Understanding The Relationship Between Psychoneuroimmunology and Childhood Trauma : Why It Matters

Childhood Trauma

Childhood psychosocial stressors can impact the development of the immune system, which can then affect the development of the brain and its long-term functioning due to the two-way relationship between the immune system and the brain. Psychoneuroimmunology of early-life stress can provide a novel framework for comprehending and treating psychopathology associated with childhood trauma, based on observational human studies and experimental animal models. Remarkably, several incidents involved once-healthy people who became mentally ill despite not having any physical injuries—the so-called “railway spine.”

A contentious discussion was sparked by these odd observations. On the one hand, proponents of organic explanations believed that train accidents might have resulted in psychopathology due to invisible brain damage. Conversely, proponents of functional explanations believed that psychopathology could result from the mental/intra-psychic representation of the accidents, or “psychological” trauma. In this article, we dive deeper into the relationship between childhood trauma and the vulnerability of the people who experienced it to contracting auto-immune diseases and how studying psychoneuroimmunology can help us understand the underlying perils and take the right steps.

What is psychoneuroimmunology?

Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI), a relatively new field of study, looks at the interactions between your immune system and central nervous system (CNS). Although scientists are aware that our immune system and central nervous system can communicate, they have only lately begun to comprehend how this works and what it means for our overall health. Your immune system is composed of cells and organs that protect your body from infection, whereas your central nervous system (CNS) is made up of the nerves in your brain and spinal cord. Small molecules and proteins that can serve as messengers between the two systems are produced by both systems. These messengers include neurotransmitters and hormones in your central nervous system. In contrast, your immune system communicates with your central nervous system (CNS) through proteins known as cytokines.

According to neurobiological research, psychological trauma—especially psychological trauma experienced as a child—can cause the same physiological reaction as physical trauma, resolving this conflict. Experimental and observational research demonstrating that psychological stress can cause an immune response—more specifically, an inflammatory response—supports the biological plausibility of this theory. An inflammatory response and the activation of immune cells can result from psychological stress because they can activate the amygdala and, in turn, the sympathetic nervous system. However, early-life psychological trauma may affect the immune system for a long time. The inflammatory response may be activated more frequently in people with a history of childhood trauma, such as maltreatment because they exhibit increased amygdala reactivity to emotional stimuli.

Childhood trauma and the higher vulnerability towards autoimmune diseases

According to a 2016 analysis of previous research, childhood stressors can cause your immune system to release more cytokines. This is linked to a higher chance of developing mental illness as an adult. This early release of cytokines, according to researchers, may alter the brain and raise a person’s chance of later developing a mental illness. Understanding the long-lasting impacts of childhood trauma on subsequent psychological and physical health may be made easier by the connection between inflammation and childhood trauma. Experimental studies conducted on rodents provided evidence that inflammation plays a mediating role in the relationship between childhood trauma and subsequent illness.

Understanding the long-lasting impacts of childhood trauma on subsequent mental and physical health may be made easier by the connection between inflammation and childhood trauma. By changing the metabolism of important neurotransmitters, inflammation can influence the risk for psychopathology. When it occurs early in life, it can also affect brain development and the HPA axis and microglia’s reactivity to subsequent stressors. Through its effects on insulin sensitivity and the progression of atherosclerosis, inflammation also influences the risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Experimental research in rodents demonstrated that the administration of anti-inflammatory medications can buffer cognitive impairment following early life stress, thereby supporting the role of inflammation in mediating the association between childhood trauma and later disease.

What kinds of PNI are there?

What does our health mean in light of all this new information? To find out more about the part PNI plays in several common conditions, continue reading.

1) The psoriasis

An excellent illustration of the connections between your immune system, central nervous system, mental health, and stress levels is psoriasis. It is a long-term disorder that results in excessive skin cell growth. Normally, your body sheds extra skin cells, but if you have psoriasis, these cells accumulate on the surface of your skin. Severe pain and itching may result from this. When you have psoriasis, your immune system releases cytokines, which cause your skin cells to proliferate. We are aware that psychological stress can exacerbate psoriasis or cause flare-ups. Psoriasis patients typically have higher levels of the stress hormone cortisolTrusted Source. Additionally, psychological disorders like depression, elevated stress, and suicidal thoughts are frequently reported by people with psoriasis. Prior studies have connected major depression to elevated cytokine levels. Although there isn’t a cure for psoriasis at the moment, new advancements in PNI research may one day change this. Here’s how to handle it at home in the interim.

2) Cancer

A 2013 analysis of numerous studies examining the connection between PNI and cancer discovered evidence that:

  • Stress-related immune system abnormalities were observed in women with genetic risk factors for cancer.
  • In individuals with breast cancer, there seems to be a connection between immune cell activity, depression, and the level of social support they receive.
  • Individuals with ovarian, cervical, or breast cancer who reported feeling lonely or stressed had immune system abnormalities.
  • Cancer treatment-related symptoms like fatigue, depression, and trouble sleeping may be impacted by immune system-brain communication.
  • A lower survival rate for several cancer types may be linked to stressful events and depression.

3)Heart disease

A 2010 review that examined the connection between stress, immune function, and coronary artery disease supported other research that found psychological stress raises the synthesis of cytokines that promote inflammation. An increase in blood pressure and heart rate is linked to this rise in pro-inflammatory cytokines. Additionally, your immune system’s cytokine production encourages feelings of exhaustion or illness. This review suggests that this reaction isn’t harmful right away. However, cytokine production and chronic stress may be factors in the development of heart disease.

Conclusion

If inflammation increases the chance of contracting these diseases, then reducing inflammation would reduce the risk of disease. Comprehensive interventions that target unhealthy behaviours like substance abuse, sleep deprivation, overeating, and inactivity may be used as strategies to reduce inflammation .A greater understanding of the biological processes about inflammation that transform exposure to childhood trauma into biological risk for disease (biological embedding) may lead to new methods of treating trauma-related psychopathology and illnesses.

PNI examines the connection between your immune system and central nervous system, and it is a rapidly expanding field of study. Researchers now know that stress, whether physical or emotional, can have a real impact on your immune system, even though some of the research has left more questions than answers. Future research on PNI will probably examine the effects of this relationship on diseases like psoriasis and cancer. It might even lead scientists to long-awaited treatments for both of these ailments, among many others. Neuroplasticity says that the mind reprograms itself with every experience. For now, we must understand that the biggest truth about this study is that a human’s willpower can heal any traumatic experience that happened to them if their willingness to lead a better life is more resilient than their victim mentality.

-Hridya Sharma

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