Sections
Immune System to Brain Signaling Pathways | Sickness Behavior and the Development of Depression
in the Medically Ill | Pathways by Which Inflammatory Cytokines Produce
Neuropsychiatric Disturbance
Excerpt
The field of psychoneuroimmunology is based on the existence
of bidirectional communication pathways between the brain and the
immune system. This implies that just as the CNS is capable of modulating
immunity, the immune system can alter functioning within the CNS.
Although researchers historically were first interested in pathways
by which the brain affects immunity, the past 10–15 years
have seen a groundswell of interest in the ways in which the immune
system contributes to the development of psychopathology.