| Журнал: Named Series: Twenty Years of Brain, Behavior, and Immunity | Department of Immunophysiology, Institute of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Deutschhausstrasse 2, 35037 Marburg, Germany |
| Год: 2006 | УДК: |
This article offers a personal view on how the concept of the existence of a network of immune–neuro–endocrine interactions has volved in the last 30 years. The main topic addressed is the relevance of the exchange of signals between the immune, endocrine and nervous systems for immunoregulation and brain functions. Particular emphasis is given to circuits involving immune cell products, the hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis and the sympathetic nervous system. The operation of these circuits can affect immune functions and the course of inflammatory, autoimmune and infectious diseases. We also discuss increasing evidence that brain-born cytokines
play an important role in brain physiology and in the integration of the immune–neuro–endocrine network.