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Behaviour Research and Therapy Jul 2022The brain and immune system are intricately connected, and perturbations in one system have direct effects on the other. This review focuses on these dynamic... (Review)
Review
The brain and immune system are intricately connected, and perturbations in one system have direct effects on the other. This review focuses on these dynamic psychoneuroimmune interactions and their implications for mental and physical health in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, we describe how psychological states influence antiviral immunity and the vaccine response, and how immune changes triggered by COVID (either via infection with SARS-CoV-2 or associated stressors) can influence the brain with effects on cognition, emotion, and behavior. We consider negative psychological states, which have been the primary focus of psychological research in the context of COVID-19 (and psychoneuroimmunology more generally). We also consider positive psychological states, including positive affect and eudaimonic well-being, given increasing evidence for their importance as modulators of immunity. We finish with a discussion of interventions that may be effective in improving immune function, the neuro-immune axis, and ultimately, mental and physical health.
Topics: COVID-19; Humans; Neuroimmunomodulation; Pandemics; Psychoneuroimmunology; SARS-CoV-2
PubMed: 35609375
DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2022.104104 -
European Journal of Pharmacology Sep 2000Psychoneuroimmunology, the study of interactions among behavioral, neural and endocrine, and immune processes, coalesced as an interdisciplinary field of study in the... (Review)
Review
Psychoneuroimmunology, the study of interactions among behavioral, neural and endocrine, and immune processes, coalesced as an interdisciplinary field of study in the late 1970s. Some of the early research that was critical in establishing neuroanatomical, neurochemical and neuroendocrine pathways and functional relationships between the brain and the immune system is outlined here. These and subsequent studies have led to the general acknowledgment that the nervous and immune systems are components of an integrated system of adaptive processes, and that immunoregulatory processes can no longer be studied as the independent activity of an autonomous immune system. This paradigm shift in the study of immunoregulatory processes and the elaboration of the mechanisms underlying behaviorally induced alterations of immune function promise a better understanding and a new appreciation of the multi-determined etiology of pathophysiological states.
Topics: Animals; Behavior; History, 20th Century; Humans; Immunity; Nervous System Physiological Phenomena; Psychoneuroimmunology
PubMed: 11033324
DOI: 10.1016/s0014-2999(00)00550-1 -
Journal of Lifestyle Medicine Feb 2024The relationship between psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) and oral health has recently garnered increasing attention due to the intricate interaction among psychological... (Review)
Review
The relationship between psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) and oral health has recently garnered increasing attention due to the intricate interaction among psychological factors, the nervous system, immune responses, and oral diseases. This comprehensive review aims to elucidate the multifaceted connections between PNI and various oral conditions and conduct an in-depth analysis. Psychological factors, such as stress, anxiety, and depression, have been linked to oral microbiome alterations and immune function and the development and progression of oral diseases, such as periodontal disorders, oral ulcers, and temporomandibular disorders. Conversely, oral health conditions, particularly chronic periodontitis, have been associated with systemic inflammation, affecting mental health and overall well-being through neuroendocrine-immune pathways. Moreover, neural mechanisms, including the brain-gut axis and the autonomic nervous system, significantly influenced oral health through immune modulation and inflammatory responses. Understanding these complex interactions has implications for therapeutic interventions that target both psychological well-being and oral health outcomes. This review synthesizes current research findings from various disciplines, including immunology, neuroscience, dentistry, and psychology, to offer a comprehensive understanding of the bidirectional relationship between PNI and oral diseases. The implications of these interactions on treatment strategies, preventive measures, and interdisciplinary approaches underscore the need for integrated healthcare models that address psychological and oral health aspects to improve outcomes and quality of life in patients.
PubMed: 38665319
DOI: 10.15280/jlm.2024.14.1.13 -
Neuropsychobiology 2020In the past, accelerated tryptophan breakdown was considered to be a feature of clinical conditions, such as infection, inflammation, and malignant disease. More... (Review)
Review
In the past, accelerated tryptophan breakdown was considered to be a feature of clinical conditions, such as infection, inflammation, and malignant disease. More recently, however, the focus has changed to include the additional modulation of tryptophan metabolism by changes in nutrition and microbiota composition. The regulation of tryptophan concentration is critical for the maintenance of systemic homeostasis because it integrates essential pathways involved in nutrient sensing, metabolic stress response, and immunity. In addition to tryptophan being important as a precursor for the synthesis of the neurotransmitter serotonin, several catabolites along the kynurenine axis are neuroactive. This emphasizes the importance of the immunometabolic fate of this amino acid for processes relevant to neuropsychiatric symptoms. In humans, besides hepatic catabolism, there is usually a strong relationship between immune activation-associated tryptophan breakdown and increased levels of biomarkers, such as neopterin, which has particular relevance for both acute and chronic diseases. A shift towards neopterin synthesis during oxidative stress may indicate a corresponding decrease in tetrahydrobiopterin, a cofactor of several mono-oxygenases, providing a further link between tryptophan metabolism and serotonergic and catecholaminergic neurotransmission. The psychoneuroimmunological consequences of tryptophan metabolism and the susceptibility of this pathway to modulation by a variety of nutritional and lifestyle-related factors have important implications for the development of both diagnostic and treatment options.
