Course Syllabus
Healthy Minds and Bodies: The Science of Psychoneuroimmunology |
| Semester & Location: |
Fall 2025 - DIS Stockholm |
| Type & Credits: |
Elective Course - 3 credits |
| Major Disciplines: |
Psychology, Neuroscience, Pre-Medicine/Health Science |
| Prerequisite(s): |
One course in psychology or neuroscience at university level. |
| Faculty Members: |
Elodie Cauvet (current students please use the Canvas Inbox) |
| Program Contact: |
Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience - psy.cns@dis.dk |
| Time & Place: |
Mondays and Thursdays, 10:05 - 11:25, D508 |
Course Description
The mind-body connection and its influence on mental as well as somatic health is at center stage in this course, focusing on the field of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI). PNI is an interdisciplinary field at the intersection of psychology, neuroscience, and immunology, exploring the intricate connections between the mind, the brain, and the immune system. Students will delve into the realm of how thoughts, emotions, and behaviors impact immune function and, conversely, how the immune system influences mental processes and behavior. They will gain a comprehensive understanding of the bidirectional communication pathways between the brain and the immune system, from the molecular and cellular levels to complex psychosocial interactions. By examining cutting-edge research and clinical applications, students will explore the role of PNI in health and disease, including its implications for understanding and treating conditions such as autoimmune disorders, chronic pain, infectious diseases, and mental health disorders. Furthermore, students will critically evaluate the impact of lifestyle factors, stress, and psychosocial interventions on immune function and overall well-being, paving the way for future advancements in both research and clinical practice.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, students would be able to:
- Understand the bidirectional communication pathways between the brain and the immune system, from molecular and cellular levels to complex psychosocial interactions.
- Analyze and evaluate the impact of thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and psychosocial factors on immune function and overall health.
- Explore the role of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) in the development, progression, and treatment of various health conditions, including autoimmune disorders, chronic pain, infectious diseases, and mental health disorders.
- Critically assess the implications of lifestyle factors, stress, and psychosocial interventions on immune function, resilience, and well-being, fostering a deeper understanding of the mind-body connection and its significance in research and clinical practice.
Faculty
Élodie Cauvet obtained her PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience, from Pierre & Marie Curie University in Paris (France). Her research interest started with language acquisition in infants leading to the study of the cerebral processing of language and music in adults. She became interested in neurodevelopmental disorders starting with developmental dyslexia then expending into autism spectrum disorders as well as ADHD. She is using techniques from psychology as well as neuroimaging in her research; this includes MRI (anatomical and functional) as well as EEG and eye tracking. She has been conducting her latest research at Karolinska Institutet Center for Neuro-developmental Disorders (KIND). Her interests include social cognitive skills, empathy and emotion processing within the whole spectrum of functioning from typicality to disorders such as ASD. With DIS since 2016.
Readings
The following list is an example of readings, for the exact list refer to each of the class in your calendar.
Selected chapters from the following books:
Daruna, J. H. (2012). Introduction to psychoneuroimmunology. Academic Press.
Cozolino, L. (2010). The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Healing the Social Brain. WW Norton & Co.
Gordon, A., & Ziv, A. (2021). The Way Out: A Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven Approach to Healing Chronic Pain. Ebury Publishing.
Levine, P. A. (2010). In an unspoken voice: How the body releases trauma and restores goodness. North Atlantic Books.
Maté, G. (2022). The myth of normal: Trauma, illness and healing in a toxic culture. Knopf Canada.
Palmer, C. M. (2022). Brain Energy: A Revolutionary Breakthrough in Understanding Mental Health--and Improving Treatment for Anxiety, Depression, OCD, PTSD, and More. BenBella Books.
Articles:
Andorfer, A., Kraler, S., Kaufmann, P., Pollheimer, E., Spah, C., Fuchshuber, J., … & Unterrainer, H. F. (2023). Psychophysiological stress response after a 6-week Mindful Self-Compassion training in psychiatric rehabilitation inpatients: a randomized post-test only study. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, 1098122.
Arroll, M. A., & Howard, A. (2013). ‘The letting go, the building up, [and] the gradual process of rebuilding’: Identity change and post-traumatic growth in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. Psychology & Health, 28(3), 302-318.
Colloca, L. (2017). Nocebo effects can make you feel pain. Science (New York, N.Y.), 358(6359), 44. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aap8488
Enck, P., Bingel, U., Schedlowski, M., & Rief, W. (2013). The placebo response in medicine: minimize, maximize or personalize? Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 12(3), 191-204.
Finlay-Jones, A. L., Parkinson, A., Sirois, F., Perry, Y., Boyes, M., & Rees, C. S. (2023). Web-Based Self-Compassion Training to Improve the Well-Being of Youth With Chronic Medical Conditions: Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 25, e44016.
