[share_ebook] The Neuroimmunological Basis of Behavior and Mental Disorders

The fields of neuroscience, neuroimmunology, and psychiatry have seen remarkable growth over the past decade. For many years, it was believed that viruses, bacteria and other pathogens could precipitate psychiatric and neurological abnormalities. Recent developments in the field of neuroimmunology have provided insights into the possible relationships between immune function and behavioral disorders.

Specifically, a physiological feedback loop between the brain and immune systems, notably involving cytokines, have been identified, thus permitting an analysis of how pathogens may come to potently alter brain function. Such changes may affect adaptive and abnormal behaviors.

This book examines the nature of these relationships. Key topics include: basic mechanisms of neural-immune interactions; the effects of immunity on normal brain neurochemistry and behavioral processes; and how immune activity may contribute to clinical disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, aggression, pain and stress.

Allan Siegel, Ph.D., was awarded his doctorate from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1966 and was trained in the fields of Neurophysiology, Neuroanatomy and Behavioral Neuroscience at Yale University School of Medicine. He is Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience and Psychiatry at New Jersey Medical School's University of Medicine and Dentistry in Newark, New Jersey. His research focuses on the anatomical substrates and neurochemical mechanisms, including the functions of cytokines, governing aggression, and rage behavior.

Steven S. Zalcman, Ph.D. was awarded his doctorate from Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada in 1990, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Manitoba Institute of Cell Biology, University of Manitoba Medical School. He received training in Behavioral Neuroscience, Neurochemistry, Anatomy, and Immunology. He held a faculty position in the Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, and is presently Associate Professor of Psychiatry at New Jersey Medical School's University of Medicine and Dentistry in Newark, New Jersey. His research focuses on neurochemical, neuropharmacological, and behavioral consequences of immune activation and cytokine treatment.