Neuroimmunology

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 physiological functioning of the neuroimmune system in states of both health and disease; malfunctions of the neuroimmune system in disorders (autoimmune diseases, 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 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:

"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 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, cytokines and chemokines 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 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."

Recent research demonstrates that reduction of lymphocyte populations can impair cognition in mice, and that restoration of lymphocytes restores cognitive abilities.

External links

• Neuroimmunology, The Medical School, Birmingham University - Dr Abid Karim
• Neuroimmunolgy, McGill University
• Online Resources Psychoneuroimmunology, Neuroimmunomodulation
• Weetman AP, Pender MP, McCombe PA, Oliveira D (1995). Autoimmune neurological disease. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-46113-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  (6 chapters from this Cambridge UP book are freely available)]
• 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

See also

• Immune system
• Immunology
• Neural top down control of physiology
• Neuroimmune System
• Neurology
• Psychosomatic illness

Further reading

• Szentivanyi A, Berczi I (2003). The Immune-Neuroendocrine Circuitry, Volume 3 : History and Progress (NeuroImmune Biology). Amsterdam: Elsevier Science. ISBN 0-444-50851-1.
  (Written for the highly technical reader)
• Mind-Body Medicine: An Overview, US National Institutes of Health, Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
• Cohen N, Ader R, Felton D (2001). Psychoneuroimmunology (3rd ed.). Boston: Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-044314-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Visser A, Goodkin K (eds) (2000). Psychoneuroimmunology: stress, mental disorders, and health. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press. ISBN 0-88048-171-4. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  technical.
• Ransohoff RM (ed) (2002). Universes in delicate balance: chemokines and the nervous system. Amsterdam: Elsevier. ISBN 0-444-51002-8. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
• Sternberg EM. The Balance Within : The Science Connecting Health and Emotions. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman. ISBN 0-7167-4445-7.
  (Written for the general public)
• Millington G, Buckingham JC (1992). "Thymic peptides and neuroendocrine-immune communication". J Endocrinol. 133 (2): 163–8. PMID 1613418. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)