The Psychological Immune System


Book Description

The book lays out the evolutionary, historical and scientific evidence that a psychological immune system exists and details how this system functions and the impact it has had on our personal, social and national life. It shows ways that it can be helpful in our attempt to identify and handle the threats and dangers that face us just as our biological immune system does. And, like our biological immune system, it has the potential to be both beneficial and lethal.




The Immune System and Mental Health


Book Description

The Immune System and Mental Health fully investigates how immune-related cellular, molecular and anatomical changes impact mental functioning. The book combines human and animal studies to reveal immunological changes related to mental-health problems. In addition, users will find comprehensive information on new research related to the microbial composition of the gut, aka, the microbiome, and how it influences brain function and mental health. Common comorbidities with mental illness and their inherent immunological or inflammatory components are also covered. Written by leaders in the field, the book synthesizes basic and clinical research to provide a thorough understanding on the role of immunity in neuropsychiatry. Sociology, psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience and genetics have provided considerable explanations and solutions to some of the most intractable mental-health problems. But researchers are increasingly relying on investigations of the immune system to identify factors that can undermine and impair mental health. This book covers devastating mental-health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and autism-like spectrum disorders. In addition, degenerative disorders of the brain, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s-like dementia are explored. Considers both basic human and animal studies that address immunological changes relating to mental health problems across the lifespan Incorporates techniques, concepts and ideas from a variety of social, behavioral and life sciences Explores the relatively new area of the microbiome and how the microbial composition of the gut influences brain function and mental health




Human Psychoneuroimmunology


Book Description

Mind-body interactions have been the subject of debate for many generations. However, it is only in recent years that these interactions have become the subject of rigorous scientific enquiry. Advances in our understanding of the stress process, the endocrine and immune systems and the methodologies used to investigate these phenomena have resulted in an explosion of research activity in the field known as Psychoneuroimmunology.




Stress Challenges and Immunity in Space


Book Description

This book explains how stress – either psychological or physical – can activate and/or paralyse human innate or adaptive immunity. Adequate immunity is crucial for maintaining health, both on Earth and in space. During space flight, human physiology is specifically challenged by complex environmental stressors, which are most pronounced during lunar or interplanetary missions. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, the book identifies the impact of these stressors – the space exposome – on immunity as a result of (dys-)functions of specific cells, organs and organ networks. These conditions (e.g. gravitation changes, radiation, isolation/confinement) affect immunity, but at the same time provide insights that may help to prevent, diagnose and address immune-related health alterations. Written by experts from academia, space agencies and industry, the book is a valuable resource for professionals, researchers and students in the field of medicine, biology and technology. The chapters “The Impact of Everyday Stressors on the Immune System and Health”, “Stress and Radiation Responsiveness” and “Assessment of Radiosensitivity and Biomonitoring of Exposure to Space adiation” are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.




Stumbling on Happiness


Book Description

A smart and funny book by a prominent Harvard psychologist, which uses groundbreaking research and (often hilarious) anecdotes to show us why we’re so lousy at predicting what will make us happy – and what we can do about it. Most of us spend our lives steering ourselves toward the best of all possible futures, only to find that tomorrow rarely turns out as we had expected. Why? As Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert explains, when people try to imagine what the future will hold, they make some basic and consistent mistakes. Just as memory plays tricks on us when we try to look backward in time, so does imagination play tricks when we try to look forward. Using cutting-edge research, much of it original, Gilbert shakes, cajoles, persuades, tricks and jokes us into accepting the fact that happiness is not really what or where we thought it was. Among the unexpected questions he poses: Why are conjoined twins no less happy than the general population? When you go out to eat, is it better to order your favourite dish every time, or to try something new? If Ingrid Bergman hadn’t gotten on the plane at the end of Casablanca, would she and Bogey have been better off? Smart, witty, accessible and laugh-out-loud funny, Stumbling on Happiness brilliantly describes all that science has to tell us about the uniquely human ability to envision the future, and how likely we are to enjoy it when we get there.




The Oxford Handbook of Psychoneuroimmunology


Book Description

This volume collects the state-of-the-art applications of psychological theory to the interactions among the mind, the nervous system, and the immune system, including applications drawn from affective science, developmental psychology, behavioral neuroscience, and clinical psychology.




Handbook of Human Stress and Immunity


Book Description

In 1964, George Solomon coined the term psychoneuroimmunology. In the intervening 30 years, this term has emerged into a dynamic field of study which investigates the unique interactions between the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems. The Handbook of Human Stress and Immunity is a comprehensive reference for this dynamic new field. Focusing on how stressors impact the central nervous system and the resulting changes in immune responses, the Handbook is the first to describehow stress specifically affects human immune systems. It discusses how stress generally makes people more susceptible to infection, how personal support systems can counteract the physiological effects of stress, and how stress, or lack of stress, affects the aging process. Chapters are authored by the leading names in the field and cover such diseases as autoimmune disease, viral pathogenesis, herpes, HIV, and AIDS.




Psychoneuroimmunology


Book Description

This textbook examines the complex functional relationships between the nervous system, the neuroendocrine and the immune system. International leaders in this field have been brought together to create this text; each contributing from their area of expertise.




Stress and Health


Book Description

Stress and Health: Biological and Psychological Interactions is a brief and accessible examination of psychological stress and its psychophysiological relationships with cognition, emotions, brain functions, and the peripheral mechanisms by which the body is regulated. Updated throughout, the Third Edition covers two new and significant areas of emerging research: how our early life experiences alter key stress responsive systems at the level of gene expression; and what large, normal, and small stress responses may mean for our overall health and well-being.




Stress, Immune Function, and Health


Book Description

Written by a renowned figure in the field of immunology and compiling a wealth of scientific information, Stress, Immune Function, and Health: The Connection looks at the long-term effects of stress on human health from a psychoneuroimmunological approach. The recent changes in dietary modifications, clinical applications, and evolution in the field of immunology have created the need for a book which addresses the growing awareness of health benefits that can be achieved by buffering the effects of stress on the immune system. Emphasizing the importance of the interaction among the mind, the body, and physical health, this reference includes important developmental procedures that can be used to resist stress on the immune system. By examining components of the immune system, along with the effects of psychological stress and the capacity for hormonal response, author Bruce Rabin demonstrates, in a concise, accessible manner, the ability of an individual's immune system to alter susceptibility to immune-mediated diseases. In addition, the book examines several key issues in this rapidly expanding field, including: * Information and examples that illustrate how distinct areas of the brain that perceive the presence of a stressor are able to communicate with the cells of the immune system * The correlation between stress-related changes in health practices and stressor-induced risks of disease development * The effect on the immune system due to stress from an increased concentration of neuropeptides and hormones * Behaviors and beliefs that can reduce the harmful effects of stress on the immune system by interfering with the stress-responsive areas of the brain * The issue of stress during pregnancy and the early period of development on behaviors and immune functions in children An authoritative guide for all researchers and students in the fields of immunology, neuroscience, and psychology, Stress, Immune Function, and Health: The Connection is also an essential reference for physicians and nurses concerned with stress and immune-related diseases.