The uses and abuses of Psychoneuroimmunology: A global overview 2005 Nicholas Cohen

Sly Saint · Jan 1, 2020

Norman Cousins Lecture

The hypothesis that one could condition the immunosuppressive
effects of a pharmacologic agent was experimentally
supported in 1974 and the results published a year
later (Ader and Cohen, 1975). This study, so I’ve been told,
initiated our contemporary understanding that the immune
system receives signals from the brain, and the field we now
call psychoneuroimmunology.

The biological power of
such conditioned immunosuppression became obvious a
few years later, when we applied similar behavioral conditioning
techniques and delayed, by weeks, the progression
and mortality associated with the lupus-like disease in
(NZBxNZW)F1 mice (Ader and Cohen, 1982). Since these
dramatic findings were published in Science, they could not
help but be seen (and viewed cautiously if not downright
skeptically) by card-carrying immunologists.
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..
the basic tenet of psychoneuroimmunology—that interactions
among the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems contribute
to the maintenance as well as to the disruption of homeostasis—
has broad phenomenological implications for adiversity of biological and biomedical areas of research. Specifically,the knowledge that behaviorally-associated immunological changes and immunologically-associated behavioral changes resulting from interactions of these two systems bears on our understanding issues pertinent to evolution,
ethology, ecology, and aging (to name but a few fields)
in addition to better understanding the immune and nervous
systems in health and disease.
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Neurobiologists have also embraced the world of the immunologist by exploring the roles of centrally and peripherally produced proinflammatory
cytokines (e.g., IL-1, IL-6, and TNF alpha). A few examples in the arena of cytokine research are worth referencing1) proinflammatory cytokines play a critical role in neuroinflammation and neuroregeneration (Lotan and Schwartz, 1994); (2) IL-1 acts on the vagus nerve to cause behavioral changes and illness symptoms (Danzer et al.,2002; Goehler et al., 2002); (3) IL-1 can act on the hypothalamus and pituitary to produce CRH and ACTH, respectively (Parsadaniantz et al., 1994); and (4) proinflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-6) are correlatively, if not causally, associated with affective disorders that include major depression (Atanackovic et al., 2004; Irwin, 1999; Yirmiya
et al., 2000), schizophrenia (Müller et al., 1999), and eating disorders (Nova et al., 2002).
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3.8. The abuses of psychoneuroimmunology
The popularization of psychoneuroimmunology has
evolved a “new age” jargon that obfuscates the real meaning
of psychoneuroimmunology. Consider for example, a
book by Jane Alexander (1998) entitled “The Detox Plan for Mind, Body, and Spirit.” Although I admit I’ve only read about this self-help book on-line, I was struck by its
having a section titled “Psychoneuroimmunology (Pni),”
which is defined as
the mind’s ability to effect change in the body. Although I don’t necessarily argue with this broad vague definition, I do object the author’s next statement
claiming that “the major technique in psychoneuroimmunology
is visualisation,” where patients are “taught to focus
their mind to visualize healing energy flowing into ailing
organs, to dissolve tumours, repair tissues and so forth.”
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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159105001856
https://sci-hub.tw/10.1016/j.bbi.2005.09.008

https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/people/20019181-nicholas-cohen

Snowdrop · Jan 1, 2020

And there is still so much to learn about the nervous, endocrine and immune systems of the human body.

Making discoveries here will provide us with better understanding of the interplay of mind and body. Psychology IMO is so far mostly sandcastles on the beach. It needs the data and structure of hard science.

DokaGirl · Jan 1, 2020

IMO this is just a dressed up way to blame people for their illnesses.

People have of course been told, "You're not trying hard enough to overcome your terminal cancer. If you really wanted to recover, you would."

But because this is "validated" as science, the average person's protestations are dismissed.

spinoza577 · Jan 1, 2020

I once have read the 1975 article by Ader and Cohen. In a later article from the 90´s, I believe, they sounded dangerously optimistic, but back in 1975 they explicitly said that their conclusions have been drawn from healthy animals, obviously indicating that one must not mix things up. Sadly ppl tend to forget to be honest and humble.

TiredSam · Jan 1, 2020

I misread the thread title as "psychonumerology" and only registered mild surprise.

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