Pavlovian conditioning of shock-induced suppression of lymphocyte reactivity: acquisition, extinction, and preexposure effects.
Recent research has indicated that physical stressors, such as electric shock, can suppress immune function in rats. The present study investigated whether a nonaversive stimulus that had been associated with electric shock would also impair immune function. Presentation of that conditioned stimulus (CS) by itself produced a pronounced suppression of lymphocyte proliferation in response to the nonspecific mitogens, Concanavalin-A (ConA) and Phytohemagglutinin (PHA). In further evidence of a conditioning effect, the suppression was attenuated by extinction and preexposure manipulations that degraded the associative value of the CS. These results indicate that a psychological or learned stressor can suppress immune reactivity independently of the direct effect of physically aversive stimulation or of ancillary changes in dietary and health-related habits.
Lysle
D T
DT
Division of Clinical Immunopathology, University of Pittsburgh, PA.
Cunnick
J E
JE
Fowler
H
H
Rabin
B S
BS
D000818:Animals; D003208:Concanavalin A / Q000494:pharmacology; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D004597:Electroshock; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D010835:Phytohemagglutinins / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000276:immunology*
D010835:Phytohemagglutinins; D003208:Concanavalin A