  We consider the backreaction of a quantum system $q$ on an effectively
classical degree of freedom $C$ that is interacting with it. The backreaction
equation based on the standard path integral formalism gives the so-called
`in-out' backreaction equation, which has several serious pathologies. One can
use a different backreaction prescription, referred to as the `in-in' approach,
which resolves all the issues of `in-out' backreaction equation. However, this
procedure is usually invoked in a rather ad hoc manner. Here we provide a
rigorous path integral derivation of the `in-in' approach by exploiting the
concept of quantum evolution along complex time contours. It turns out that,
this approach can also be used to study both the `in-in' and `in-out'
backreaction equations in a unified manner.
