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Abstract
In the present paper we present the outlines of a model that integrates autonomic,
attentional, and affective systems into a functional and structural network that may
help to guide us in our understanding of emotion regulation and dysregulation. We
will emphasize the relationship between attentional regulation and affective processes
and propose a group of underlying physiological systems that serve to integrate these
functions in the service of self-regulation and adaptability of the organism. We will
attempt to place this network in the context of dynamical systems models which involve
feedback and feedforward circuits with special attention to negative feedback mechanisms,
inhibitory processes, and their role in response selection. From a systems perspective,
inhibitory processes can be viewed as negative feedback circuits that allow for the
interruption of ongoing behavior and the re-deployment of resources to other tasks.
When these negative feedback mechanisms are compromised, positive feedback loops may
develop as a result (of dis-inhibition). From this perspective, the relative sympathetic
activation seen in anxiety disorders may represent dis-inhibition due to faulty inhibitory
mechanisms.