Gouin, J. P., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (2011). The impact of psychological stress on wound healing: methods and mechanisms. Immunology and Allergy Clinics, 31(1), 81-93.
Greville-Harris, M., & Dieppe, P. (2015). Bad is more powerful than good: the nocebo response in medical consultations. The American Journal of Medicine, 128(2), 126-129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2014.08.031
Guidi, J., Lucente, M., Sonino, N., & Fava, G. A. (2021). Allostatic load and its impact on health: a systematic review. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 90(1), 11-27.
Jonsjö, M. A., Wicksell, R. K., Holmström, L., Andreasson, A., & Olsson, G. L. (2019). Acceptance & commitment therapy for ME/CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome)–a feasibility study. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 12, 89-97.
Naviaux, R. K. (2020). Perspective: Cell danger response biology—The new science that connects environmental health with mitochondria and the rising tide of chronic illness. Mitochondrion, 51, 40-45.
Neff, K. D., & Knox, M. C. (2020). Self-compassion. In Encyclopedia of personality and individual differences (pp. 4663-4670). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Quattrone, A., Barbagallo, G., Cerasa, A., & Stoessl, A. J. (2018). Neurobiology of placebo effect in Parkinson's disease: What we have learned and where we are going. Movement Disorders, 33(8), 1213-1227.
Schedlowski, M., Enck, P., Rief, W., & Bingel, U. (2015). Neuro-Bio-Behavioral Mechanisms of Placebo and Nocebo Responses: Implications for Clinical Trials and Clinical Practice. Pharmacological Reviews, 67(3), 697-730. https://doi.org/10.1124/pr.114.009423
Tedeschi, R. G., Shakespeare-Finch, J., Taku, K., & Calhoun, L. G. (2018). Posttraumatic growth: Theory, research, and applications. Routledge.
Van der Kolk, B. A. (1994). The body keeps the score: Memory and the evolving psychobiology of posttraumatic stress. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 1(5), 253-265.
Ware, B. (2012). The top five regrets of the dying: A life transformed by the dearly departing. Hay House, Inc.
Wang S, Quan L, Chavarro JE, et al. (2022). Associations of Depression, Anxiety, Worry, Perceived Stress, and Loneliness Prior to Infection With Risk of Post–COVID-19 Conditions. JAMA Psychiatry. Published online September 07, 2022. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2022.2640
Zeligman, M., Varney, M., Grad, R. I., & Huffstead, M. (2018). Posttraumatic growth in individuals with chronic illness: The role of social support and meaning making. Journal of Counseling & Development, 96(1), 53-63.
Field Studies
Sauna: a cultural component with mental and physical health benefits?
In this field study, you will explore the psychoneuroimmunological effects of traditional Nordic sauna bathing, a centuries-old cultural practice renowned for its social and restorative qualities. You will engage in a sauna session and the plunge into open water in an authentic community settings. This session will start the discussion around physical and mental health markers, and the validity of such a practice in terms of potential protective factors.
MRI: an example of methods for studying psychoneuroimmunology
We will visit the Stockholm University Brain Imaging Center, to explore the neuroimaging methods. Concretely you will be able to attend and have the option to get your brain scanned with an MRI. This session will be revolve around 2 axes: neuroanatomy, and methods for your project.
Guest Lecturers
Annelies Van't Westeinde, PhD, is a postdoctoral researcher continuing to study cognition and brain health in endocrine disorders as well as inborn errors of metabolism. Her main interest is in understanding the interaction between hormones, the brain, cognition and behaviour. Her PhD focused specifically on brain
structure and function in congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) and autoimmune Addison's disease. Brain health in these rare diseases is not well understood, and a lot of work remains to be done to help understand the impact of adrenal insufficiency on the brain and hopefully improve quality of life for these patients.
Carlos Tirado, PhD, is a postdoctoral researcher in cognitive sciences at Linköping University, holding a PhD in experimental psychology from Stockholm University. His expertise lies in auditory perception, perceptual training, working memory, attention, and embodied cognition. In his work, he focuses in employing novel psychophysical and statistical methods.
Lina Hansson, PhD, is a postdoctoral researcher at Karolinska Institute in psychoneuroimmunology investigating how experimental inflammation affects approach-avoidance behaviors. She holds a PhD from Stockholm University in Pyschoneuroimmunology.
Jan Mulder, PhD, is a senior researcher and group leader at Science for Life laboratory, department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute since 2010. Group leader of the brain profiling efforts within the Human Protein Atlas project since 2010. His research aims at identifying the cellular location of proteins linked to brain function and disease.
Julie Lasselin, PhD, is a senior researcher at Karolinska Institute in Psychoneuroimmunology. Her research aims at better understanding how inflammation influences behavior and what factors underlie the inter-individual differences in the vulnerability to the behavioral effects of cytokines.
