Brain training may boost immune response to vaccines

"Increasing activity in a deep-brain region can boost the immune system's response to vaccinesand people can be trained to do it themselves using the power of brain scans and positive thinking, according to a new study published on Monday in Nature Medicine. The findings could help explain the so-called placebo effect. Researchers trained 34 participants using a technique called neurofeedback."

"We open a sort of window into an unconscious neural activity, says Nitzan Lubianiker, co-lead author of the study and a neuroscientist at Yale University. Participants were encouraged to try different mental strategies such as thinking of a positive memory or focusing on their body. And through real-time feedback, they learned to activate reward pathways in two deep-brain structures called the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the nucleus accumbens."

"All the participants then received the hepatitis B vaccine. Researchers measured their immune systems' response to the shot by checking the levels of hepatitis B antibodies in their blood two and four weeks later. People who showed higher activity levels in their VTA had higher levels of antibodies in their blood. This suggests that the body mounted a stronger immune response when the VTA's reward pathways were activated."

Thirty-four participants underwent neurofeedback training to activate deep-brain reward pathways (VTA and nucleus accumbens) by using mental strategies and real-time brain-scan feedback. Two comparison groups trained different regions or received no training. All participants received the hepatitis B vaccine, and antibody levels were measured at two and four weeks. Higher VTA activity correlated with higher hepatitis B antibody levels, indicating stronger immune responses when VTA reward pathways were activated. Volitional activation of specific brain regions can modulate downstream antibody responses and may relate to placebo effects.

Read at www.scientificamerican.com