Historical and theoretical prerequisites for studying muscle reactions in the structure of stress response

Loginov D.; Mankaeva O.

doi:10.14529/jpps260108

D. V. Loginov Moscow Pedagogical State University (1/1 Malaya Pirogovskaya str., Moscow, 119991, Russia) http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9171-3062 timtim@bk.ru
O. V. Mankaeva Patrice Lumumba Peoples Friendship University of Russia Medical Institute (6 Miklukho-Maklaya str., Moscow, 117198, Russia) http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7716-0307 m_olga1978@mail.ru

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14529/jpps260108

Keywords: stress psychophysiology, muscular reactions, history of psychology, psychosomatics, ancient philosophy, medieval scholasticism, neurovisceral integration, biomarkers, historical-genetic method

Abstract

Introduction. The relevance of this study stems from the need for objective biomarkers of stress, among which muscle reactions occupy a key position. Although a substantial body of empirical data has accumulated, a systematic historical and theoretical account of the conceptual origins of muscle reactions as markers of imbalance is still absent. Aims. This paper presents a historical and philosophical analysis of the formation of doctrines on the relationship between mental processes and their bodily, especially muscular, reactions in European and Arabo-Islamic thought from Antiquity to the late Middle Ages.
Materials and methods. The study employs a historical-genetic approach to reconstruct the genesis and transformation of ideas. Sources are categorized into three levels: canonical treatises (Aristotle, Galen, Avicenna, Thomas Aquinas), classical works from the 19th–20th centuries, and contemporary publications (2021–2025). A total of 36 works was analyzed, with primary attention given to the heuristic value of historical ideas.
Results. The analysis revealed a consistent continuity in descriptions of the muscular manifestations of affects: “tremor in fear”, “tension in anger”, and “change in posture”. Historical concepts, such as “isonomia”, “pneuma”, “mizaj”, and the “passions of the soul”, demonstrate considerable heuristic value for interpreting contemporary data on the psychophysiology of stress, neurovisceral integration, and biomechanics. These findings substantiate the methodological relevance of the historical approach. Conclusion. The relationship between mental states and their muscular correlates has persisted as a central concern in intellectual history for more than two thousand years. This historical continuity substantiates the methodological validity of employing muscle tone as an objective marker of stress in practical settings.

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Author Biographies

D. V. Loginov , Moscow Pedagogical State University (1/1 Malaya Pirogovskaya str., Moscow, 119991, Russia)

Masters Student of the Department of Psychology of Personality Development

O. V. Mankaeva , Patrice Lumumba Peoples Friendship University of Russia Medical Institute (6 Miklukho-Maklaya str., Moscow, 117198, Russia)

Candidate of Medical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Normal Physiology

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