Topics: Brain Diseases; Diet; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Humans; Life Style; Psychoneuroimmunology; Signal Transduction; Tryptophan
PubMed: 30808841
DOI: 10.1159/000496293 -
Cancer Medicine Feb 2022Studies published in the last two decades have clearly demonstrated that the nervous system plays a significant role in carcinogenesis, the progression of cancer, and... (Review)
Review
Studies published in the last two decades have clearly demonstrated that the nervous system plays a significant role in carcinogenesis, the progression of cancer, and the development of metastases. These studies, combining oncological and neuroscientific approaches, created the basis for the emergence of a new field in oncology research, the so-called "neurobiology of cancer." The concept of the neurobiology of cancer is based on several facts: (a) psychosocial factors influence the incidence and progression of cancer diseases; (b) the nervous system affects DNA mutations and oncogene-related signaling; (c) the nervous system modulates tumor-related immune responses; (d) tumor tissues are innervated; (e) neurotransmitters released from nerves innervating tumor tissues affect tumor growth and metastasis; (f) alterations or modulation of nervous system activity affects the incidence and progression of cancers; (g) tumor tissue affects the nervous system. The aim of this review is to characterize the pillars that create the basis of cancer neurobiology, to describe recent research advances of the nervous system's role in cancer diseases, and to depict potential clinical implications for oncology.
Topics: Humans; Immunity; Neoplasms; Oncogenes; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 34953048
DOI: 10.1002/cam4.4488 -
Psychopharmacology May 2016Alcoholism is a primary, chronic relapsing disease of brain reward, motivation, memory, and related circuitry. It is characterized by an individual's continued drinking... (Review)
Review
RATIONALE
Alcoholism is a primary, chronic relapsing disease of brain reward, motivation, memory, and related circuitry. It is characterized by an individual's continued drinking despite negative consequences related to alcohol use, which is exemplified by alcohol use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress. Chronic alcohol consumption increases the expression of innate immune signaling molecules (ISMs) in the brain that alter cognitive processes and promote alcohol drinking.
OBJECTIVES
Unraveling the mechanisms of alcohol-induced neuroimmune gene induction is complicated by positive loops of multiple cytokines and other signaling molecules that converge on nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells and activator protein-1 leading to induction of additional neuroimmune signaling molecules that amplify and expand the expression of ISMs.
RESULTS
Studies from our laboratory employing reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to assess mRNA, immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis to assess protein expression, and others suggest that ethanol increases brain neuroimmune gene and protein expression through two distinct mechanisms involving (1) systemic induction of innate immune molecules that are transported from blood to the brain and (2) the direct release of high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) from neurons in the brain. Released HMGB1 signals through multiple receptors, particularly Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4, that potentiate cytokine receptor responses leading to a hyperexcitable state that disrupts neuronal networks and increases excitotoxic neuronal death. Innate immune gene activation in brain is persistent, consistent with the chronic relapsing disease that is alcoholism. Expression of HMGB1, TLRs, and other ISMs is increased several-fold in the human orbital frontal cortex, and expression of these molecules is highly correlated with each other as well as lifetime alcohol consumption and age of drinking onset.
CONCLUSIONS
The persistent and cumulative nature of alcohol on HMGB1 and TLR gene induction support their involvement in alcohol-induced long-term changes in brain function and neurodegeneration.
Topics: Alcoholism; HMGB1 Protein; Humans; Psychoneuroimmunology; Toll-Like Receptors
PubMed: 25787746
DOI: 10.1007/s00213-015-3906-1 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2019Prior to the 1990s, the predominant view of stress and coping defined stress as occurring when an individual perceives a situation as a challenge, threat, or loss and... (Review)
Review
Prior to the 1990s, the predominant view of stress and coping defined stress as occurring when an individual perceives a situation as a challenge, threat, or loss and evaluates her capacity to respond based on her available resources. As an expansion of this intrapersonal perspective, the last 20 years have seen the emergence of two prominent interpersonal perspectives on stress and coping that account for the importance of social relationships in the coping process: the Systemic Transactional Model (STM) of dyadic coping and communal coping. In this article, I outline these two perspectives and highlight their points of convergence and divergence. I propose that one difference between the models is that communal coping involves an explicit focus on a communal or shared appraisal process, in which relationship partners view a problem or stressor as "ours" rather than "yours" or "mine." I review existing methods for assessing communal coping (e.g., self-report, language use, behavioral observation) across laboratory, intervention, and real-world settings and summarize empirical evidence for the prognostic significance of communal coping for relationship and health functioning. I propose the utility of incorporating measurement of shared appraisal into future research on dyadic coping with stress, because of its potential to impact health through its influence on primary and secondary stress appraisal processes and physiological stress response systems. Finally, I outline biological and behavioral pathways through which communal coping may influence health as directions for future research.
