Lecture 14 - PNI Part 1 Flashcards
what is Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)
Refers the interactions between behavioural,
neuroendocrine, and immunological processes of adaptation.
Study of the links between psychological states and functioning of the immune system and the implications of these linkages for physical health and disease
• What is the link? The CNS
give a definition of PNI in layman terms
Links psychology (mind) and medicine (body)
who is involved in PNI
Bridges communication between social scientists, immunologists, neuroscientists, and health care practitioners
PNI- Interdisciplinary research that examines and explains immune function in terms of:
- Biological factors
- Psychological factors
- Social factors
what are the The Beginnings of PNI (1)
Observations by Ishigami (1919):
• Disease found to worsen by stress • Influences of personality
what are The Beginnings of PNI (2)
long term stress -> enlarged adrenal cortex (cortisol) -> ulceration of the stomach (cortisol leads to tissue damage)
what is the Current View of Most Ulcers (70%)
Caused by Helicobacter pylori (2005 Nobel Prize for Physiology to Barry Marshall and J. Robin Warren)
a bacteria
what is the current view of interactions with stress (ulcers)
long term stress -> gastric mucosal inflammation and erosion -> allows for H. Pylori to flourish (causing further damage to to GI lining) -> ulcers
who coined PNI
Coined by Robert Ader and Nicholas Cohen in the late 1970s
explain the PNI: Background and Foundation
Discovery of connection between NS and IS
Book: Ader, Cohen, & Felten: 1985:
Candace Pert PNI, 1981 (Discovery of close connection between brain and IS)
what is the Immune System
Collection of organs, cells and tissues that work together to protect your body from disease caused mostly by pathogens (bacteria, viruses,
parasites and fungi).
what is Immunity:
• Body’s resistance to injury from invading organisms
what are the Terms for Intruders:
antigens and pathogens
what are antigens
o Specific molecules from invading microbes (bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi, but also pollen, house dust…)
o Anything that is foreign to our physiology
what are paothogens
Micro-organisms that have potential to cause disease
Physical Barriers to entry
Skin
• Upper respiratory tract
• Protective reflexes: coughing, sneezing
• Stomach • Intestines
what are the two types of immunity
non-specific immunity and specific immunity
explain non-specific immunity
The Inflammatory Response – Healing a Wound
- bacteria and other pathogens enter the wound
- platelets from blood release blood clotting proteins at wound site
- delivery of blood, plasma and cells to injured area increases
- neutrophils and macrophages remove pathogens
- macrophages secrete hormones called cytokines that attract immune system cells to the site and activate cells involved in tissue repair
- inflammatory response continues until foreign material is eliminated and the wound is repaired
what is specificities immunity
Certain lymphocytes (B, T) are adapted to an antigen.
- memory; Lymphocytes remember it React to it more strongly
- Specificity; B and T cells respond to specific antigens only
there are many and each responds to something different (the antigen) - Tolerance; B and T cells do not react to the body’s own cells, or “self”
don’t want them to react to anything natural in the body but sometimes it does
what is Autoimmune diseases:
immune response against an organism’s own cells and tissues
what are some examples of Autoimmune diseases
Rheumatoid arthritis Coeliac disease Diabetes type 1 (permanent destruction of insulin producing beta cells of the pancreas) • Systemic lupus • MS • Rheumatoid arthritis • Morbus Crohn (Crohn’s disease
Produced by infection: AIDS
what is Rheumatoid arthritis
Strikes primarily middle-aged and elderly adults
what are the parts to Measuring Immune System Function
IV- Some psychological state
• Naturally occurring or experimentally induced
Dependent variable Usually a measure of immunocompetence • Counting cells • Measuring cells in action
explain Measuring the Effectiveness of the Immune System: Immunocompetence
Usually the dependent variable in PNI studies
Measures via two types of tests
(1) Enumerative assay:
(2) Test of Immune Function
explain (1) Enumerative assay: count cells for:
Minimum number for adequate functioning
Balance among types
explain (2) Test of Immune Function:
looks at the cells in action
what re the two ways to look at (2) Test of Immune Function:
in vitro and in vivo
what is In vitro
- Introduce mitogen
• chemical substance that encourages cell division - Measure subsequent lymphocyte stimulation (through
cell counting)
o For NK cells: cell count after introduction of tumour cells
what is In vivo
- Measure antibody production,
* Commonly through herpes virus injection
