Inflammation And Depression: Where Do We Stand?

Robert Dantzer

My research group focuses on the behavioral and psychopathological consequences of the effects of inflammatory mediators on the brain. During the course of an inflammation the proinflammatory cytokines that are produced by peripheral innate immune cells have an impact on brain functions via neural and humoral communication pathways. The brain forms an image of the peripheral immune response using the same cells and molecules as those mobilized at the periphery to fight infection. Brain cytokines induce sickness behavior, a well coordinated response of the host to help fighting infection, and this response is normally reversible. When the brain cytokine system is no longer regulated such as during chronic inflammation or in the presence of vulnerability factors, this response eventually culminates in psychiatric disorders such as depression. At the experimental level we explore the mechanisms that are responsible for the transition from sickness to depression. At the clinical level, we intend to explore the possibility that the subjective health complaints of patients suffering from chronic diseases (e.g., fatigue, depressed mood) are associated with inflammation and can be attenuated by interventions that attenuate inflammation (e.g., physical exercise).