Nonstopdrivel
15 years ago

Photos of Sick People Boost Your Immunity 

The Psychological Immune System: Why seeing me sneeze makes you healthier

By Douglas Kenrick / Source: Psychology Today

Is it good for your health to see me coughing, sneezing and blowing my runny nose? Believe it or not, recent research suggests that the answer might be: Yes.

Of course, it's not good for your health if I sneeze right into your face. You're better off not being exposed to all those disease-causing microbes in the first place. But if you are exposed to those microbes, your immune system is going to have to fight them off; and it may fight them off more aggressively if you've just been looking at people who look diseased. That's the implication of some new results published by scientists at the University of British Columbia.

The researchers asked young adults to watch a 10-minute slide show containing a series of unpleasant photographs. Some of these participants looked at pictures of people who looked obviously sick in some way (people with pox and rashes, people coughing and sneezing and blowing mucus out of their noses).

The participants gave blood samples both before and after each slideshow. Next the researchers exposed these blood samples to a bacterial infection, and measured the extent to which white blood cells produced interleukin-6 (IL-6). IL-6 is a proinflammatory cytokine that white blood cells make when they detect microbial intruders. More IL-6 indicates a more aggressive immune response to infection. So, by measuring IL-6 before and after the slide show, the researchers were able to determine whether seeing pictures of disease-y people actually stimulated the immune system to fight infection more aggressively. And it did.

So it appears that merely looking at people who look sick does help your immune system prevent you from getting sick yourself.

One of the authors on the article is the social psychologist Mark Schaller. I tracked him down in the south of France, where he's spending a sabbatical. He was willing to put aside his rigorous workload of red wine and raw sheeps-milk cheeses to answer a few questions about the research:

Doug Kenrick (DTK): I know there's lots of research showing that any kind of stressful event - even something like struggling with a difficult math problem - can trigger the immune system to work harder. How is your result different from that? What does it tell us that we didn't already know?

Mark Schaller (MS): Not all stressful events are equal in their immunological consequences. That's the neat thing that shows up in our results. We didn't just ask people to look at disease-y photos. We also had a control condition in which participants looked at photos of people who were brandishing guns (most of which were pointed right at the camera, which means they were aimed right at participants themselves). Our participants rated those guns pictures as more distressing than the disease-y pictures. But, the guns pictures stimulated barely a 6% increase in IL-6 production, which is pretty negligible. By contrast, the disease-y pictures (which, remember, were rated as actually being less subjectively stressful) stimulated a whopping 23% increase in IL-6 production. So, clearly, the story here ain't just stress. It seems that there is something specific about seeing people who look diseased that triggers the immune system to kick it into a higher gear.

DTK: So any suggestion of disease begins my immune system. That seems to make adaptive sense, no?

MS: In fact, it was a conversation with an evolutionary psychologist - Steve Gangestad - that gave me the idea to the do the study. My students and I had been doing research on cognitive mechanisms that facilitate the behavioral avoidance of disease-y people, and then I ran into Steve at a conference and he wondered out loud about the possibility of an adaptive connection between these cognitive mechanisms and the "real" immune system. So, yeah, it makes enormous evolutionary sense. Here's one way to think about it: Immunological responses sure are useful, but they come at a cost. (Inflammation ain't fun, and IL-6 doesn't grown on trees.) So it could be debilitating if your immune system was fighting infections super-aggressively all the time. Far better for you (and for your ultimate reproductive success) if your immune system was calibrated to respond selectively aggressively - to do so under circumstances in which the threat of infection seems especially acute. Here's where visual information comes in handy. If you see a bunch of people around you who look sick, that's a pretty good indicator that you're in imminent danger of infection. Which means that this is one of those times when it'd be wise to allocate more of those precious bodily resources to mount an especially vigorous immunological defense.

DTK: It's one thing to show that visual information somehow triggers a more aggressive immune response. It's another thing entirely to explain exactly how it does it. What's the mechanism?

MS: That's an interesting question, and to be honest, we really don't know the answer. In our article, we offer some speculations about how subjective appraisals of threat trigger the production of hormones, such as cortisol and norepinephrine, that bind to receptors on immune cells, and about how parts of the sympathetic nervous system connect the brain to lymphoid organs, releasing neuropeptides and neurotransmitters that modulate immune function. I won't bore you with the details because, frankly, that's not my area of expertise (or to put it less generously: I'm a total moron about stuff like that, and I'm just lucky to have colleagues like Greg Miller and Edith Chen, who aren't). The bottom line is that there are lots of neurochemical pathways that allow the things going on in our big brains to exert an influence on immunological defense, but we just don't know what specific mechanisms are involved in this specific effect. It's an important topic for future research.


