OBJECTIVE

Psychoneuroimmunology, which investigates the bidirectional communication between the central nervous system and the immune system, has been greatly advanced by the use of animal models. The objective of this paper is to describe animal models of disease that can or might be utilized to elucidate neural-immune interactions that alter pathogenesis.

METHODS

This paper reviews animal studies that have demonstrated a link among the brain, behavior, immunity, and disease, highlighting models in which the potential contribution of CNS-immune interactions has not yet been explored.

RESULTS

Animal studies allow for careful control of environmental stimuli, genetic background, and immunological challenge. As such, they are an important component of psychoneuroimmunology research. Models in which one might study the role of psychosocial factors in immunologically mediated disease processes, as in the case of other pathophysiologic processes, profit from an ability to manipulate both stressful events and the magnitude of the challenge to the immune system.

CONCLUSIONS

Animal studies in psychoneuroimmunology highlight the complexity of the interactions among behavior, the brain, the immune system, and pathogen. The genetic background of the animal (both in terms of central nervous and immune system responses), its previous history, the nature of the stressor, the nature of the pathogen and the type of immune response generated are some of the interacting factors that determine the magnitude and direction of stress-induced changes in disease outcome.