2005 Press Releases
Thinking Yourself Better - Last Lecture Series, 19 October
How does the brain talk to the immune system and can the ensuing conversation produce major health benefits?
On Wednesday evening next (October 19th) as part of UCC's continuing
Science Lecture Series, Professor John Bienenstock, Visiting Walton
Professor at the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, UCC, will look at the
evidence collated to date, and as he puts it -"dispel some notions
while supporting others."
One of the questions occupying science at present is whether or not
achieving control over the immune system can reduce the allergies that
make life miserable for many people, and even affect the growth and
development of devastating conditions such as breast cancer. The
answer, according to Professor Bienenstock, is that the jury is still
out and that the evidence for and against seems to be weighted evenly
on both sides. He points to the work of California-based, Professor
David Spiegel, the originator of the concept, who found, having
examined the results of 10 separate studies, that five supported the
proposition and five were against it. Spiegel also concluded, Professor
Bienenstock said, that a psychological or psychotherapeutical approach
to the immune system "was no harm at all."
In his lecture, titled: Understanding the Language of Neuro-immune
Communication, Professor Bienenstock will review the existing evidence
and also examine the question of stress, how it affects the immune
system and how it might better be controlled. Specifically, he will
deal with the popular perception that stress control may provide a
pathway to better health, and he will also discuss environmental
factors, including recent tests using animals, that suggest the immune
system's responses can be manipulated for better or worse by direct
intervention. One such intervention involved removing a pup from its
mother.
The highly popular Science Lecture Series is being presented this year
as The Last Lecture Series as part of UCC's contribution to the Capital
of Culture 2005 celebrations and is organised by Professor William
Reville, Faculty of Science.
The lecture will be given in UCC's Boole Lecture Theatre 4 at 8 pm on
Wednesday, 19 October. As always, members of the public are invited to
attend and admission is free.
128MMcS
« Back to 2005 Press Releases