Infectious Behavior: Brain-Immune Connections in Autism, Schizophrenia, and Depression - Softcover

Patterson, Paul H. H

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0262525348 ISBN 13: 9780262525343

Publisher: The MIT Press, 2013

Synopsis

An examination of brain-immune system communication in autism, schizophrenia, and depression.

In Infectious Behavior, neurobiologist Paul Patterson examines the involvement of the immune system in autism, schizophrenia, and major depressive disorder. Although genetic approaches to these diseases have garnered the lion's share of publicity and funding, scientists are uncovering evidence of the important avenues of communication between the brain and the immune system and their involvement in mental illness. Patterson focuses on this brain-immune crosstalk, exploring the possibility that it may help us understand the causes of these common, but still mysterious, diseases. The heart of this engaging book, accessible to nonscientists, concerns the involvement of the immune systems of the pregnant woman and her fetus, and a consideration of maternal infection as a risk factor for schizophrenia and autism. Patterson reports on research that may shed light on today's autism epidemic. He also outlines the risks and benefits of both maternal and postnatal vaccinations.

In the course of his discussion, Patterson offers a short history of immune manipulation in treating mental illness (recounting some frightening but fascinating early experiments) and explains how the immune system influences behavior and how the brain regulates the immune system, looking in particular at stress and depression. He examines the prenatal origins of adult disease and evidence for immune involvement in autism, schizophrenia, and depression. Finally, he describes the promise shown by recent animal experiments that have led to early clinical trials of postnatal and adult treatments for patients with autism and related disorders.

About this title

About the Author

Paul H. Patterson, a developmental neurobiologist and leader in the field of neuroimmunology, was Anne P. and Benjamin R. Biaggini Professor of Biological Sciences at the California Institute of Technology and a Research Professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine until his death in 2014. He is the coauthor (with Alan Brown) of The Origins of Schizophrenia.

Review

Finally someone is looking at the whole picture, not just one pathogen or disease at a time. In his paradigm-shifting book, Paul Patterson explains the dynamic interaction between the immune system, the brain, and development, unveiling an important new understanding of what may underlie many devastating brain disorders. Infectious Behavior opens the door to a whole new way of thinking about the causes and cures for some of the most challenging brain disorders, giving us much cause for hope.

―Portia Iversen, cofounder, Cure Autism Now Foundation (CAN), cofounder, Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE), founder, International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR)

Paul Patterson is attempting to describe a new field of study of which he himself is the leading pioneer. A summation of the field at the present is not currently available, either in other books or in journal articles, and therefore this book will fill an important niche. Patterson's efforts are unique in that they bridge the basic science and clinical world in a way that no other researcher in this field has done. This is a welcome addition to the field and a book that I will clearly want to buy and recommend.

―Robert Freedman, Professor and Chair, Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado

Neuroscience is one of the most exciting fields in science currently. Within neuroscience, one of the hottest research topics is the link between the immune system and the brain. Paul Patterson provides a lucid and up-to-the-minute account of this field. The research has profound implications for our understanding of disorders such as schizophrenia and autism.

―John McGrath, Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland

Edition details

• Publisher: The MIT Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0262525348
• ISBN 13: 9780262525343
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 178