title: Sociality and sickness: have cytokines evolved to serve social functions beyond times of pathogen exposure?
abstract: During pathogen exposure or some forms of stress, proinflammatory processes induce an array of motivated and behavioral adjustments termed "sickness behaviors". Although withdrawal from social interactions is a commonly observed sickness behavior, the relation between social behavior and sickness is much more complex. Sickness can suppress or stimulate social behavior. Sickness can serve as a social cue. Stressors that are social in nature can induce sickness behaviors, and sickness behavior can be readily suppressed by meaningful social stimuli. The nature, context, and timing of these effects together suggest that cytokine-induced behavior may play a role in mediating social interactions in various non-pathological conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Wright State University, 335 Fawcett Hall, Dayton, OH 45435, USA. Electronic address: michael.hennessy@wright.edu.
authors.forename: Michael B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Hennessy
authors.affiliation: Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, Binghamton University, Vestal Parkway East, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA.
authors.forename: Terrence
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Deak
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Wright State University, 335 Fawcett Hall, Dayton, OH 45435, USA.
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Schiml
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016207:Cytokines / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D055809:Illness Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D012919:Social Behavior; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines
keywords: Acute phase response; Cytokines; Maternal effect; Neuroimmune; Sickness behavior; Social buffering; Social cue; Social stress