For the first time it was proven in a brain test that negative emotional experiences may affect the degree of immune resistance of the body
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laugh Even if there is no reason A study conducted in the USA compared the immune systems of pessimistic and optimistic people; the results: those with pink glasses are healthier
A recent study, published in the "National Academy of Sciences" newspaper, links negative brain activity and the weakening of the immune system. The American scientists who conducted the study substantiated the well-known claims that negative thoughts can make you sick.
Scientists have long known that pessimists - who are rated as more sensitive to negative events - have more activity in an area of the brain called
"The right prefrontal cortex". More alert activity in the left side of the brain is associated with positive emotions.
The BBC reported that Dr. Richard Davidson, who headed the research team, conducted experiments among 52 people, aged 57-60. Each of them was asked to recall one event that made them feel very happy, and one that made them feel sad , scared or angry. The electronic activity in the brains of the volunteers was measured, with the aim of checking which part of the brain is more active.
"Emotions play an important role in regulating body systems"
Advertisement In the next step, each volunteer received a flu vaccine. The ingredient causes an immune response that should help the body treat an inflammatory infection, if one develops. For six months, the levels of the antibodies in the body of each of the volunteers were measured - to check the success of the vaccine.
The results proved what was already known - those with active activity on the right side of the brain - had the worst immune system. Among those with activity on the left side of the brain - associated with happy emotions - positive results were obtained, which showed a strong and stable immune system. Dr. Davidson summarized the findings, saying that "emotions play an important role in regulating body systems that affect our health."
Those who activated the area associated with negative emotions more, developed fewer antibodies to the flu
Erica Goode
It is a common belief that stress and depression erode the body's natural ability to fight disease. But many researchers continue to doubt that the mind can have such a direct effect on the immune system.
In recent years, however, evidence has accumulated that psychology can indeed influence biology. Studies have found, for example, that people with depression have a higher chance of having heart disease and other diseases. In another study, it was found that wounds heal more slowly in women who care for Alzheimer's patients than in women who are not under such stress. It has also been found that people who are under stress are more likely to catch colds and the flu, and exhibit more severe symptoms once they do.
Now, new research adds another piece to the puzzle. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin reported yesterday that activating regions of the brain associated with negative emotions appears to weaken subjects' response to the flu vaccine. "This is the first time that the involvement of the brain has been directly examined," said Dr. Richard Davidson, director of the Laboratory for the Study of the Emotional Aspects of the Brain and senior author of the study, which was published in the journal Sciences.
During a task in which the subjects experienced negative emotions, increased electrical activity in the right side of the prefrontal cortex predicted a weaker immune response six months later (the immune response was measured by the level of antibodies the subjects developed in response to the flu shot).
In previous studies, Davidson and his colleagues found that areas in the right prefrontal cortex are active during emotional responses related to anger, fear and sadness. The left prefrontal cortex seems to be more involved in positive emotions, such as feeling enthusiastic and energized.
Dr. Janice Kicolet-Glaser, a professor of psychiatry at the Ohio State University School of Medicine and an expert on the link between stress and the immune system, said the new study "is among the best evidence we've seen so far." In the study, 52 women between the ages of 57 and 60 were asked to think and write about very positive and very negative events in their lives in 1957
At one stage of the experiment, the women were asked to spend a minute recalling the experience of "tremendous happiness or joy - the best moment or the best experience of their lives", and then to spend five minutes writing about this experience. The subjects did the same for an event that provoked "deep sadness, fear or anger - the most difficult moment or experience in their lives".
The electrical activity in the prefrontal cortex - an area proven to be central to emotion - was recorded by an EEG device while the women thought about the experiences and after they finished writing. After that, the participants received a flu vaccine. Six months later, the researchers discovered that the subjects who demonstrated the most activity in the right prefrontal cortex also had the lowest level of antibodies.
Davidson said it is not clear what factors are responsible for the differences in brain activity and immune response, but genetic and environmental influences may play a role. According to him, the findings provide clues as to how mood may affect the tendency to get sick. The right prefrontal cortex communicates with certain types of immune cells, and stress appears to change how the neurotransmitter dopamine functions in this brain region. In addition, the right prefrontal cortex communicates with the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal neural pathway, which plays a central role in the body's stress regulation system, which is related to the immune system.
However, Dr. Davidson cautioned against overemphasizing the effect of the mental state on the body and its involvement in the formation of diseases. There is no evidence, for example, that cancer is affected by negative moods, and according to Davidson, many diseases may not be affected at all by neural changes caused by Stress situations. "This is one factor in a wide range of factors," he said, "and it is very likely that it is not the most important factor."
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