Ebba Karlsson, DIS Stockholm Faculty
M.Sc. in Clinical Psychology (Stockholm University, 2015), B.A. in Philosophy (Stockholm University, 2013). Visiting student in Politics and Public Policy at New York University, and research internship at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University. Founder of Poplar, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving political civility in society. Also working as a licensed clinical psychologist and organizational consultant, focusing on leadership development, stress resilience, and well-being. With DIS since 2016.
Preliminary themes and topics to be covered
1. Introduction and Overview of the course
2. The Nervous System and Mind-Body Connection
- The nervous system and mind-body connection
- What is stress?
- Mental health and bodily triggers
- Trauma and its impact on nervous system regulation
- The Cell danger response
- The gut/microbiome and brain connection
3. Chronic Conditions and Their Mechanisms
- How can we understand chronic pain?
- How can we understand conditions such as ME/CFS, POTS, and long-covid?
- Other diseases and PNI
4. Psychological Perspectives and Interventions
- Nocebo and placebo effects
- The Importance of relationships
- The Power of self-compassion
- A closer look at Compassion-focused therapy (CFT) and Acceptance & commitment therapy (ACT)
- The Science of meditation
- Post-traumatic growth (PTG)
5. Physical Health and Lifestyle
- Movement, physical activity, and health
- The Circadian rhythm
6. Societal and Cultural Contexts
- Society and culture - The Myth of Normal
- Why is this knowledge not so well known? Learnings from political psychology
Approach to Teaching
I am an enthusiastic teacher aiming at developing your curiosity, sense of questioning and critical thinking. As such, I encourage asking questions whether for clarification or for deepening your understanding. I believe that there is no such things as bad questions: what appears trivial might actually turn into the most interesting and insightful questions.
Each class include both lectures by the teacher and discussions led by the students. Classes’ content relies on the readings. Content of the readings is expected to nourish the discussions and might not be developed in details during the class. However, any unclear areas, pointed out by students’ questions, will be reviewed in class.
Expectations of the Students
Active participation: Students are expected to participate actively in class. This includes taking part in the discussions, asking or answering questions. There are no stupid questions, I encourage and reward student expression. Opinions can be expressed as such and scientific sources to discussion points are always rewarded. You are expected to behave professionally and treat each other with empathy. This is a crucial skill that as teacher I nurture and cherish which greatly helps communication, learning and in general well-being.
Absences: Students have to inform the teacher in advance in case they cannot attend a class. Missing a class unexcused will affect the active participation grade.
Preparation to the class: To engage with the class material properly, you are expected to come to class prepared. To this end, you are expected to spend 6 hours per week outside of class time with the different materials. This includes but isn't restricted to read and understand the required readings or preparation material before class. Think about what are the crucial points in the reading, what did you find super interesting, what is still unclear. Take your own notes so that we can discuss and answer your questions in class. This will also serve as a start for creating your own study guide.
In class and after: Slides include graphs, pictures and illustrations necessary to understand the class. Students are expected to take notes complementing and explaining the slides. Slides are a support and should be treated as such and not as the main source of info required. Class content need to be written down individually by the students. Main discussion will be summarized by the students and transcribed on white board and pictures of these will be available on Canvas in respective classes.
Grading
|
Methods of Evaluation |
How evaluated |
Percentage of grade |
|
Attendance and engaged participation |
Individual |
15% |
|
Literature review |
Group |
15% |
|
Protocol and methods |
Group |
15% |
|
Biological mechanisms |
Group |
15% |
|
Prevention/intervention |
Group |
15% |
|
Peer review |
Group |
25% |
|
Total |
|
100% |
To be eligible for a passing grade in this class you must complete all of the assigned work.
Use of laptops and phones in class
Based on the latest research on the topic, the only use of laptops or phones that is beneficial to the learning process is if it is solely used as a learning tool, namely taking notes, or taking the quizzes. However, most of the time, it is extremely hard for cerebral attention processes to ignore all other enticement that these devices provide. If you cannot mute/ignore non class related tools/processes, then it has a detrimental effect on learning. As such, I recommend using your laptop only for taking notes in class (or specifically required class related tasks), any other uses will not be accepted.
AI use policy
“Limited Use” --> The use of AI writing tools like ChatGPT in this course is restricted to specific stages, which will be defined by the faculty. The primary content of assignments should reflect your knowledge, creativity, and critical thinking. As with all sources of information and ideas, ensure that all AI contributions are correctly cited, namely that I need to see your input into the tool, and output of the tool associated to the document you submit.
Academic Accommodations
Your learning experience in this class is important to me. If you have approved academic accommodations with DIS, please make sure I receive your DIS accommodations letter within two weeks from the start of classes. If you can think of other ways I can support your learning, please don't hesitate to talk to me. If you have any further questions about your academic accommodations, contact Academic Support acadsupport@disstockholm.se
Academic Regulations
Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
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