Stress and its sequelae: An active inference account of the etiological pathway from allostatic overload to depression

Arnaldo, Irene; Corcoran, Andrew W.; Friston, Karl J.; Ramstead, Maxwell J D

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104590

Cited by 19 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 212 publications

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“…By definition, maintaining allostasis sees the body in a state in which its vital systems are operating beyond their usual set points to maintain homeostatic equilibrium in the face of stress (Koob and Le Moal 2001). An agent's ability to avoid spending too long in these highly stressful allostatic states is termed allostatic control, and the maintenance of allostatic control has already been linked with the imperative to minimise surprise under the FEP and AIF (Arnaldo et al 2022;Deane et al 2020;Miller et al 2022). In other words, maintaining allostatic control is synonymous with the brain's fundamental imperative to maximise model evidence (Barrett et al 2016).…”

Section: Allostasismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The stress of overwhelming or chronic environmental stressors and prolonged environmental volatility results in the gradual breakdown and dysfunction of multiple physiological systems including the neuroendocrine system, immune system, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal systems, and sleep function (Koob and Le Moal 2001;Guidi et al 2021;Barrett et al 2016). Ultimately, these breakdowns have been associated with a myriad of negative health outcomes, including depression (Arnaldo et al 2022), cardiovascular illness and reduced cognitive function (Seeman et al 1997), and chronic pain (Rabey & Maloney 2022). In the rest of this section, we see how allostatic control has a more general importance, in underpinning subjective human wellbeing.…”

Section: Allostasismentioning

confidence: 99%

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Free-Energy Minimising Agents and Beneficial A.I.: Ambient Smart Environments, Allostasis, and Metacognitive Control

White¹,

Miller²

2023

Preprint

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Emerging forms of technology are beginning to change the ways that humans engage with and rely on their material environments. In this paper we focus on material interior environments that are infused with smart technology, which we call ambient smart environments (ASEs). ASEs can track their users, gather data, and intervene in shaping everyday opportunities for action. We argue that a traditional approach to theorising technology, using the language of affordances, focusing on what technology allows us to do, fails to fully capture the potential role ASEs could come to play in people’s lives. This is because a primary design characteristic of ASEs is the drive to dissolvetraditional user interfaces, and to have the technology recede into the background. We argue for a view of ASEs as a meta-affordance, actively shaping their user’s field of affordances. To develop our account, we draw on a wide range of theoretical cognitive science, including The Skilled Intentionality Framework and the Free Energy Principle. We argue that the true potential of ASEs lies in their capacity to intervene on an agent’s field of affordances, thus playing an integral role in the agent’s capacity to minimise free energy effectivity.

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Section: Allostasismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Allostasismentioning

confidence: 99%

Free-Energy Minimising Agents and Beneficial A.I.: Ambient Smart Environments, Allostasis, and Metacognitive Control

White¹,

Miller²

2023

Preprint

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“…The first wave of such work provided a predictive coding style treatment of interoception, the (conscious or unconscious) sensory processing of internal bodily states (Pezzulo, 2014;Seth, 2013; for precursors with less explicit emphasis on embodiment, see Gu et al, 2013;Seth et al, 2012). Subsequent elaborations of these interoceptive inference accounts have sought to explain how aberrant interoceptive processing and autonomic regulation might engender various psychopathologies (Owens et al, 2018;Paulus et al, 2019;Quadt et al, 2018;Smith et al, 2020), including depression (Arnaldo et al, 2022;Badcock et al, 2017;Barrett et al, 2016;Seth & Friston, 2016;Stephan et al, 2016) and anxiety-related disorders (Clark et al, 2018;Gerrans & Murray, 2020;Linson et al, 2020;Peters et al, 2017).…”

Section: Embodied Feelingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body as first teacher: The role of rhythmic visceral dynamics in early cognitive development

Corcoran¹,

Perrykkad²,

Feuerriegel³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Embodied cognition – the idea that mental states and processes should be understood in relation to one’s bodily constitution and interactions with the world – remains a controversial topic in the cognitive sciences. Recently, however, increasing interest in predictive processing theories amongst proponents and critics of embodiment alike has raised hopes of a reconciliation. This article sets out to appraise the unificatory potential of predictive processing, focusing in particular on embodied formulations of active inference. Our analysis suggests that most active inference accounts invoke weak, potentially trivial conceptions of embodiment; those making stronger claims do so independently of the theoretical commitments of the active inference framework. We suggest that a more compelling version of embodied active inference can be motivated by adopting a diachronic perspective on the way rhythmic physiological activity shapes neural development in utero. According to this visceral afferent training hypothesis, early-emerging physiological processes are essential not only for supporting the biophysical development of neural structures, but also for configuring the cognitive architecture these structures entail. Focusing in particular on the cardiovascular system, we propose three candidate mechanisms through which visceral afferent training might operate: (i) activity-dependent neuronal development, (ii) periodic signal modelling, and (iii) oscillatory network co-ordination.

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“…Thought-shapers can narrow or broaden the array of action-shapers. For instance, recent research (Arnaldo et al, 2022) has shown that once our allostatic load, that is, the stress on so-called allostatic setpoints, or stable reference points within the environment (Sterling et al, 1988) is exceeded, this can contribute to the development of disorders related to depression. These findings coincide partially with our concept of action-shapers that positively or negatively affect one's possibilities for taking action and/or performing acts effectively.…”

Section: Human Intentional Action: the Domino Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Action-Shapers and Their Neuro-Immunological Foundations

Paans¹,

Ehlen²

2022

Front. Psychol.

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Not all our intentions translate into actions, as our capacity to act may be influenced by a variety of mental and biochemical factors. In this article, we present a comprehensive account of how neuro-immunological processes affect our intentional abilities and our capacity to act. We do so by extending the theory of thought-shapers (TTS) through the notion of action-shapers and combining this theory with the essential embodiment thesis (EE). This thesis about the mind-body relation says that human minds are necessarily and completely embodied. Action-shapers dynamically constitute the action-space of individuals, affecting their capacity to take action or to select one course of action over another. We highlight the effects and interactions of neuro-immunological effective processes in the body to demonstrate how they shape the action-space. In this article, we consider neuro-immunological effective processes that influence the gut-brain axis, chronic stress, high levels of sugar intake, the amygdala and the effects of prolonged stress. We investigate the effects of these processes on the perception and on the capacity to form intentions and act on them. We conclude the paper by providing a concise account of action-shapers, in which we attempt to summarize the line of argumentation and provide suggestions for further research.

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Stress and its sequelae: An active inference account of the etiological pathway from allostatic overload to depression

Cited by 19 publications

References 212 publications

Free-Energy Minimising Agents and Beneficial A.I.: Ambient Smart Environments, Allostasis, and Metacognitive Control

Free-Energy Minimising Agents and Beneficial A.I.: Ambient Smart Environments, Allostasis, and Metacognitive Control

Body as first teacher: The role of rhythmic visceral dynamics in early cognitive development

Action-Shapers and Their Neuro-Immunological Foundations

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