Psyke og immunitet

Abstract

Zachariae, B. (1991). Psyche and immunity, perspectives for research in the body-mind relationship. Nordisk Psykologi, 43, 17–36.

It has been a part of popular knowledge for centuries that »mental states« may influence an individual's state of health and that emotional distress may be a contributing factor in development of disease. It is, however, only recently that these themes have been investigated in a scientific manner. The new scientific field of »psychoneuroimmunology« addresses the questions as to whether and how psycho-social stimuli can affect the immune system, one of the main mechanisms in maintaining the health of an organism. This article reviews 1) the historical scientific background for psychoneuroimmunology research, as seen in studies on the effects of experimental »stress«, stressful life events, placebo and other behavioral factors on disease susceptibility and immunological parameters; 2) scientific evidence for the possibility of modulating immunological and immunologically related responses using different psychological intervention techniques such as relaxation procedures, hypnosis and guided imagery. On the background of the evidence presented, the article also 3) discusses possible psycho-physiological and biochemical mechanisms mediating these responses, and 4) presents a number of questions, which must be addressed, before conclusions regarding the clinical relevance of psychological intervention in immunologically related diseases can be made. Finally 5) the systemic view is briefly presented as a possible meta-theoretical framework for the understanding of the body-mind interactions involved in the mechanisms producing effects of »symbolic stimuli« on immunological responses.