Psychoneuroimmunology: A Hallmark in Developmental Programming and Epigenetics

Psychosocial environmental signals have become a part of human life and might reprogram several physiological processes through the modulation of neuroendocrine-immunity crosstalk and epigeneticsEpigenetics. Activation of the immune system upregulates cytokine release and stimulates the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis, which in turn promotes the release of glucocorticoidsGlucocorticoid. In response to psychosocial stress, this axis is dysregulated leading to developmental programming that may be mediated by structural damage, cellular agingAging, and epigeneticEpigenetics modifications. This chapter discusses findings in the field of psychoneuroimmunology with keen focus on how psychosocial environmental signals influence neuroendocrine-immunity crosstalk. The chapter also illuminates the interactions between the immune system and the nervous system and how this interactions impact on human behavior in health and disease.