Pavlovian conditioning of shock-induced suppression of lymphocyte reactivity: acquisition, extinction, and preexposure effects |
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Authors: | D T Lysle J E Cunnick H Fowler B S Rabin |
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Affiliation: | Division of Clinical Immunopathology, University of Pittsburgh, PA. |
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Abstract: | Recent research has indicated that physical stressors, such as electric shock, can suppress immune function in rats. The present study investigated whether a nonaversive stimulus that had been associated with electric shock would also impair immune function. Presentation of that conditioned stimulus (CS) by itself produced a pronounced suppression of lymphocyte proliferation in response to the nonspecific mitogens, Concanavalin-A (ConA) and Phytohemagglutinin (PHA). In further evidence of a conditioning effect, the suppression was attenuated by extinction and preexposure manipulations that degraded the associative value of the CS. These results indicate that a psychological or learned stressor can suppress immune reactivity independently of the direct effect of physically aversive stimulation or of ancillary changes in dietary and health-related habits. |
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