To stress or not to stress: Brain-behavior-immune interaction may weaken or promote the immune response to SARS-CoV-2
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to strongly affect people with health disadvantages, creating a heavy burden on medical systems and societies worldwide. Research is growing rapidly and recently revealed that stress-related factors such as socio-economic status, may also play a pivotal role. However,...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2021-05-01
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| Series: | Neurobiology of Stress |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352289521000047 |
| _version_ | 1818454130501353472 |
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| author | Eva M.J. Peters Manfred Schedlowski Carsten Watzl Ulrike Gimsa |
| author_facet | Eva M.J. Peters Manfred Schedlowski Carsten Watzl Ulrike Gimsa |
| author_sort | Eva M.J. Peters |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The COVID-19 pandemic continues to strongly affect people with health disadvantages, creating a heavy burden on medical systems and societies worldwide. Research is growing rapidly and recently revealed that stress-related factors such as socio-economic status, may also play a pivotal role. However, stress research investigating the underlying psychoneuroimmune interactions is missing. Here we address the question whether stress-associated neuroendocrine-immune mechanisms can possibly contribute to an increase in SARS-CoV-2 infections and influence the course of COVID-19 disease. Additionally, we discuss that not all forms of stress (e.g. acute versus chronic) are detrimental and that some types of stress could attenuate infection-risk and -progression. The overall aim of this review is to motivate future research efforts to clarify whether psychosocial interventions have the potential to optimize neuroendocrine-immune responses against respiratory viral infections during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. The current state of research on different types of stress is summarized in a comprehensive narrative review to promote a psychoneuroimmune understanding of how stress and its mediators cortisol, (nor)adrenaline, neuropeptides and neurotrophins can shape the immune defense against viral diseases. Based on this understanding, we describe how people with high psychosocial stress can be identified, which behaviors and psychosocial interventions may contribute to optimal stress management, and how psychoneuroimmune knowledge can be used to improve adequate care for COVID-19 and other patients with viral infections. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T21:49:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3187fa5db3cd444e9b37eb397f333e67 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2352-2895 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T21:49:59Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Neurobiology of Stress |
| spelling | doaj.art-3187fa5db3cd444e9b37eb397f333e672022-12-21T22:46:16ZengElsevierNeurobiology of Stress2352-28952021-05-0114100296To stress or not to stress: Brain-behavior-immune interaction may weaken or promote the immune response to SARS-CoV-2Eva M.J. Peters0Manfred Schedlowski1Carsten Watzl2Ulrike Gimsa3Psychoneuroimmunology Laboratory, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Giessen and Universitätsmedizin-Charité, Berlin, Germany; Corresponding author. Psychoneuroimmunology Laboratory, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Aulweg 123, D-39385, Giessen, Germany.Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Immunobiology, University Hospital Essen, Germany and Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, SwedenDepartment for Immunology, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo) at TU Dortmund, Dortmund, GermanyPsychophysiology Unit, Institute of Behavioural Physiology, Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN), Dummerstorf, Germany; Corresponding author. Psychophysiology Unit, Institute of Behavioural Physiology, Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN), Wilhelm-Stahl-Allee 2, D-18196, Dummerstorf, Germany.The COVID-19 pandemic continues to strongly affect people with health disadvantages, creating a heavy burden on medical systems and societies worldwide. Research is growing rapidly and recently revealed that stress-related factors such as socio-economic status, may also play a pivotal role. However, stress research investigating the underlying psychoneuroimmune interactions is missing. Here we address the question whether stress-associated neuroendocrine-immune mechanisms can possibly contribute to an increase in SARS-CoV-2 infections and influence the course of COVID-19 disease. Additionally, we discuss that not all forms of stress (e.g. acute versus chronic) are detrimental and that some types of stress could attenuate infection-risk and -progression. The overall aim of this review is to motivate future research efforts to clarify whether psychosocial interventions have the potential to optimize neuroendocrine-immune responses against respiratory viral infections during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. The current state of research on different types of stress is summarized in a comprehensive narrative review to promote a psychoneuroimmune understanding of how stress and its mediators cortisol, (nor)adrenaline, neuropeptides and neurotrophins can shape the immune defense against viral diseases. Based on this understanding, we describe how people with high psychosocial stress can be identified, which behaviors and psychosocial interventions may contribute to optimal stress management, and how psychoneuroimmune knowledge can be used to improve adequate care for COVID-19 and other patients with viral infections.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352289521000047StressHypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis(Nor)adrenalineNeuropeptideCOVID-19Immune suppression |
| spellingShingle | Eva M.J. Peters Manfred Schedlowski Carsten Watzl Ulrike Gimsa To stress or not to stress: Brain-behavior-immune interaction may weaken or promote the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 Neurobiology of Stress Stress Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (Nor)adrenaline Neuropeptide COVID-19 Immune suppression |
| title | To stress or not to stress: Brain-behavior-immune interaction may weaken or promote the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 |
| title_full | To stress or not to stress: Brain-behavior-immune interaction may weaken or promote the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 |
| title_fullStr | To stress or not to stress: Brain-behavior-immune interaction may weaken or promote the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 |
| title_full_unstemmed | To stress or not to stress: Brain-behavior-immune interaction may weaken or promote the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 |
| title_short | To stress or not to stress: Brain-behavior-immune interaction may weaken or promote the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 |
| title_sort | to stress or not to stress brain behavior immune interaction may weaken or promote the immune response to sars cov 2 |
| topic | Stress Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (Nor)adrenaline Neuropeptide COVID-19 Immune suppression |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352289521000047 |
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