PubMed: 30894824
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00398 -
Brain, Behavior, and Immunity Jul 2019The female brain is highly dynamic and can fundamentally remodel throughout the normal ovarian cycle as well as in critical life stages including perinatal development,... (Review)
Review
The female brain is highly dynamic and can fundamentally remodel throughout the normal ovarian cycle as well as in critical life stages including perinatal development, pregnancy and old-age. As such, females are particularly vulnerable to infections, psychological disorders, certain cancers, and cognitive impairments. We will present the latest evidence on the female brain; how it develops through the neonatal period; how it changes through the ovarian cycle in normal individuals; how it adapts to pregnancy and postpartum; how it responds to illness and disease, particularly cancer; and, finally, how it is shaped by old age. Throughout, we will highlight female vulnerability to and resilience against disease and dysfunction in the face of environmental challenges.
Topics: Age Factors; Brain; Female; Humans; Longevity; Neuroimmunomodulation; Neuronal Plasticity; Pregnancy; Pregnant Women; Psychoneuroimmunology; Psychopathology; Resilience, Psychological
PubMed: 30872093
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2019.03.010 -
Interface Focus Oct 2014Sleep quality is important to health, and increasingly viewed as critical in promoting successful, resilient aging. In this review, the interplay between sleep and... (Review)
Review
Sleep quality is important to health, and increasingly viewed as critical in promoting successful, resilient aging. In this review, the interplay between sleep and mental and physical health is considered with a focus on the role of inflammation as a biological pathway that translates the effects of sleep on risk of depression, pain and chronic disease risk in aging. Given that sleep regulates inflammatory biologic mechanisms with effects on mental and physical health outcomes, the potential of interventions that target sleep to reduce inflammation and promote health in aging is also discussed.
PubMed: 25285197
DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2014.0009 -
Brain, Behavior, and Immunity Nov 2022Sleep disturbance, including poor subjective sleep quality and insomnia disorder, is common in older adults and associated with increases in age-related morbidity risk....
BACKGROUND
Sleep disturbance, including poor subjective sleep quality and insomnia disorder, is common in older adults and associated with increases in age-related morbidity risk. Accumulating evidence implicates inflammation as an underlying mechanism. In two complementary studies, we examined whether sleep disturbance is associated with activation of cellular and transcriptional mechanisms of inflammation in older adults.
METHODS
Study 1 examined whether healthy older adults with poor subjective sleep quality (n = 62), compared to those with good subjective sleep quality (n = 101), differed in monocytic production of interleukin (IL)-6 and/or tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α following stimulation with lipopolysaccharide. Study 2 examined whether older adults with insomnia disorder (n = 17), compared to those without insomnia disorder (n = 25), differed in the regulation of transcription factors (TFs) related to immune activation (i.e., nuclear factor-κB/Rel family), sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity (i.e., cAMP-response element-binding protein), hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity (i.e., glucocorticoid receptor) and anti-viral responses (i.e., interferon-regulatory factor/interferon-stimulated response element) assessed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells.
RESULTS
In Study 1, older adults with poor subjective sleep quality, compared to those with good subjective sleep quality, showed higher percentages of stimulated monocytes producing IL-6 only (25.4 ± 16.8 % vs 20.4 ± 13.9 %; p < 0.05, η = 0.03), producing TNF-α only (37.6 ± 13.1 % vs 31.2 ± 14.3 %; p < 0.01, η = 0.05), and co-producing IL-6/TNF-α simultaneously (17.8 ± 11.7 % vs 13.9 ± 9.6 %; p < 0.05, η = 0.03). In Study 2, older adults with insomnia disorder, compared to those without insomnia disorder, showed higher TF activity related to immune activation (p's < 0.05) and SNS function (p's < 0.001), along with lower TF activity related to HPA axis function (p's < 0.05).
CONCLUSION
In older adults, poor subjective sleep quality and insomnia diagnosis are associated with increases in monocytic cytokine production and changes in TF activity related to immune activation, SNS function, and HPA axis function. Activation of markers of cellular and transcriptional inflammation might contribute to the link between sleep disturbance and age-related morbidity risk.
Topics: Aged; Cytokines; Humans; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System; Inflammation; Interferon Regulatory Factors; Interleukin-6; Leukocytes, Mononuclear; Lipopolysaccharides; NF-kappa B; Pituitary-Adrenal System; Receptors, Glucocorticoid; Sleep; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders; Sleep Wake Disorders; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
PubMed: 35953022
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2022.08.004