Introduction to Psychoneuroimmunology » (1st Edition)

Jorge H. Daruna is a practicing Clinical Psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Tulane University School of Medicine. He received a Ph.D. in clinical and physiological psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Daruna's primary interest has been the integration of social, psychological and biological approaches to understanding behavior and health. His publications have appeared in journals such as: Brain Research, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, Psychophysiology, Biological Psychology, Psychosomatics, and Personality and Individual Differences. He has also contributed to edited volumes like: The Encyclopedia of Mental Health and The Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. Dr. Daruna teaches a course on Psychoneuroimmunology to medical students and is a strong advocate of healthcare practice that focuses on the whole patient.

Psychoneuroimmunology investigates the relationships between behavior, psychosocial factors, the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems, and disease. Each system affects the others, enhancing and/or inhibiting processes elsewhere in the body. Research in this field has grown tremendously in recent years as science better understands the checks and balances of these interdisciplinary systems and processes. Introduction to Psychoneuroimmunology provides the first introductory text for this complex field.

Beginning with a discussion of immune system basics, Introduction to Psychoneuroimmunology explores endocrine-immune modulation, neuro-immune modulation, the relationship between stress, contextual change, and disease, as well as infection, allergy, immune activity and psychopathology, and immune function enhancement. This text provides a sound introduction to the field and will serve as a valuable overview to what is otherwise a complex interdisciplinary subject at the junction of molecular biology, genetics, the neurosciences, immunology, cell biology, endocrinology, pharmacology, biochemistry, and the behavioral sciences.