性的功能和康复意义时必须考虑的几个注意事项。然后，我们回顾了有关生理复杂性与系统功能之间关系的现有证据，以及恢复健康生理功能特征的复杂动态的干预潜力。
