This book tries to close the gap between immunological findings on the one hand, psychological, psychopathological, electrophysiological and neuroimaging aspetcs on the other. It deals with the issue of "cause and effect” (of immunological alternatives) in different organic and/or mental disorders, and emphasizes the necessity of considering a variety of treatment strategies. There are dynamic interactions and several important similarities between the immune system and the central nervous system, which help to lay the rational basis for "psychoimmunology”. Both systems have the capacity for memory and both play vital roles in adaptation and defence. Furthermore, in each system pathological changes can occur in the event of inappropriate responses to internal or external stimuli, leading to psychiatric as well as organic illnesses and autoimmune diseases could also arise as a consequence of dysfunction respectively maladaptation.
"... this book is a good way to approach the field of psychoimmunology, and shows that scientists are very active in this domain ...” Acta Neurologica Belgica