Can positive thinking make vaccines more effective?
What's the story
A recent study from Tel Aviv University has revealed that positive thinking can improve the immune response to vaccines. The research found that people who used optimistic thoughts to stimulate their brain's reward system produced more antibodies after vaccination than those who didn't. While this doesn't mean hope can cure diseases, it does highlight the potential of mental strategies in enhancing our body's defenses against infections.
Research findings
Link between positive thinking and immune response
The study is the first to show a direct link between positive thinking and improved immune response in humans. "It's the first demonstration in humans, in what seems to be a causal manner, that if you learn how to recruit your reward system in the brain, the effectiveness of immunization increases," said Talma Hendler, a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at Tel Aviv University.
Methodology
Brain training sessions and vaccine response
In the study, healthy volunteers participated in brain training sessions where they tried different mental strategies to stimulate specific brain areas. They received real-time feedback on their performance through scores that increased with brain activity. After four such sessions, the participants were vaccinated against hepatitis B and their blood was analyzed for antibodies against the virus two and four weeks later.
Study results
Positive expectations enhance immune response to vaccination
The researchers found that those who stimulated the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of their brain's reward system had the strongest immune response to the vaccine. The most successful participants were those who did this via positive expectations or imagining good things happening. This suggests that consciously generated positive expectations can engage the reward circuitry to influence immune function, a process that may be leveraged for non-invasive immune modulation.
Next steps
Future research and clinical relevance of positive thinking
The team is now looking into whether other parts of the immune system are affected by positive thinking, such as inflammation. Dr. Nitzan Lubianiker, a senior author on the study, clarified that their approach is meant as a complementary tool to boost immune response to vaccination, and not replace vaccines or standard medical care.
Expert opinions
Caution advised in interpreting clinical relevance of findings
Experts have cautioned against jumping to conclusions about the clinical relevance of these findings. Jonathan Kipnis, a professor of pathology and immunology at Washington University in St Louis, said it is too early to determine their clinical significance. Jeremy Howick, a professor of empathic healthcare at the University of Leicester, stressed that sick patients may respond differently but still sees potential benefits from this research.