HCC Psychoneuroimmunology Basics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which neurotransmitter is primarily associated with the 'rest and digest' state and plays a role in calming immune activation?
- Dopamine
- Acetylcholine (Correct answer)
- Norepinephrine
- Serotonin
Correct answer: Acetylcholine
Acetylcholine, released by the parasympathetic nervous system, activates the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway to reduce immune activation.
Question 2: In PNI research, what is the term for immune cells that have receptors for neuropeptides and can respond to signals from the nervous system?
- Lymphokines
- Psychocytes
- Immunocytes (Correct answer)
- Cytokine receptors
Correct answer: Immunocytes
Immunocytes (immune cells such as T cells, B cells, and NK cells) express receptors for neuropeptides, allowing direct nervous-system-to-immune signaling.
Question 3: Which brain structure is most directly responsible for detecting psychosocial threats and initiating the HPA stress response?
- Hippocampus
- Prefrontal cortex
- Amygdala (Correct answer)
- Cerebellum
Correct answer: Amygdala
The amygdala evaluates emotional and social threat signals and triggers CRH release to activate the HPA axis.
Question 4: Secretory IgA (sIgA), found in saliva and mucous membranes, tends to decrease under which condition relevant to holistic coaching?
- Moderate aerobic exercise
- Chronic psychosocial stress (Correct answer)
- Mindfulness meditation
- Adequate sleep
Correct answer: Chronic psychosocial stress
Chronic psychosocial stress suppresses sIgA production, reducing mucosal immunity and increasing susceptibility to respiratory infections.
Question 5: What is 'allostatic load' in the context of PNI?
- The adaptive increase in immune function during acute stress
- The cumulative wear and tear on the body from chronic stress responses (Correct answer)
- The balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines
- The threshold at which cortisol triggers neurogenesis
Correct answer: The cumulative wear and tear on the body from chronic stress responses
Allostatic load refers to the cumulative physiological cost of repeated or chronic stress adaptations, contributing to disease risk.
Question 6: Which type of immune cells are known as 'natural killer' cells, and how does acute psychological stress typically affect them?
- B lymphocytes; stress increases them short-term
- NK cells; stress transiently increases their activity (Correct answer)
- Macrophages; stress suppresses them immediately
- Neutrophils; stress has no effect on them
Correct answer: NK cells; stress transiently increases their activity
NK cells show a transient increase in number and cytotoxic activity during acute stress due to catecholamine mobilization from bone marrow.
Question 7: In PNI, the 'hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal' axis ultimately produces which end hormone that modulates immune function?
- Aldosterone
- Cortisol (Correct answer)
- Estrogen
- Oxytocin
Correct answer: Cortisol
The HPA axis culminates in cortisol release from the adrenal cortex, which broadly suppresses inflammation and modulates immune cell trafficking.
HCC Psychoneuroimmunology Basics 2
Which neurotransmitter is primarily associated with the 'rest and digest' state and plays a role in calming immune activation?