How The Immune System Influences Mental Disorder

In recent years there has been an increasing awareness of the close connection between physiological states and mental health. New findings suggest the mind-body relationship is even more direct than previously imagined and suggest a potential new target for treatment: the immune system. Until recently, it was believed that the brain is “immune-privileged,” operating separately from the peripheral immune system (that of the rest of the body) with minimal interaction between the two.

In a ground-breaking paper1 published in Nature this year, University of Virginia researchers reported the discovery of a lymphatic drainage system in the central nervous system (CNS), which it was previously believed to lack.