小鼠免疫力 z-bo 2020-11-12 371

　　Recently, a mouse study published in Nature Medicine showed that activating a reward center in the brain can affect the body's immune resistance to specific bacterial pathogens (E. coli).

　　The reward center of the brain is normally affected by natural reward stimulation and positive expectations. Positive emotions and expectations activate the reward circuit in the brain, which affects many physiological processes, including those related to the functioning of the immune system. However, the impact of specific brain regions and cells on peripheral immunity is unknown.

　　Asya Rolls, Shai Shen-Orr, and colleagues of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology used genetic methods to make the DREADD receptor in the mouse brain only expressed in the dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area of the mouse brain. The DREADD receptor is " Designed receptors activated by specific design drugs". In order to enhance the brain activity of this reward center, the researchers activated these receptors the day before using E. coli to challenge the immune system of mice, and observed that peripheral immune cells enhance resistance to this bacteria in short-term and long-term experiments. ability. These effects will be offset by the inactivation of the peripheral sympathetic nervous system, which means that the peripheral sympathetic nervous system is the bridge between the brain's core reward circuit and the peripheral immune system.

　　Although this idea has not yet been tested experimentally, this research can provide a biological basis for the well-known placebo effect, in which the positive expectations of patients can lead to a series of physical improvements in health. Further research is needed to investigate the conditions under which this brain-immune system may function, although the authors speculate that natural reward stimuli, such as mating or eating behavior, may activate the ventral tegmental area and increase the chance of exposure to germs. In addition, further research is needed to understand whether this connection between the brain and the immune system will affect the immune defense of other pathogens, such as viruses.