Radhe Shyam
Consultant Medical Oncologist & Haematologist, Curie Centre of Oncology, St. John’s Medical College, Bengaluru.
radhesham_n@yahoo.com

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Abstract

Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) is a study of the complex interactions between the nervous system, endocrine and immune system. PNI emerged within the context of broader psychosomatic investigations, beginning as early as the 1940s.
These studies related psychological characteristics, behaviors, and emotions with disease onset and progression, including allergy, asthma, peptic ulcer,cancer, autoimmune diseases, and infectious diseases.
A large number of studies using experimental animal and human models have unraveled the potential bidirectional influences between these systems directly affecting health or altering course of the disease. These studies have shown that the immune responses can be learned and conditioned pointing to role of stressors in immune mediated diseases and consequent role for psychotherapeutic approaches to modify these learned and conditioned responses.
The complex interaction between the psychoneuroendocrine systems is influenced by personality traits, states, moods, chronicity and intensity of stressor, coping responses, social support, resource utilization, nutrition, exercise and physical activity and other socioeconomic factors. The complexity of this interaction is the