A New Integrative Theory of Brain-Body-Ecosystem Medicine: From the Hippocratic Holistic View of Medicine to Our Modern Society

Diego Guidolin, Deanna Anderlini, Guido Maura, Manuela Marcoli, Pietro Cortelli, Giovanna Calandra-Buonaura, Amina S. Woods and Luigi F. Agnati
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Diego Guidolin: Department of Neuroscience, University of Padova, 35122 Padova, Italy
Deanna Anderlini: Centre for Sensorimotor Performance, The University of Queensland, 4072 Brisbane, Australia
Guido Maura: Department of Pharmacy and Center of Excellence for Biomedical Research, University of Genova, 16126 Genoa, Italy
Manuela Marcoli: Department of Pharmacy and Center of Excellence for Biomedical Research, University of Genova, 16126 Genoa, Italy
Pietro Cortelli: Department of Biomedical and NeuroMotor Sciences (DIBINEM), University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Giovanna Calandra-Buonaura: Department of Biomedical and NeuroMotor Sciences (DIBINEM), University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Amina S. Woods: Structural Biology Unit, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Drug Abuse-Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD 9000, USA
Luigi F. Agnati: Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41124 Modena, Italy

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 17, 1-20

Abstract: Humans are increasingly aware that their fate will depend on the wisdom they apply in interacting with the ecosystem. Its health is defined as the condition in which the ecosystem can deliver and continuously renew its fundamental services. A healthy ecosystem allows optimal interactions between humans and the other biotic/abiotic components, and only in a healthy ecosystem can humans survive and efficiently reproduce. Thus, both the human and ecosystem health should be considered together in view of their interdependence. The present article suggests that this relationship could be considered starting from the Hippocrates (460 BC–370 BC) work “On Airs, Waters, and Places” to derive useful medical and philosophical implications for medicine which is indeed a topic that involves scientific as well as philosophical concepts that implicate a background broader than the human body. The brain-body-ecosystem medicine is proposed as a new more complete approach to safeguarding human health. Epidemiological data demonstrate that exploitation of the environment resulting in ecosystem damage affects human health and in several instances these diseases can be detected by modifications in the heart-brain interactions that can be diagnosed through the analysis of changes in heart rate variability.

Keywords: integrative medicine; ecosystem; heart rate variability; heart-brain interaction; inner speech; depression (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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