PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Robert Ader

Publications and source records attributed to Robert Ader.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Conditioned immunomodulation: research needs and directions.

Considering the brief time that psychoneuroimmunology has existed as a bona fide field of research, a great deal of data has been collected in support of the proposition that homeostatic mechanisms are the product of an integrated system of defenses of which the immune system is a critical component. It is now clear that immune function is influenced by autonomic nervous systems activity and by the release of neuroendocrine substances from the pituitary. Conversely, cytokines and hormones released by an activated immune system influence neural and endocrine processes. Regulatory peptides and receptors, once confined to the brain, are expressed by both the nervous and immune systems enabling each system to monitor and modulate the activities of the other. It is hardly surprising, then, that immunologic reactivity can be influenced by stressful life experiences or by Pavlovian conditioning.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Psychosocial factors and the response to influenza vaccination in older adults.

OBJECTIVE: We examined the influence of psychological state (depression, negative affect, perceived stress) and social support on pre- and post-vaccination response to influenza vaccine. METHODS: Venous blood was drawn from 37 nursing home residents before and following injection of the trivalent influenza vaccine (comprised of the New Caledonia (NC), Hong Kong (HK), and Panama (Pan) strains of flu). The Geriatric Depression Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support were completed following the initial blood draw. RESULTS: Social support and perceived stress were correlated with pre-vaccine antibody responses to two of the three vaccine components (HK and NC). Social support was negatively correlated with both pre- and post-vaccine titers to Pan. Depression, positive affect, and negative affect were not related to vaccine response. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived stress and social support influence the rate of decline of antibody titers to previous exposures to some strains of influenza occurring either naturally or via deliberate vaccination.

Affect↗