Psychoneuroimmunology

1975

Robert Ader (1932–2011), Candace B. Pert (b. 1946)

The immune system functions as a surveillance and defense network within the body. It protects against infections and other “foreign” invaders, but it has also been implicated in autoimmune disorders, such as arthritis. Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) is an approach that studies the interactions of the immune system, neuroendocrine processes, and psychological factors in order to understand health and disease. The fact that psychological factors can affect the immune system is a relatively recent discovery, made by psychologist Robert Ader in 1975. It was first observed in rats that learned to avoid sweetened water when it was paired with a nausea-inducing drug that also suppressed the immune system. Ader’s team then found that the sweetened water alone would suppress immune function, indicating that psychological processes such as learning are linked to the immune system. About ten years later, neuroscientist and pharmacologist Candace Pert discovered that neurotransmitters have direct interactions with the immune system; further research indicated that there are intricate linkages between emotional states and immune function. This work suggests a potentially important connection between clinical anxiety, major depression, and physical health.

Broadly, research has shown that many stressors, from daily hassles like finding parking to major natural disasters, can have a negative effect on immunocompetence, or the capability for a normal immune response. The larger question is whether the psychological impact of stressors on the immune system can make a difference in terms of health. There is now a large body of research that shows that people under Stress are more vulnerable to infectious diseases, ranging from colds to flu to chicken pox. Chronic diseases, such as coronary heart disease, can be exacerbated by stress-related changes in immune system functions. Depression, in particular, appears to have the potential to significantly lower immunocompetence. PNI has emerged as one of the twenty-first century’s clearest examples of a true mind-body connection.

SEE ALSO Psychosomatic Medicine (1939), Stress (1950), Resilience (1973), Biopsychosocial Model of Health (1977), Hardiness (1979), Mind-Body Medicine (1993)

A surfer in the barrel of a wave. Since the 1970s, research has uncovered the close interworking of psychological and biological factors, including our immune system, in keeping us healthy.