FOCUS Feb-97 Physical & Nervous Affects (HIV/AIDS)

What is psychoneuroimmunology? What research exists supporting psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) as an approach to treating people with HIV disease? Is the scientific community ready and able to develop and implement PNI-based clinical protocols as immune-boosting treatment for people with HIV disease? This article looks at these questions and concludes that, after years of research, psychoneuroimmunology not only stands ready to produce effective clinical treatments as appropriate adjuncts to primary medical care, but has already begun to do so. What is psychoneuroimmunology? The word psychoneuroimmunology can be taken literally, meaning that the psychological self interacts with the nervous system which, in turn, interacts with the immune system. In popular culture, this connection between our psychological lives and our physical health is expressed as the “mindbody connection,” and is reflected in everyday speech: “Don’t stress out, or you’ll get sick,” or “You’d better slow down, or you’ll burn out and get sick.” The language of medical science is more complex. For example, according to PNI researchers George F. Solomon, Margaret Kemeny, and Peter Anton, psychoneuroimmunology is a “transdisciplinary” field: