VOLUME 12, NUMBER 19 • APRIL 6, 2001

University Hosts "Brain/Body" Symposium

On Tues., April 17, the university will host a symposium entitled "The Brain-Body Connection: An Exploration of the Relationship between Stress Hormones and Immune Function." Scientists from the Rockefeller University and other institutions will present a day-long series of talks.

Stress is an intrinsic part of life, and a physiological stress response is fundamental for survival. However, stress is thought to play a role in the etiology of many diseases. On the one hand, stress is known to suppress immune function and increase susceptibility to infections and cancer. On the other hand, paradoxically, stress is thought to exacerbate autoimmune and pro-inflammatory diseases-which by rights should be ameliorated by a suppression of immune function. This symposium explores the mind-body connection by examining the relationship between stress, stress hormones, and immune function.

Contrary to the popular belief that stress hormones are "harmful" and detrimental to health, studies will be presented to show that there exist reciprocal, dynamic, and modulatory relationships between stress hormones and immune function. Speakers will examine these relationships at various levels of behavioral, organismal, cellular, and molecular detail. Time for audience questions and discussion will be allotted after every presentation and at the end of the symposium.

The event begins with a coffee reception at 8 a.m., followed at 8:30 a.m. by introductory remarks from Bruce McEwen, Alfred E. Mirsky Professor and head of the Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology at Rockefeller.

At 9 a.m., Christine Biron, chairperson of the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at Brown University, will discuss "Viral Infection and HPA Axis Activation." Her talk will be followed at 10 a.m. by a discussion of "Immune Activation and Glucocorticoid Receptor Function: Relevance to Immune-based Depression" by Andy Miller, a professor in Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine. The next talk, at 11 a.m., will be presented by Firdaus Dhabhar, assistant professor at the Health Sciences Center of The Ohio State University and an adjunct faculty member of the Laboratory Of Neuroendocrinology at Rockefeller. Dhabhar’s topic will be "Stress Hormones, Leukocyte Trafficking and the Augmentation of Immune Function."

After an hour lunch break, the symposium will resume with a 1 p.m. talk, entitled "Stress and Immunosuppression" presented by Ron Glaser, a professor in the Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics at The Ohio State University. His talk will be followed by "Stress, Viral Infection and Wound Healing" by John Sheridan, a professor at the Health Sciences Center of The Ohio State University.

At 3 p.m., Esther Sternberg, director of the Integrated Neural Immune Program at the National Institute of Mental Health, will discuss "HPA Axis and Autoimmune Disease." Then at 4 p.m., Cobi Heijnen, a professor in the Laboratory of Pediatric Immunology at Universitiet Utrecht will speak about "Catecholamine Hormones and Inflammatory Disease."

At 5:00 p.m., McEwen and President Emeritus Torsten Wiesel (who is also Vincent and Brooke Astor Professor Emeritus and director of the Shelby White and Leon Levy Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior) will moderate a discussion.

The symposium will take place on the 17th floor of the Benjamin and Irma G. Weiss Research Building. Admission is free. Pre-registration is required, and electronic registration is preferred. To register, E-mail dhabhar@mail.rockefeller.edu.

For additional information, please call Adelaide Acquaviva, x8624.