Behavioural conditioning of immune functions: how the central nervous system controls peripheral immune responses by evoking associative learning processes.
During the last 30 years of psychoneuroimmunology research the intense bi-directional communication between the central nervous system (CNS) and the immune system has been demonstrated in studies on the interaction between the nervous-endocrine-immune systems. One of the most intriguing examples of such interaction is the capability of the CNS to associate an immune status with specific environmental stimuli. In this review, we systematically summarize experimental evidence demonstrating the behavioural conditioning of peripheral immune functions. In particular, we focus on the mechanisms underlying the behavioural conditioning process and provide a theoretical framework that indicates the potential feasibility of behaviourally conditioned immune changes in clinical situations.
Riether
Carsten
C
Division of Psychology and Behavioural Immunobiology, Institute for Behavioural Sciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland.
Doenlen
Raphaël
R
Pacheco-López
Gustavo
G
Niemi
Maj-Britt
MB
Engler
Andrea
A
Engler
Harald
H
Schedlowski
Manfred
M
D000818:Animals; D001245:Association Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D017933:Peripheral Nervous System / Q000276:immunology*; D011598:Psychoneuroimmunology