Creative processes during vertebrate organ morphogenesis: Biophysical self-organization at the supracellular scale.

Here, we review recent developments in the literature that provide insight into self-organization at supracellular scales in vertebrate organ morphogenesis. We briefly present a historical and conceptual analysis of the term "self-organization." Based on this analysis, we suggest that self-organizing processes, at their root, possess a form of causal relationship, reciprocal causality, that is markedly distinct from linear causal chains. We survey the extent to which reciprocal causality can be used to interpret or clarify supracellular studies in development and disease. Finally, we explore how reciprocal causality can exist across length-scales, identifying situations where multiple scales require simultaneous analysis.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this article.
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