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September 2015 | Read this issue and more at www.healthandwellnessmagazine.net |
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INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE
Psychoneuroimmunology
By John A.
Patterson MD,
MSPH, FAAFP,
Mind Body Studio
We’re all familiar
with the phrase, “The whole is
greater than the sum of its parts.”
Nowhere is this more true than the
connections between your mind
and your body.
As the biological and medical sciences have progressed over the past
400 years, there has been a necessary emphasis on dissecting and
examining the anatomical structure
and physiological underpinnings
of single-organ systems. Medical
specialties, departments and entire
institutions are devoted to the study
and treatment of health and disease
related to these discrete systems.
You are familiar with cardiology
(heart and cardiovascular system),
rheumatology (joints and muscles),
dermatology (the skin), pulmonology (the lungs) and many more.
Every organ system has its own
highly trained medical specialists to
whom you may be referred by your
primary care provider if your symptoms require sub-specialty care.
Over the past 45 years, we have
begun learning the extent to which
these separate organ systems are not
so separate after all. The emergence
of the new field of study called psychoneuroimmunology in the 1980s
marked a watershed in modern
medicine’s understanding of the
intimate interactions between multiple organ systems. We now know
your thinking habits, behaviors,
emotions and responses to stress
are interconnected with your physiology in ways that may promote
mental and physical health or may
contribute to disease and chronic
medical conditions.
… your thinking habits, behaviors,
emotions and responses to stress are
interconnected with your physiology
in ways that may promote mental and
physical health …
Like most people, you may have
a personal, subjective, intuitive
sense that your mind and emotions affect your physical health.
Increasingly, scientists at some
of the best medical institutions
in the world are confirming the
connections between the brain,
nervous system, immune system,
endocrine system, behavior and
health. Sometimes referred to as
“the bench science of mind body
medicine,” psychoneuroimmunology initially was largely concerned
with psycho-oncology, the impact
of thoughts, beliefs and emotions
(psycho) on the development and
progression of cancer (oncology).
Over time, it was realized the link
between mind and body went far
beyond immunological disorders
and cancer.
Today, psychoneuroimmunology
research is conducted by scientists
from psychology,
neurosciences, immunology, pharmacology, psychiatry, behavioral
medicine, infectious diseases, endocrinology and rheumatology. We
now know that so-called “negative”
emotions, such as anger, hostility,
anxiety and depression, can impair
immune system functioning and
increase inflammatory responses
throughout the body. This can contribute to the onset and progression
of physical conditions, including
high blood pressure, strokes, heart
attacks, osteoporosis, arthritis,
type 2 diabetes, infectious diseases,
delayed wound healing, certain cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, skin disorders, periodontal disease, frailty
and functional decline.
Although there remains much to
be learned about these psychoneuroimmunologic connections, cyto-