Conference contribution · Poster presentation

Autonomic Imbalance as an Organizing Principle of Mental Functioning and Development: A Developmental Extension of the Somato-Psychic Pathway

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SPP Institute and NeuroCentrum Clinic, Jesenice, Czech Republic

Presented poster · SP161Local archival PDF

Summary

This poster examines the proposed developmental role of autonomic imbalance within the Somato-Psychic Pathway (SPP). Retrospective routine-care observations from 136 children were analyzed in two age strata: 2–6 years (n = 94) and 6–12 years (n = 42).

Parent-reported pre–post changes were directionally concordant across assessed domains of attention, hyperactivity, sleep, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Cohen’s d ranged from 0.395 to 1.392, with differing relative domain profiles across the age strata.

The observed pattern is consistent with autonomic imbalance acting as a state-dependent organizing constraint on mental functioning and development. The retrospective design, absence of a prospective control group, and clinical rather than instrumental autonomic assessment limit causal interpretation. Prospective studies with direct autonomic measurement and longitudinal developmental follow-up are required.

Presented material

AACPDM 2026 SP161 poster by Veronika Živná and Boris Živný
Poster SP161, presented by Veronika Živná on 29 September 2026.

Related work

Recommended citation

Živná, V. and Živný, B. (2026) ‘Autonomic Imbalance as an Organizing Principle of Mental Functioning and Development: A Developmental Extension of the Somato-Psychic Pathway’ [Conference poster, SP161]. AACPDM 80th Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, United States, 27–30 September. Presented 29 September. Available at: https://spp.institute/conference-contributions/aacpdm-2026/

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