UserPostedImage
RaiderPride
15 years ago
Brilliant!


The key to a Successful 2010 season....


The Packers need to put photos of Justin Harrell in every players locker.
""People Will Probably Never Remember What You Said, And May Never Remember What You Did. However, People Will Always Remember How You Made Them Feel."
Nonstopdrivel
15 years ago
lol. +1
UserPostedImage
TheEngineer
15 years ago
This of course, begs the question, whether showing pictures of people in significantly immunosuppressed environments, such as a sterile lab, reduces one's immune status.
blank
Pack93z
15 years ago
NonStop's new health care plan... a device that floats sickly peoples imagines in front of every American for at least 4 hours a day.. kind like this. lol. ;)

UserPostedImage
"The oranges are dry; the apples are mealy; and the papayas... I don't know what's going on with the papayas!"
Nonstopdrivel
15 years ago
lol! +1
UserPostedImage
zombieslayer
15 years ago

Brilliant!


The key to a Successful 2010 season....


The Packers need to put photos of Justin Harrell in every players locker.

"RaiderPride" wrote:



+1
My man Donald Driver
UserPostedImage
(thanks to Pack93z for the pic)
2010 will be seen as the beginning of the new Packers dynasty. šŸ‡¹šŸ‡¹ šŸ‡²šŸ‡² šŸ‡¦šŸ‡·
Fan Shout
beast (6h) : Wow, 95% drop in investment revenue? Would be interesting to hear the details of why...
dfosterf (25-Jul) : It's my one day deal complaint dept. on shareholder meeting day
dfosterf (25-Jul) : Probably a homer access credential intimidation kinda thing
dfosterf (25-Jul) : Meathead "journalists" skip this, concentrating on operational revenue when convenient. They switch when net revenue is more favorable.
dfosterf (25-Jul) : Resulting in an actual drop of net revenue of 12.5%. She is from Minnesota. Just sayin'
dfosterf (25-Jul) : Any plans to hold Maureen Smith (CFO) accountable for a 95% drop in investment revenue?
Mucky Tundra (25-Jul) : In your face, HBO!
Mucky Tundra (25-Jul) : @ByRyanWood Mark Murphy: ā€œA great source of pride of mine is that we were never on Hard Knocks.ā€
Mucky Tundra (25-Jul) : *years
Mucky Tundra (25-Jul) : @mattschneidman Mark Murphy says he anticipates ā€œmany Packers gamesā€ being played in Germany, Ireland and/or the U.K. over the next 5-10 yea
dfosterf (25-Jul) : *cafeteria* I have hit my head also, so I sympathize
dfosterf (25-Jul) : Possibly hit his head leaning into the glass protecting the food in the cafateria
dfosterf (25-Jul) : Maybe a low flying drone
dfosterf (25-Jul) : Did Savion Williams run into a goalpost or something?
Mucky Tundra (25-Jul) : also, no bueno when a guy starts getting concussions right off the bat in his career
Zero2Cool (25-Jul) : Concussion is worse. Banks probably vet off day via back booboo claim
Mucky Tundra (25-Jul) : @AndyHermanNFL Jordy Nelson out at camp today. No word if he’s in play for one of the two open roster spots ; )
dfosterf (25-Jul) : Is that better or worse than Banks bad back?
Zero2Cool (25-Jul) : Savion concussion ... not good.
packerfanoutwest (24-Jul) : Aaron Rodgers’s first pass of first team period was picked off
Mucky Tundra (24-Jul) : tbh I didn't hear of his passing
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : Cosby Show. Malcom Jamal Warner I think is real name
Mucky Tundra (24-Jul) : I was thinking of Ozzy and Hulk
Mucky Tundra (24-Jul) : Who's Theo?
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : How is Theo alliteration?
Mucky Tundra (24-Jul) : Bad week for people whose names are alliterations
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : Hulk Hogan gone too.
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : Oh, it's toe injury
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : Hope it's not serious. that would stink
dfosterf (24-Jul) : Sounds like an ankle not a knee for Fields
dfosterf (24-Jul) : Ya Flaccp on Browns
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : Maybe Tyrod Taylor instead
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : He's on Browns, right?
dfosterf (24-Jul) : They would probably go with Flacco is my guess if Fields out
dfosterf (24-Jul) : Fleece 'em again!
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : Malik Willis might be someone Jets come after
packerfanoutwest (24-Jul) : Packers introduce 1923-inspired classic uniform, leather-look helmet
Zero2Cool (23-Jul) : Both LB Quay Walker and Rookie DB Micah Robinson have passed their physicals
Zero2Cool (23-Jul) : