SICB symposium: Psychoneuroimmunology Meets Integrative Biology. January 3-7, 2009. Boston, MA

内分泌、免疫和神经系统帮助动物调整自己的行为，以在充满挑战的环境中生存。从历史上看，这些系统是独立研究的，但现在它们被认为是一个综合网络，这解释了压力如何增加许多物种的患病几率。精神神经免疫学（PNI）这个新领域的大部分工作都集中在改善人类健康上，但许多发现可能会解决一些基本的生物学问题，比如为什么动物生病时会减少活动。活动减少、食物摄入减少、睡眠增加以及对愉悦刺激缺乏兴趣，构成了一系列疾病行为，这些行为可能会将动物的优先事项转向感染后的生存。研讨会的目标有两个。首先，PNI研究人员将与比较生理学家聚集在一起，开始生成测试上述一些想法的框架。PNI研究人员往往以实验室为基础，研究家养啮齿动物，而比较生理学家通常在野外研究野生动物。这些相互作用的结果将通过SICB网站和主要科学文献中的论文向公众和更广泛的科学界传播。其次，研讨会将为学生，特别是代表性不足的群体提供极好的培训经验。研讨会上的互动将把有前途的新科学家与潜在的导师联系起来。此外，历史上代表性不足的学生将在研讨会上得到强调，因为资助参加并展示其数据的六名受训者中至少有三名是妇女或少数民族。

The endocrine, immune and nervous systems help animals adjust their behavior to survive challenging conditions. Historically, these systems were studied independently but now they are recognized as an integrated network, which explain how stress can increase chances of sickness in many species. Most work in this new field, psychoneuroimmunology, or PNI, has focused on improvement of human health, but many discoveries might reconcile basic biological problems such as why animals reduce activity when they get sick. Reduced activity, as well as reduced food intake, increased sleep, and lack of interest in pleasurable stimuli, comprise a suite of sickness behaviors that may serve to redirect an animal's priorities towards survival of infection. The goals of the symposium are two-fold. First, PNI researchers will be brought together with comparative physiologists to begin generating frameworks for testing some of the above ideas. PNI researchers tend to be lab-based and work on domesticated rodents whereas comparative physiologists often work on wild animals in the field. Results of these interactions will be disseminated to the public and broader scientific community through the SICB website and papers in the primary scientific literature. Second, the symposium will represent an excellent training experience for students, especially underrepresented groups. Interactions at the symposium will connect promising new scientists to potential mentors. Also, historically underrepresented students will be highlighted in the symposium, as at least three of six trainees funded to attend and present their data will be women or minorities.