scholarly journals Behavioural conditioning as the mediator of placebo responses in the immune system

2011 ◽  
Vol 366 (1572) ◽  
pp. 1799-1807 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Vits ◽  
Elvir Cesko ◽  
Paul Enck ◽  
Uwe Hillen ◽  
Dirk Schadendorf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Placebo Response ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Immune Functions ◽  
Placebo Effects ◽  
Allograft Survival ◽  
Physiological Mechanisms ◽  
Potential Clinical Benefit ◽  
Efferent Pathways ◽  
The Brain

Current placebo research postulates that conditioning processes are one of the major mechanisms of the placebo response. Behaviourally conditioned changes in peripheral immune functions have been demonstrated in experimental animals, healthy subjects and patients. The physiological mechanisms responsible for this ‘learned immune response’ are not yet fully understood, but some relevant afferent and efferent pathways in the communication between the brain and the peripheral immune system have been identified. In addition, possible benefits and applicability in clinical settings have been demonstrated where behaviourally conditioned immunosuppression attenuated the exacerbation of autoimmune diseases, prolonged allograft survival and affected allergic responses. Here, we summarize data describing the mechanisms and the potential clinical benefit of behaviourally conditioned immune functions, with particular focus on learned placebo effects on allergic reactions.

Learned Placebo Effects in the Immune System

2014 ◽  
Vol 222 (3) ◽  
pp. 148-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Vits ◽  
Manfred Schedlowski
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Associative Learning ◽  
Placebo Response ◽  
Immunosuppressive Drug ◽  
Immune Functions ◽  
Placebo Effects ◽  
New Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Biological Variables ◽  
Experimental Approaches

Associative learning processes are one of the major neuropsychological mechanisms steering the placebo response in different physiological systems and end organ functions. Learned placebo effects on immune functions are based on the bidirectional communication between the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral immune system. Based on this “hardware,” experimental evidence in animals and humans showed that humoral and cellular immune functions can be affected by behavioral conditioning processes. We will first highlight and summarize data documenting the variety of experimental approaches conditioning protocols employed, affecting different immunological functions by associative learning. Taking a well-established paradigm employing a conditioned taste aversion model in rats with the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporine A (CsA) as an unconditioned stimulus (US) as an example, we will then summarize the efferent and afferent communication pathways as well as central processes activated during a learned immunosuppression. In addition, the potential clinical relevance of learned placebo effects on the outcome of immune-related diseases has been demonstrated in a number of different clinical conditions in rodents. More importantly, the learned immunosuppression is not restricted to experimental animals but can be also induced in humans. These data so far show that (i) behavioral conditioned immunosuppression is not limited to a single event but can be reproduced over time, (ii) immunosuppression cannot be induced by mere expectation, (iii) psychological and biological variables can be identified as predictors for this learned immunosuppression. Together with experimental approaches employing a placebo-controlled dose reduction these data provide a basis for new therapeutic approaches to the treatment of diseases where a suppression of immune functions is required via modulation of nervous system-immune system communication by learned placebo effects.

scholarly journals Age-Associated Changes in the Immune System and Blood–Brain Barrier Functions

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 1632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Erickson ◽  
William Banks
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Blood Brain Barrier ◽  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Brain Barrier ◽  
Immune Functions ◽  
Blood Brain ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Brain Barriers

Age is associated with altered immune functions that may affect the brain. Brain barriers, including the blood–brain barrier (BBB) and blood–CSF barrier (BCSFB), are important interfaces for neuroimmune communication, and are affected by aging. In this review, we explore novel mechanisms by which the aging immune system alters central nervous system functions and neuroimmune responses, with a focus on brain barriers. Specific emphasis will be on recent works that have identified novel mechanisms by which BBB/BCSFB functions change with age, interactions of the BBB with age-associated immune factors, and contributions of the BBB to age-associated neurological disorders. Understanding how age alters BBB functions and responses to pathological insults could provide important insight on the role of the BBB in the progression of cognitive decline and neurodegenerative disease.

Hidden Assumptions and the Placebo Effect

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Placebo Effect ◽  
Folk Psychology ◽  
Placebo Response ◽  
Placebo Effects ◽  
Cartesian Dualism ◽  
Reading Research ◽  
Philosophical Assumption ◽  
Acupuncture Effects ◽  
The Brain

Whether, or how far, acupuncture effects can be explained as due to the placebo response is clearly an important issue, but there is an underlying philosophical assumption implicit in much of the debate, which is often ignored. Much of the argument is cast in terms which suggest that there is an immaterial mind hovering above the brain and giving rise to spurious effects. This model derives from Cartesian dualism which would probably be rejected by nearly all those involved, but it is characteristic of “folk psychology” and seems to have an unconscious influence on much of the terminology that is used. The majority of philosophers today reject dualism and this is also the dominant trend in science. Placebo effects, on this view, must be brain effects. It is important for modern acupuncture practitioners to keep this in mind when reading research on the placebo question.

