The Inclusive Behavioral Immune System

The Behavioral Immune System

Many animals engage in many behaviors that reduce their exposure to pathogens. Ants line their nests with resins that inhibit the growth of fungi and bacteria (Chapuisat, Oppliger, Magliano, & Christe, 2008). Mice avoid mating with other mice that are infected with parasitic protozoa (Kavaliers & Colwell, 1995). Animals of many kinds—from physiologically primitive nematode worms to neurological...

Recontextualizing the Behavioral Immune System Within Psychoneuroimmunology

We believe that the concept of the behavioral immune system (BIS) picks out an important set of phenomena, namely, the relationships between the immune system and disease-avoidant psychology. However, our enthusiasm is tempered by the recognition that (a) there are unresolved ambiguities in the BIS concept, which has been used in a variety of (sometimes inconsistent) ways; (b) many types of phe...

The Behavioral Immune System (and Why It Matters)

Like many other animals, human beings engage in behavioral defenses against infectious pathogens. The behavioral immune system consists of a suite of psychological mechanisms that (a) detect cues connoting the presence of infectious pathogens in the immediate environment, (b) trigger disease-relevant emotional and cognitive responses, and thus (c) facilitate behavioral avoidance of pathogen inf...

The behavioral immune system and social conservatism: a meta-analysis

Effects of Maternal Immune System Status on Neonate’s Immune System

Background: This study evaluated the effects of the maternal immune system stimulation or suppression during the pregnancy on the development of the neonate’s immune system.Methods: A total of 20 female rats were divided into four groups. The groups were treated using Leishmania major, Salmonella typhimurium, Tacrolimus, and sterilized normal saline. The animals were mated after 3-time tr...