Search Results

Bidirectional interactions between the immune system and central nervous system have been acknowledged for centuries. Over the past 100 years, pioneering studies in both animal models and humans have delineated the behavioral consequences of neuroimmune activation, including the different facets of sickness behavior. Rodent studies have uncovered multiple neural pathways and mechanisms that mediate anorexia, fever, sleep alterations, and social withdrawal following immune activation. Furthermore, work conducted in human patients receiving interferon treatment has elucidated some of the mechanisms underlying immune-induced behavioral changes such as malaise, depressive symptoms, and cognitive deficits. These findings have provided the foundation for development of treatment interventions for conditions in which dysfunction of immune-brain interactions leads to behavioral pathology. Rodent models of neuroimmune activation frequently utilize endotoxins and cytokines to directly stimulate the immune system. In the absence of pathogen-induced inflammation, a variety of environmental stressors, including psychosocial stressors, also lead to neuroimmune alterations and concurrent behavioral changes. These behavioral alterations can be assessed using a battery of behavioral paradigms while distinguishing acute sickness behavior from the type of behavioral outcome being assessed. Animal studies have also been useful in delineating the role of microglia, the neuroendocrine system, neurotransmitters, and neurotrophins in mediating the behavioral implications of altered neuroimmune activity. Furthermore, the timing and duration of neuroimmune challenge as well as the sex of the organism can impact the behavioral manifestations of altered neuroimmune activity. Finally, neuroimmune modulation through pharmacological or psychosocial approaches has potential for modulating behavior.

In the late 20th century, the discovery that the immune system and central nervous system were not autonomous revolutionized exploration of the mechanisms by which stress contributes to immune disorders and immune regulation contributes to mental illness. There is increasing evidence of stress as integrated across the brain and body. The immune system acts in concert with the peripheral nervous system to shape the brain’s perception of the environment. The brain in turn communicates with the endocrine and immune systems to guide their responses to that environment. Examining the groundwork of mechanisms governing communication between the body and brain will hopefully provide a better understanding of the ontogeny and symptomology of some mood disorders.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a dynamic structural interface between the brain and periphery that plays a critical function in maintaining cerebral homeostasis. Over the past two decades, technological advances have improved our understanding of the neuroimmune and neuroendocrine mechanisms that regulate a healthy BBB. The combination of biological sex, sex steroids, age, coupled with innate and adaptive immune components orchestrates the crosstalk between the BBB and the periphery. Likewise, the BBB also serves as a nexus within the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and gut-brain-microbiota axes. Compromised BBB integrity permits the entry of bioactive molecules, immune cells, microbes, and other components that migrate into the brain parenchyma and compromise neuronal function. A paramount understanding of the mechanisms that determine the bidirectional crosstalk between the BBB and immune and endocrine pathways has become increasingly important for implementation of therapeutic strategies to treat a number of neurological disorders that are significantly impacted by the BBB. Examples of these disorders include multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury.