Abstract
Systemic inflammatory processes induced by infectious diseases, sepsis or chronic inflammatory auto-immune diseases can affect mood, neuropsychological functions and behavior. Typically, those behavioral changes include symptoms such as psychomotor slowing, social withdrawal, anhedonia and depressed mood, and are collectively termed “sickness behavior”. It is believed that the increased release of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and hormones are mediating these behavioral effects and that peripheral cytokines are involved in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression and schizophrenia. In humans, the effects of an acute systemic inflammatory response on neuropsychological function can be experimentally analyzed by administering bacterial endotoxins. This review provides an overview of studies in humans investigating the effects of experimentally induced inflammation on cognitive and emotional parameters and corresponding neural activities within the CNS. In addition, possible signaling pathways are outlined, of how information from the peripheral immune system is transmitted to the CNS during peripheral inflammation.
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