Be Happy, Be Healthy

Victoria Zhou

Author: Jo Marchant, Nature Magazine
Published: November 27, 2013
Link: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-happiness-boosts-the-immune-system/

Summary:
A branch of science which is usually scoffed at by esteemed biologists and chemists knows as psychoneuroimmunology(PNI) has recently attracted a lot of attention. PNI is a field which studies how moods connect to the immune and nervous system. Stress and sickness has been a long linked duo but with little explanation. Steve Cole, a current professor at the University of California, has performed studies with his colleagues regarding negative states of mind and their affects on the human genome. The research identified 209 genes which differed in self-labeled lonely people and people who had strong social connections. these genes were found to be associated with inflammation, which were upregulated in lonely people, and genes with roles in fighting viruses, which were downregulated in the lonely people. Cole's explanation for this is that it would make sense from an evolutionary standpoint as people in large packs were exposed to more viruses and would need to be able to fend them off, and people who traveled in smaller packs or in solitary would be more likely to be cut, in which inflammation would help with healing. However, in modern times the constant inflammation could lead to diseases such as cancer, atherosclerosis, and diabetes. Other projects were conducted with different scenarios, regarding both negative and positive states of mind, with varying populations leading to the idea that mental state has much to do with physical state. Regardless, there are still many who are skeptical of the data and wary of PNI, but it is still an up and coming field.

Connection:
This article connects to our unit on the nervous system and the immune system. We learned that the systems all rely on the other to survive and the article highlights the connections between the two systems and how one may affect the other. The immune system helps fight off diseases using inflammation which too much of is also related to diseases regarding the circulatory system, atherosclerosis. Thus, we are able to see just how thoroughly entwined the body systems are. The article similarly connects to our study of genetics and evolution as it linked the connection of the immune system and moods to a varying set of genes within people with different social activity levels. Genetic variation would allow the 209 genes mentioned in the article to be overactive or more sedative, respectively, in groups of humans who would stay more solitary versus humans in larger groups.