scholarly journals Neurologic disruption arising from Immunologic Aberration

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 01-05
Author(s):  
Trevor Archer
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Therapeutic Effects ◽  
Immune Functions ◽  
Health It ◽  
Gastrointestinal Microbiome ◽  
Disease States ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Brain

Interactions between neurodegenerative states and immune system dysregulations may underlie several diseases that induce problems for neuropsychological and physical health. It seems increasingly evident that process of apoptosis, a central issue for health and well-being, is associated to greater or lesser extents with the balance and ongoing regulation of immune system proclivities. One key contributor to the regulation of structure and function of brain and behaviour has emerged to be the gastrointestinal microbiome, not least in the context of the neurodegenerative disorders. Certain genes identified in in these disorders encode for proteins with directly-acting immunoactive/immunoreactive roles, which when mutated lead to dysregulations in immune functions, thereby affecting the disease states; yet accumulating evidence implies direct malfunctions of immune ells in the brain and CNS as well as at the periphery of the nervous system. Remarkably, the therapeutic effects of anti-tumor, immune system-enhancing agents are emerging to awaken the necessity for consideration of immune system-nervous system interactions as reciprocal determinants of both neurodegenerative and inflammatory disorders.

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum: novel concept of pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of Devic’s disease

2009 ◽  
Vol 150 (46) ◽  
pp. 2101-2109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Péter Csécsei ◽  
Anita Trauninger ◽  
Sámuel Komoly ◽  
Zsolt Illés
Keyword(s):  
Neuromyelitis Optica ◽  
Water Channel ◽  
Diagnostic Procedures ◽  
Diagnosis And Treatment ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Permanent Disability ◽  
Therapeutic Decisions ◽  
Novel Concept ◽  
The Brain

The identification of autoantibodies generated against the brain isoform water channel aquaporin4 in the sera of patients, changed the current diagnostic guidelines and concept of neuromyelitis optica (NMO). In a number of cases, clinical manifestation is spatially limited to myelitis or relapsing optic neuritis creating a diverse. NMO spectrum. Since prevention of relapses provides the only possibility to reduce permanent disability, early diagnosis and treatment is mandatory. In the present study, we discuss the potential role of neuroimaging and laboratory tests in differentiating the NMO spectrum from other diseases, as well as the diagnostic procedures and therapeutic options. We also present clinical cases, to provide examples of different clinical settings, diagnostic procedures and therapeutic decisions.

Potential immunotherapy for Alzheimer disease and age-related dementia

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-25 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Alzheimer Disease ◽  
Cross Talk ◽  
Immune Checkpoint ◽  
Short Review ◽  
Immune Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Brain

Emerging results support the concept that Alzheimer disease (AD) and age-related dementia are affected by the ability of the immune system to contain the brain's pathology. Accordingly, well-controlled boosting, rather than suppression of systemic immunity, has been suggested as a new approach to modify disease pathology without directly targeting any of the brain's disease hallmarks. Here, we provide a short review of the mechanisms orchestrating the cross-talk between the brain and the immune system. We then discuss how immune checkpoint blockade directed against the PD-1/PD-L1 pathways could be developed as an immunotherapeutic approach to combat this disease using a regimen that will address the needs to combat AD.

Potential immunotherapy for Alzheimer disease and age-related dementia

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-25 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Alzheimer Disease ◽  
Cross Talk ◽  
Immune Checkpoint ◽  
Short Review ◽  
Immune Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Brain

Emerging results support the concept that Alzheimer disease (AD) and age-related dementia are affected by the ability of the immune system to contain the brain’s pathology. Accordingly, well-controlled boosting, rather than suppression of systemic immunity, has been suggested as a new approach to modify disease pathology without directly targeting any of the brain’s disease hallmarks. Here, we provide a short review of the mechanisms orchestrating the cross-talk between the brain and the immune system. We then discuss how immune checkpoint blockade directed against the PD-1/PD-L1 pathways could be developed as an immunotherapeutic approach to combat this disease using a regimen that will address the needs to combat AD.

EXPERIMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF THE NANOPARTICLES TOXICITY OF NICKEL OXIDE IN TWO SIZES IN THE SUBCHRONIC EXPERIMENT

2018 ◽  
pp. 30-35
Author(s):  
M.P. Sutunkova ◽  
B.A. Katsnelson ◽  
L.I. Privalova ◽  
S.N. Solovjeva ◽  
V.B. Gurvich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nickel Oxide ◽  
Nervous Activity ◽  
Equal Mass ◽  
The Body ◽  
Subchronic Toxicity ◽  
Physiological Mechanisms ◽  
Nickel Oxide Nanoparticles ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Nanoparticles Toxicity

We conducted a comparative assessment of the nickel oxide nanoparticles toxicity (NiO) of two sizes (11 and 25 nm) according to a number of indicators of the body state after repeated intraperitoneal injections of these particles suspensions. At equal mass doses, NiO nanoparticles have been found to cause various manifestations of systemic subchronic toxicity with a particularly pronounced effect on liver, kidney function, the body’s antioxidant system, lipid metabolism, white and red blood, redox metabolism, spleen damage, and some disorders of nervous activity allegedly related to the possibility of nickel penetration into the brain from the blood. The relationship between the diameter and toxicity of particles is ambiguous, which may be due to differences in toxicokinetics, which is controlled by both physiological mechanisms and direct penetration of nanoparticles through biological barriers and, finally, unequal solubility.

Is the Cerebellum Involved in the Nervous Control of the Immune System Function?

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 546-557
Author(s):  
Anna Rizzi ◽  
Matteo Saccia ◽  
Vincenzo Benagiano
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Endocrine Cells ◽  
Immune Functions ◽  
Hypothalamic Neurons ◽  
Nervous Control ◽  
Feedback Effects ◽  
Parasympathetic System ◽  
Visceral Systems ◽  
Psychic Disorders ◽  
Neuroendocrine Mechanisms

Background: According to the views of psychoneuroendocrinoimmunology, many interactions exist between nervous, endocrine and immune system the purpose of which is to achieve adaptive measures restoring an internal equilibrium (homeostasis) following stress conditions. The center where these interactions converge is the hypothalamus. This is a center of the autonomic nervous system that controls the visceral systems, including the immune system, through both the nervous and neuroendocrine mechanisms. The nervous mechanisms are based on nervous circuits that bidirectionally connect hypothalamic neurons and neurons of the sympathetic and parasympathetic system; the neuroendocrine mechanisms are based on the release by neurosecretory hypothalamic neurons of hormones that target the endocrine cells and on the feedback effects of the hormones secreted by these endocrine cells on the same hypothalamic neurons. Moreover, the hypothalamus is an important subcortical center of the limbic system that controls through nervous and neuroendocrine mechanisms the areas of the cerebral cortex where the psychic functions controlling mood, emotions, anxiety and instinctive behaviors take place. Accordingly, various studies conducted in the last decades have indicated that hypothalamic diseases may be associated with immune and/or psychic disorders. Objective: Various researches have reported that the hypothalamus is controlled by the cerebellum through a feedback nervous circuit, namely the hypothalamocerebellar circuit, which bi-directionally connects regions of the hypothalamus, including the immunoregulatory ones, and related regions of the cerebellum. An objective of the present review was to analyze the anatomical bases of the nervous and neuroendocrine mechanisms for the control of the immune system and, in particular, of the interaction between hypothalamus and cerebellum to achieve the immunoregulatory function. Conclusion: Since the hypothalamus represents the link through which the immune functions may influence the psychic functions and vice versa, the cerebellum, controlling several regions of the hypothalamus, could be considered as a primary player in the regulation of the multiple functional interactions postulated by psychoneuroendocrinoimmunology.

scholarly journals Nutritional Components in Western Diet Versus Mediterranean Diet at the Gut Microbiota–Immune System Interplay. Implications for Health and Disease

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 699
Author(s):  
Cielo García-Montero ◽  
Oscar Fraile-Martínez ◽  
Ana M. Gómez-Lahoz ◽  
Leonel Pekarek ◽  
Alejandro J. Castellanos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Mediterranean Diet ◽  
Inflammatory Disorder ◽  
Immune Functions ◽  
Treatment And Prevention ◽  
Nutritional Components ◽  
Westernized Diet ◽  
Prevention And Health Promotion ◽  
Health And Disease

The most prevalent diseases of our time, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) (including obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and some types of cancer) are rising worldwide. All of them share the condition of an “inflammatory disorder”, with impaired immune functions frequently caused or accompanied by alterations in gut microbiota. These multifactorial maladies also have in common malnutrition related to physiopathology. In this context, diet is the greatest modulator of immune system–microbiota crosstalk, and much interest, and new challenges, are arising in the area of precision nutrition as a way towards treatment and prevention. It is a fact that the westernized diet (WD) is partly responsible for the increased prevalence of NCDs, negatively affecting both gut microbiota and the immune system. Conversely, other nutritional approaches, such as Mediterranean diet (MD), positively influence immune system and gut microbiota, and is proposed not only as a potential tool in the clinical management of different disease conditions, but also for prevention and health promotion globally. Thus, the purpose of this review is to determine the regulatory role of nutritional components of WD and MD in the gut microbiota and immune system interplay, in order to understand, and create awareness of, the influence of diet over both key components.

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