Nation's top experts in psychoneuroimmunology to gather Sept 18-21 in Tampa, Fla.

Researchers finding mind-body connection a 2-way street

Tampa, FL (Sept. 9, 2008) -- Are you sick because you're depressed, or are you depressed because you're sick? The short answer is yes.

For more than 25 years researchers in the field of psychoneuroimmunology, or PNI, have been accumulating evidence showing that what you think and feel may alter your immune system. Relatively recently researchers have also begun documenting the flip side – that the immune system gone awry may profoundly impact the inner workings of your brain, leading to significant behavioral and health consequences.

Some of the nation's leading experts in psychoneuroimmunology, or PNI, will gather Sept. 18 to 21 when the University of South Florida College of Nursing hosts a national conference, Frontiers in Psychoneuroimmunology: The Emotional Interface, at Saddlebrook Resort in Tampa, FL. They will share emerging research linking emotions with health and immunity, the connections between emotions and cancer progression, the immune system's involvement in diseases such as fibromyalgia, depression and metabolic syndrome, the potential of stress and fatigue to hurt the body's ability to fight infection, and the global health implications of mind-body research. The conference will include a preconference training program in meditation/stress reduction and roundtable discussions with opportunities for health professionals in attendance to ask questions.

PNI has evolved with advances in technology, which now allows scientists to more precisely measure inflammatory chemicals such as cytokines and stress hormones like cortisol, as well as tap into sophisticated imaging techniques that map out metabolic changes in parts of the brain controlling emotions.

"One of the biggest challenges is interpreting the results of mind-body interactions and transforming them into clinical outcomes that will benefit our patients and clients. We are dealing with an extraordinarily complex system and we don't yet understand all that we need to consider." said Nick Hall, PhD, director of the USF College of Nursing Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, one of few PNI research centers in the country housed within a nursing school. "But this conference will bring together the country's top PNI experts in one spot to answer tough questions. Many of the speakers are funded by the National Institutes of Health, and we all share a passion for scientific validity."