Sickness behavior
From MEpedia, a crowd-sourced encyclopedia of ME and CFS science and history
Sickness behavior, sometimes called sickness response, are nonspecific behavioral changes humans and many animals adopt in response to an infection.[citation needed] Responses include lethargy, lack of appetite, low grade fever, sleepiness and lack of motivation.[citation needed] It is thought to have evolved to encourage behaviors that conserve energy and allow the host to better mount an immune response against invading pathogens.[citation needed]
Immune response[edit | edit source]
In response to the presence of a pathogen, proinflammatory cytokines IL-1, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) are released peripherally.[citation needed] These may then be sensed by the vagus nerve initiating a set of behavioral responses in the brain.[citation needed]
See also[edit | edit source]
Learn more[edit | edit source]
- "Vertebrate sickness behaviors: Adaptive and integrated neuroendocrine immune responses", Integrative and Comparative Biology, Volume 49, Issue 3, September 2009
- "When is it socially acceptable to feel sick?" (review article), Proceedings of the Royal Society B, August 7, 2014
- "Sickness behavior : immune system influences on brain and behavior" (series of three papers), Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, May 29, 2015
- "It's Not Just A Cold, It's 'Sickness Behavior'", NPR, January 6, 2018
