Section for Experimental Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
KOENIG Group, University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Psychophysiology. 2020 May;57(5):e13568. doi: 10.1111/psyp.13568. Epub 2020 Mar 19.
The Neurovisceral Integration Model (NIM) is one of the most influential psychophysiological models addressing the interplay between the autonomic (ANS) and central nervous system (CNS). In their groundbreaking conceptual work, integrating autonomic, attentional, and affective systems into a functional and structural network, Thayer & Lane laid the foundation for empirical research in the past two decades. The present paper provides a principal outline aiming to reflect and further elaborate on the model from a dynamic developmental perspective. The central question at hand is, how does neurovisceral integration develop (early in life)? By reviewing the existing evidence, it is illustrated that key components of the model, both, on a physiological and psychological level, undergo extensive change early in the course of life. This sensitive period of human development seems key for our understanding of the integrated action of the ANS and CNS in emotion across the lifespan. Early life events may interfere with the fine-tuned interplay of this shared neural circuitry resulting in long-term dysfunction and psychiatric illness. In the absence of longitudinal data covering the entire co-development of the ANS and CNS from early childhood to adolescence into early adulthood, it is suggested, that vagal activity and its normative increase in adolescence is a key premise for normative brain development on a structural and functional level, subsequent psychological functioning and adaptive regulation. Implications from this dynamic perspective and suggestions for future research in the field of developmental psychophysiology are discussed.
神经生理整合模型（NIM）是最具影响力的心理生理学模型之一，它探讨了自主神经系统（ANS）和中枢神经系统（CNS）之间的相互作用。在他们开创性的概念工作中，Thayer 和 Lane 将自主、注意和情感系统整合到一个功能和结构网络中，为过去二十年的实证研究奠定了基础。本文提供了一个主要的大纲，旨在从动态发展的角度反映和进一步阐述该模型。当前的核心问题是，神经生理整合是如何发展的（在生命早期）？通过回顾现有证据，本文说明了模型的关键组成部分，无论是在生理还是心理层面，在生命早期都经历了广泛的变化。人类发展的这个敏感时期似乎对于我们理解整个生命周期中 ANS 和 CNS 在情绪中的综合作用至关重要。早期生活事件可能会干扰这个共享神经回路的精细相互作用，导致长期功能障碍和精神疾病。由于缺乏涵盖从儿童早期到青少年早期再到成年早期的整个 ANS 和 CNS 共同发育的纵向数据，因此有人提出，迷走神经活动及其在青春期的正常增加是正常大脑发育的关键前提，包括结构和功能水平、随后的心理功能和适应性调节。本文从动态角度讨论了这一观点的影响，并为发展心理生理学领域的未来研究提出了建议。
