Homeostasis stabilizes critical biological variables within appropriate limits via corrective regulatory effector responses that adequately counter disturbing effects. Identifying individual effects and responses, and distinguishing their individual influences on a regulated state, is challenging. Studying effector responses can reveal regulatory phenomena that depart from homeostasis into the realm of allostasis.
Keywords: addiction; allostasis; homeostasis; nitrous oxide; obesity; regulation; sign reversal; thermoregulation.