Pathological integrations in the central nervous system

Damage to the nervous system is a causal and conditioning event leading to the development of pathological processes mediated via such endogenous mechanisms as the formation of integrative complexes from damaged and secondary changed nervous structures that are pathological by their nature, mechanisms, and effects. At the level of neural relationships such pathological integrative complex (PIC) is formed by an aggregate of hyperactive neurons (generator of pathologically enhanced excitation, GPEE) producing uncontrollable ongoing flow of nerve impulses. At the systemic level, PIC is a new pathodynamic system composed of various subdivisions of the CNS, which acts as a pathological system. The subdivision of the CNS containing GPEE assumes the role of a pathological determinant due to its enhanced activity. This pathological determinant induces the formation of a pathological system and controls its activity at the early period of its genesis. Every neuropathological syndrome is a clinical or behavioral manifestation of pathological system activity. Pathological determinant and pathological system are general biological categories that fall outside the scope of nervous disorders. They can arise in various systems at the micro- and macroscopic levels and induce systemic pathology. Translated fromByulleten's Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 127, No. 3, pp. 244–247, March, 1999 Original article submitted October 5, 1998