Neurobiologie und Psychotherapie

[Psychoneuroimmunology: an update]

Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) is closely associated with the bidirectional pathways between mind/brain and the immune system. PNI research represents a rapidly growing area within psychosomatic research. Recent studies in PNI are based mainly on the immunological concepts of Th1/Th2 dichotomy and inflammation. This review covers human PNI studies dealing with stress-associated changes in cytokine (Th1, Th2) levels in immune-related processes such as wound healing, atopic diseases as well as autoimmune and other inflammatory diseases. It is shown that PNI studies measuring immune activity near the site of the disease (e. g. woundhealing) and dealing with objective stressors show more consistent findings (stress-associated Th1/Th2 shift, stress-associated proinflammatory activation) than those dealing with chronic and complex diseases (e. g., autoimmune disease). This warrants the expansion of the methodological repertoire in future PNI research toward designs allowing for the investigation of complex psychosomatic phenomena.

[Neurotic conflict systematics--the fundamentals of conflict diagnostics (OPD-2)]

OBJECTIVE

Although a majority of psychodynamic-psychoanalytic researchers and practitioners address the issue of psychic structure, reevaluation of the nature of a neurotic conflict system and its relation to psychic structure is necessary.

RESULTS

A comprehensive conflict system is presented in the context of operative psychodynamic diagnostics (OPD-2), based on findings confirmed thus far. The conflict levels range from conflict tension to neurotic conflicts to conflict schemata in structural disturbances.

[Correlation between psychosocial factors and periodontal disease--a systematic review of the literature]

OBJECTIVES

This is a systematic review of the available empirical studies up to 2004 which deal with the question of the correlation between psychosocial factors/stress and gingival and periodontal disease.

METHOD

The three medical and psychological databases Medline, PsycInfo und Psyndex were searched systematically for relevant literature between 1946 and 2004.

RESULTS

34 empirical studies on humans (16 with and 18 without a control group) and ten empirical studies on animals are presented.

DISCUSSION

Despite serious methodological flaws in many studies, most (particularly the methodologically solid ones) indicated associations between a variety of psychosocial factors and periodontitis incidence and severity. The pathomechanisms between stress and periodontitis should therefore be the subject of further research.