Exploring schizophrenia pathogenesis and treatment from the perspective of spirit, soul, and inferior spirit

Schizophrenia is a prevalent mental-behavioral disorder characterized by perceptual disturbances, affective dysregulation, and behavioral abnormalities. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is classified under "manic depressive psychosis" according to its symptomatology. The concepts of "spirit, soul, and inferior spirit" originate from Lingshu · Benshen. Drawing on the concept of "spirit governs the soul and inferior spirit" from Lei Jing, this study explored schizophrenia pathogenesis and treatment from the perspective of the three-level regulation of spirit, soul, and inferior spirit. The core pathogenesis involves failure of spirit to govern as the root cause, disruption of soul homing as the pathodynamic process, and the loss of inferior spirit′s somatic functional expression as the manifestation. The pathological locations are the heart, liver, and lungs. Therapeutic strategies are developed according to the pathological transmission pattern "spirit derangement, soul floating, inferior spirit dissipation," forming a treatment system that emphasizes "calming the heart and tranquillization, restoring its control to solidify the root; suppressing the liver soul and regulating the central mechanism to pacify excess to stop mania; purifying the lungs and calming the inferior spirit to restore its clarity and regulate sensory perception and restore cognition." The treatment emphasizes the synergistic use of "calming the spirit, stabilizing the soul, and soothing the inferior spirit," and combines acupuncture and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and other treatments to treat both the manifestation and root cause of schizophrenia. Exploring the syndrome differentiation and treatment of schizophrenia from the perspective of spirit, soul, and inferior spirit, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for the treatment of schizophrenia with traditional Chinese medicine.