Lecture 3

Question 1

What are the 4 major sensory effectors systems that co-ordinate activity with each other in the field of psychoneuroimmunology?

Answer 1

Autonomic nerves
Hypothalamus-pituitary adrenal hormones
Neuropeptides
cytokines

Question 2

What are the effects of activation of the sympathetic nervous system?

Answer 2

Dilates pupils
Inhibition of salivation
Acceleration of heartbeat
Inhibition of digestion
Stimulation of adrenal secretion
Tensing of muscles

Question 3

What are the effects of activation of the parasympathetic nervous system?

Answer 3

Constriction of pupils
Stimulation of salivation
Slowing of heartbeat
Stimulation of digestion
Relaxing of muscles

Question 4

What features of disease is IL-1 associated with?

Answer 4

Fever
Arthritis
Psoriasis
Vascular leakage syndrome

Question 5

What features of disease is TNF-alpha associated with?

Answer 5

Shock
Tissue injury
Arthritis
Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Question 6

What features of disease is IL-6 associated with?

Answer 6

Fever
Pain
Fatigue

Question 7

What features of disease is IFN-alpha associated with?

Answer 7

Fever
Depression
Sickness behaviours

Question 8

What are sickness behaviours?

Answer 8

Increase in temperature
Pain and touch sensitivity
Wanting to sleep more
Desire nurturing
Perceptions

Question 9

How can glucocorticoids act as alarm signals?

Answer 9

In the initial phase GC levels rise, these is inhibition of inflammation and sensitises the CNS to pro-inflammatory processes
In the recuperative phase GC levels decrease below the anti-inflammatory threshold, microglia sensitization persists and the organism is in a state prepared for subsequent immunological danger
A consequence of this is that if exposure to immunological danger occurs then there is a heightened CNS innate immune response and an enhanced sickness response

Question 10

What can be the beneficial effect acute or short term stress?

Answer 10

Improved efficacy of vaccination and wound healing and increased resistance to cancer and infection

Question 11

What can be the negative effects of short term stress?

Answer 11

If it is experienced during self or innocuous antigen exposure it can lead to proinflammatory and autoimmune disease

Question 12

What are the immunopathological effects related to acute stress?

Answer 12

Increased risk of pro-inflammatory and inflammatory disease

Question 13

What can be the result of immunosupression caused as a result of chronic stress?

Answer 13

There can be harmful effects such as decreased efficacy of vaccination and wound healing and decreased resistance to infection and cancer
There can be beneficial effects such as a reduction in proinflammatory and autoimmune disease

Question 14

How can neurogenesis be regulated by the immune system?

Answer 14

In inflammed environments nerve growth is inhibited

Question 15

What are the unique immune features of socially inhibited individuals?

Answer 15

Increased vulnerability to viral infections

Increased sympathetic nervous system activity

Question 16

What study showed the link between sociability, and innervation of the immune system?

Answer 16

A population of Rhesus Macaques was studied and it was found that the parenchymal and paracortex innervation within the lymph node was significantly higher in low sociable animals while there was no difference in perivascular innervation
They also found that there was reduced nerve growth factor gene expression in highly sociable animals
They also found that interferon-gamma concentration was not effected while IL-4 concentration this results in a low IFN-g/IL-4 ratio which could be associated with preferential Th2 responses this skew could have accounted for why unsociable animals had a reduced response to tetanus vaccine

Question 17

What is one potential implication of the selectively higher innervation in the lymph node of socially inhibited individuals?

Answer 17

As the paracortical region is the most affected and this is where T cells typically reside it is likely that the different innervation may cause differences in T cell regulation