Klassische Konditionierung von Immunfunktionen: Mechanismen und klinische Relevanz

Classic conditioning of immune functions – mechanisms and clinical relevance Behavioural conditioning of immune function represents an impressive example of the bidirectional communication among the nervous, endocrine and immune systems. A wealth of animal experimentation demonstrates that humoral and cellular immune functions can be both suppressed or enhanced via conditioning paradigms. Adrenergic and opioid transmitter-receptor systems appear to play major roles in communicating the afferent and efferent information between the immune and central nervous systems. Additionally, the behaviourally conditioned immunomodulation is biologically relevant, as conditioned immune alterations alter the course of disease in experimental animals. Furthermore, initial evidence demonstrates that conditioned immune alterations are also possible in humans. From a clinical perspective, the aim of conditioned immunomodulation is the reduction of drug dosages, thereby lowering associated side effects of the drug. Thus, the potential enhancement of both therapeutic outcomes and patients’ quality of life underscores behavioural conditioning as a promising area of investigation for both experimental and clinical psychologists.