The brain's reward circuitry regulates immunity

The actual paper is at http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v22/n8/full/nm.4133.html

I was going to see if it could be torn apart but

1) Shen-Orr is a very thorough, un-full-of-shit researcher,

2) I like how they used CyTOF in a novel capacity here, and

3) depressed people do tend to get sick more often.

That said, some of the largest divergences between mice and primates are in the brain, so it would be wise to exercise caution when generalizing these findings to humans.

If you need the full paper and have misplaced your subscription credentials, I hope you would not resort to plugging the DOI into http://sci-hub.bz like so:

http://sci-hub.bz/10.1038/nm.4133

Because that would be wrong. Publishers need hot tubs in their 3rd bathrooms, just like Deans and coaches do.

The methods section is included in that version (papers without methods are like dehydrated water). Read it for yourself, don't listen to some blowhard on the Interwebs (i.e., me).

This is an amazing study and a great step forward in our understanding of biology and previously mysterious mind-body connections. Besides helping to explain at least part of the classic Placebo Effect, it also opens the door to a great deal of potential both for making existing treatments more efficacious (by supplementing them with reward system intervention) and for new treatments (utilizing the brain reward system to influence immunological response).

The study seems very well-constructed and powerful. They demonstrate that direct stimulation of reward neuralchemistry produces specific and varied immune system responses, and also discover the pathways for this effect. They demonstrate causality well and also show that if the specific pathway they identify (the sympathetic nervous system connecting to lymphatic cells) is blocked, the increased immunological response no longer follows the neural reward stimulation. This seems really, really well done and it's high-impact science.

Upon reading the study, I wondered what might have created this mind-body link, in evolutionary terms. It turns out the authors considered this question as well. From the SciHub piece on this paper: "Many activities that are known to stimulate reward-system signaling in the VTA, including engaging in sex, socializing and traveling, markedly increase exposure to pathogens. Therefore, it can be envisioned, as the authors suggest, that coupling the reward center to the immune system would offer a selective advantage, which helps to explain the intertwining of these two systems from an evolutionary perspective."

Really cool stuff!

For those interested in the actual paper as opposed to the news writeup.

Nature: http://www.nature.com.ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/nm/journal/v2...

Scihub: http://sci-hub.cc/10.1038/nm.4133

Wish i could read the actual paper. I've been in a really low spot for almost a year. The startup I was working at went under, and I took a job I hate. Every morning I'm sick to my stomach thinking about stepping into that office, and all day long I find it increasingly hard to actually get work done. I have no motivation. As my depression has gotten worse, I've become constantly sick. At first I thought it was because my son was in daycare, but my wife seems to avoid most of it. Just the other day my son got foot and mouth disease, something common in children but rare in adults. Of course my wife is fine, but I somehow get it.

That's a pretty neat study. Essentially they show how the placebo effect can have such a big impact on health.

Getting medicine treatment -> Rewards the brain -> Leads to increased production of antibodies -> Patient is healthier.

Paywalled - my brain's reward system feels like it was kicked hard - so if I get sick next week, can I blame my poor immunity and susequent sickness on nature.com's paywall?

This effect has been observed for thousands of years - an ancient proverb says “A joyful heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”

paywalled