Personality-Immune System Link

Remember the 2015 brain-immune system research done in the laboratory run by Jonathan Kipnis, MD? They discovered that the three meningeal layers that cover and protect the brain were filled with immune system vessels. Dr. Kipnis has reported that additional studies have shown not only that the brain and immune system are connected directly but also that some behavioral traits may be developed and exhibited because of the immune response to pathogenic organisms. Part of your personality may actually be dictated by your immune system linking your brain with pathogens—for example:

 ·       Ongoing chronic stress may affect immune cells in the brain, leading to mental disorders

·       Protective immune microglia cells have direct involvement in creating the cellular networks at the core of brain behavior

·       Prolonged grief can lead to alterations in immune system functions (e.g., increase immune system cytokines that impact and control inflammation throughout the body)