Neuroimmunology
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155761463
2007-09-05T02:48:23Z
Englerkl1980
5247792
/* Further reading */
'''Neuroimmunology''' is a growing branch of [[biomedical science]] that studies of all aspects of the interactions between the [[immune system]] and [[nervous system]]. It deals with, among other things, the [[physiology|physiological]] functioning of the neuroimmune system in states of both health and disease; malfunctions of the neuroimmune system in disorders ([[autoimmune diseases]], [[hypersensitivity|hypersensitivities]], [[immune deficiency]]), the physical, chemical and physiological characteristics of the components of the neuroimmune system [[in vitro]], [[in situ]], and [[in vivo]].
==Background==
Neural targets that control [[thermogenesis]], [[behavior]], [[sleep]], and [[mood]] can be affected by pro-inflammatory [[cytokine|cytokines]] which are released by activated [[macrophages]] and [[monocytes]] during infection. Within the [[central nervous system]] production of cytokines has been detected as a result of brain injury, during [[viral]] and [[bacterial]] infections, and in [[neurodegenerative]] processes.
From the US National Institute of Health{{ref|NIH}}:
"Despite the brain's status as an immune privileged site, an extensive bi-directional communication takes place between the nervous and the [[immune system]] in both health and disease. Immune cells and neuroimmune molecules such as cytokines, [[chemokines]], and growth factors modulate brain function through multiple signaling pathways throughout the lifespan. Immunological, physiological and psychological stressors engage cytokines and other immune molecules as mediators of interactions with [[neuroendocrine]], neuropeptide, and [[neurotransmitter]] systems. For example, brain cytokine levels increase following stress exposure, while treatments designed to alleviate [[Stress (medicine)|stress]] reverse this effect.
"Neuroinflammation and neuroimmune activation have been shown to play a role in the etiology of a variety of neurological disorders such stroke, Parkinson's and [[Alzheimer's]] disease, [[multiple sclerosis]], [[pain]], and AIDS-associated [[dementia]]. However, [[cytokine]]s and [[chemokine]]s also modulate CNS function in the absence of overt immunological, physiological, or psychological challenges. For example, cytokines and cytokine receptor inhibitors affect cognitive and emotional processes. Recent evidence suggests that immune molecules modulate brain systems differently across the lifespan. Cytokines and chemokines regulate [[neurotrophins]] and other molecules critical to neurodevelopmental processes, and exposure to certain neuroimmune challenges early in life affects brain development. In adults, cytokines and chemokines affect [[synapse|synaptic]] plasticity and other ongoing neural processes, which may change in aging brains. Finally, interactions of immune molecules with the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal system indicate that sex differences are a significant factor determining the impact of neuroimmune influences on brain function and behavior."
==History==
In 1974 Robert Ader discovered that the immune system of rats can be conditioned to respond to external stimuli unrelated to immune function. Ader was investigating how long conditioned responses (in the sense of Pavlov's conditioning of dogs to drool when they heard a bell ring) might last in laboratory rats. To condition the rats, he used a combination of saccharine-laced water and the drug [[Cytoxan]] which induces nausea and suppresses the immune system. Ader was surprised to discover that after conditioning, just feeding the rats saccharine-laced water was sufficient to suppress the immune system of the rats. In other words, a signal via the nervous system (taste) was effecting immune function. This was one of the first scientific experiments that demonstrated that the nervous system ''can'' affect the immune system. Ader coined the phrase [[Psychoneuroimmunology]] and wrote the two-volume book Psychoneuroimmunology along with David L. Felten and Nicholas Cohen{{ref|Psychoneuroimmunology}}.
In 1981 David Felten, then working at the [[Indiana University]] of Medicine, discovered a network of nerves leading to blood vessels as well as cells of the immune system. The researchers also found nerves in the [[thymus]] and [[spleen]] terminating near clusters of [[lymphocyte]]s, [[macrophage]]s and [[mast cell]]s, all of which help control immune function. This discovery provided one of the first indications of ''how'' neuro-immune interaction occurs.
==External links==
*[http://www.ii.bham.ac.uk/clinicalimmunology/Neuroimmunology/ Neuroimmunology, The Medical School, Birmingham University - Dr Abid Karim]
*[http://mni.mcgill.ca/neuroimu.html Neuroimmunolgy, McGill University]
*[http://jorgesantia.googlepages.com Online Resources Psychoneuroimmunology, Neuroimmunomodulation]
*[http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view.php?pid=UQ:23603 Autoimmune Neurological Disease (6 chapters from this Cambridge UP book are freely available)]
*[http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/list.php?browse=author&author_id=573 More than 100, freely available, published research articles on neuroimmunology and related topics by Professor Michael P. Pender, Neuroimmunology Research Unit, The University of Queensland]
==Areas of study==
==See also==
*[[Neuroimmune System]]
*[[Immune system]]
*[[Immunology]]
*[[Neurology]]
*[[Psychosomatic illness]]
==Further reading==
* Berczi and Szentivanyi (2003) ''NeuroImmune Biology'', Elsevier, ISBN 0-444-50851-1 (Written for the highly technical reader)
* [http://nccam.nih.gov/health/backgrounds/mindbody.htm Mind-Body Medicine: An Overview], US National Institutes of Health, Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
* #{{note|Psychoneuroimmunology}} [[Robert Ader]], David L. Felten, Nicholas Cohen , ''Psychoneuroimmunology'', 3rd edition, 2 volumes, Academic Press, (2001) , ISBN 0-12-044314-7
*Goodkin, Karl, and Adriaan P. Visser, (eds), ''Psychoneuroimmunology: Stress, Mental Disorders , and Health'', American Psychiatric Press, 2000, ISBN 0-88048-171-4, technical.
*Ransohoff, Richard, et al (eds), ''Universes in Delicate Balance: Chemokines and the Nervous System'', Elsevier, 2002, ISBN 0-444-51002-8
* Sternberg (2001) ''The Balance Within, The Science Connecting Health and Emotions'', Freeman, ISBN 0-7167-4445-7 (Written for the general public)
==References==
#{{note|NIH}} [http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/pa-05-054.html Functional Links between the Immune System, Brain Function and Behavior]
[[Category:Health sciences]]
[[Category:Immunology|Neuroimmunology]]
[[Category:Mind-body interventions]]
[[Category:Neurology|Neuroimmunology]]