NeuroImage Human Brain Mapping 2000 Meeting
Poster No.: 215
Manabu Tashiro1,
Masatoshi Itoh1,
Kazuo Kubota2,
Hiroaki Kumano3,
Keiichiro Yamaguchi1,
Ernst Moser4
1 Cyclotron Radioisotope Center, Tohoku University,
Sendai, Japan
2 Division
of Nuclear Medicine, Institute of Aging, Development and Cancer, Tohoku
University
3 Department
of Human Behavioral Science, Tohoku University School of Medicine
4 Division
of Nuclear Medicine, Albert-Ludwigs University Freiburg, Germany
Subject: Disorders - psychiatry
Keywords: PET
Auxilliary: Middle Age (45 to 64 years)
[INTRODUCTION] The mechanism of psycho-neuro-immune interaction has tended to
be explained by involvement of the Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.
However, since psychosocial events must be “recognized” and “judged” in order
that our consciousness feels them stressful, the cerebral cortex and limbic
system would be also important. The author investigated the relationship
between cellular immunity (Natural Killer Cell Activity: NKA), regional glucose
metabolism and psychological scores in cancer patients.
[SUBJECTS & METHODS] Subjects were 8 cancer patients (mean age +/- s.d., 65
+/- 13, ranging 40 to 80, one woman and seven men) at various stages. They were
admitted to the Hospital of Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku
University. Their brain images were free from focal signs in MRI or CT. The
study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee for Clinical Research of
Tohoku University and informed consent was obtained from each patient. Brain
images extracted from whole-body images were analyzed. The mean dose of FDG was
6.9 +/- 2.0 (+/- s.d.) mCi (255.3 +/- 74.0 MBq).
Psychological status of each patient was evaluated using Zung’s SDS (Zung,
1965), Taylor’s MAS (Taylor, 1953), and Marlowe & Crowne’s social
desirability scale (MCSDS)(Marlowe & Crowne, 1960) in Japanese translation.
NKA was measured as follows. The whole blood sample of 5 ml was taken from each
patient just before the injection of FDG. These samples were measured at
Sumitomo Metal Bio-Science Inc. Laboratory (51Cr Free Floating Method K-562
cell line kit was used with Na251CrO4 presented by Amersham Japan).
[RESULTS] Positive correlation was detected between NKA and MAS scores (r=
0.96, p= 0.0002 by Spearman rank correlation test). Negative correlation at
threshold level was detected between SDS and MCSDS scores (r= -0.63, p= 0.047
by Spearman rank correlation test). No correlation was observed between patient
age and psychological scores and between patient age and NKA.
According to SPM results, NKA correlated positively with rCMRglu in the left
visual association cortex (BA18), left primary motor and premotor cortices (BA4
and 6), and right anterior cingulate gyrus (BA32). The NKA also correlated with
the left primary sensorimotor cortex (BA1-4) and left posterior parietal cortex
(BA7) but they did not survive Bonferroni correction. NKA correlated negatively
in the right basolateral prefrontal cortex (BA47), right prefrontal cortex
(BA10), orbitofrontal cortex (BA11), and inferoanterior temporal cortex
(BA20)(Figure 1).
According to SPM results, MAS correlated positively with rCMRglu in the left
visual association cortex (BA18 and 19), left primary sensorimotor cortex (BA4
and 6), right anterior cingulate gyrus (BA32) and right posterior parietal
cortex (BA7). The MAS also correlated negatively with the left basolateral
prefrontal cortex (BA47), right prefrontal cortex (BA10), orbitofrontal cortex
(BA11), and inferoanterior temporal cortex (BA20).
[DISCUSSION] Links between psychosocial events and immune response have been
studied well (Ader and Cohen, 1975). A recent work done by Wik and coworkers’
(1998) demonstrated correlation between rCBF and NKA and Concanavalin-A (Con A)
response of lymphocytes in normal human subjects. This may be only one study
available on this topic. In the present study, at least it seemed that anxiety,
NKA and metabolism in the cingulate and primary cortices correlated to each
other. Further interpretation is still difficult though the present result
might suggest that anxiety is associated with preserved NKA.
[CONCLUSION] Although representing preliminary data based on a small number of
subjects, these observations might provide further support for the presence of
interactions between the brain and immune system. The cerebral cortex and
limbic system may take some important roles in psycho-neuro-immune-modulation.
Functional brain mapping technique could produce useful results in
investigating this interaction.
[REFERENCES]
Ader R, Felton DL and Cohen N. (1991) Psychoneuroimmunology. 2nd. Ed. Academic
Press.
Crowne DP and Marlowe D. (1960) J Consult Psychol. 24, 349-354,.
Taylor JA. (1953) J. Abnorm. Soc. Psychol., 48, 285-290.
Wik G, Lekander M and Fredrikson M. (1998) Brain, Behavior and Immunity, 12,
242-246.
Zung WWK, Richards CB, Short MJ. (1965) Arch Gen Psychiatry, 12, 63-70.