Maryland University of Integrative Health’s Psychoneuroimmunology:  How Thoughts Impact Disease Course

How do our thoughts and moods impact disease? How do infections and diseases change our emotions? Several systems in the body interact with each other to impact health, yet we often study them in isolation. As we have learned more in each of the fields of immunology, neurology, endocrinology, and psychology, the relationships between these fields have illuminated how they are intertwined. Understanding how the immune system interacts with the nervous system, the endocrine system, and the microbiome provides clinicians with a more complete picture of disease. Moreover, a knowledge of psychoneuroimmunology links modern biomedicine with historical constitutional types and provides a variety of therapeutic approaches to a patient.

As a result of this lecture, you will be able to:

  • Describe how the immune system, nervous system, and endocrine system interact
  • Report the relationships between cytokines, neurotransmitters, and hormones
  • Discuss the role of cytokines, neurotransmitters, and hormones in the brain and gut
  • List diagnoses known to have microbiome relationships
  • Suggest treatment possibilities based on PNI and microbiome relationships

Format: On-Demand, Self-Paced Course

Estimated Effort: 2 hours to complete (video lecture presentation lesson, handout review, quiz)