Fulbright Research Fellowship to Russia

• Institute of Experimental Medicine

• The effects of early life stress and immune challenge on behavioral development

Background: Pavlov Physiology Department

• Founded in 1890, the Institute was funded by the sale of vaccines

• Venue of Ivan Pavlov’s Psychological Conditioning Experiments

• Currently, a government-funded institution with life sciences focus

Brain-Immune Interactions

• Physiology Research– Interaction between early life

inflammation (immune system) and brain development

• It was thought that the brain was completely protected from an activated immune system

Soviet Science

• Building on Pavlov’s famous conditioning experiments, Sergey Metalnikov trained the immune system to respond more or less strongly to a foreign particle

• It was only 50 years later than American scientists (Ader and Cohen) set out to disprove Metalnikov, but their results supported his findings

The Metalnikov Experiment

• Injections of tapioca paired with scratch + foreign material to evoke immune response

• Conditioning paradigm– Tapioca caused massive

immune response

Consequences of Isolated Science

• 50 years without collaboration on immune-nervous held back progress

• Science diplomacy was promoted, but consistent collaboration between Soviet and American laboratories never existed

Dogma Overturned

• Brain-Immune Interactions– Alzheimer’s Disease*– Diabetes*– Autism*– Bipolar Disorder**– Schizophrenia** – Depression**

*Dixon-Salazar TJ et al, (2014). MHC Class I Limits Hippocampal Synapse Density by Inhibiting Neuronal Insulin Receptor Signaling. J Neuro , 34(35): 11844-56.**Webster MJ et al, (2001). Immunohistochemical Localization of Phosphorylated Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein in the Prefrontal Cortex and Hippocampus from Patients with Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, and Depression. Brain, Behavior and Immunity, 15(4):388-400.

Dogma Overturned

• 80+ years after initial Metalnikov experiment

• Barriers– Political Boundaries

• Weak collaboration, failure to reconcile conflicting approaches and theories

– Systemic Issues• Institutional structures that

inhibit/encourage innovation

Philosophical Differences

• Brain-Immune Separation vs. Psychoneuroimmunology– New understanding encourages an holistic approach to

studying disease states