#14. A Neuroscientist Challenges the Prevailing Model of Physiological Regulation

Peter Sterling is a senior professor of neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, whose research focused on the three-dimensional microanatomy of the retina. He has also developed an alternative conceptual understanding of physiological regulation and behavior, with implications for the practice of medicine as well as social justice issues. Together with Joseph Eyer, he coined the term allostasis, meaning “stability through change.” Unlike the concept of physiological homeostasis, allostasis takes into account how the brain predicts and prepares the body in advance for situational demands and needs. He is the author of the recent book, What Is Health? Allostasis and the Evolution of Human Design, published in 2020.

(Recorded 1/24/23.)