Chapter 20 Neural-immune interactions

Abstract

At the heart of the emerging discipline of psychoneuroimmunology is the contention that the nervous system can modulate the actions of the immune system. Further implications of this assumption are that stimuli from the environment of the organism that have an impact on and are processed by the nervous system—such as sensory stimuli, stress, and various psychosocial factors—can be translated by the nervous system into the signals that may modulate the function of the immune system, thereby affecting health and potential illness from pathogens or tumors. Because the sum of experience, emotion, and environment come together in the central nervous system (CNS), the most provocative implication is that the brain may be able to influence health related to immunologic function. Two major strategies are used to investigate the functional role of neurotransmitters in immunomodulation: pharmacologic interventions and the denervation of lymphoid organs. The noradrenergic (NA) sympathetic system is discussed in the chapter.