The Game Plan
The interplay of these systems is exceedingly complex. It is also incompletely elucidated. The following points illustrate a sample of the known interactions.
Evidence that the Nervous and Immune Systems Communicate • Ader and Cohen showed the effect of taste-aversion condition-
ing on antibody immune response, which indicated that behavior influenced immunity and immunity influenced behavior (Ader and Cohen, 1975). • Besedovsky and Del Rey (Besedovsly et al., 1977; Besedovsky et al., 1983) showed that the activated immune system was able to release a substance that caused a change in the firing rate of neu- rons within the brain (hypothalamus). The significance was that the hypothalamus is the brain region that controls activation of organ system pathways that allow for the brain to communicate with the periphery. The organ system pathways include the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) which releases the neurotransmitter, norepi- nephrine, from nerve terminals and epinephrine from the adrenal glands (immune-nervous-endocrine interaction); the other pathway is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis which releases a number of different hormones including corticosteroids. • Besedovsky and Del Rey also demonstrated that the SNS was able to regulate the magnitude of an antibody response by stimulat- ing a receptor that could bind norepinephrine.
Evidence that the Endocrine and Immune Systems Communicate • The specificity of the hormonal influences on thymic function
is supported by the discovery that thymic epithelial cells and thymo- cytes contain receptors for many hormones and peptides. • Production of cytokines and thymic peptides is influenced by the hormonal milieu of the micro environment, which is a reflection of both blood levels and local release of hormones in the tissues. • Hormonal influences coordinate the distribution of metabolic
resources between the immune system and other life-sustaining tissues; they modify immune activity and responsiveness during perceived periods of threat to the organism.
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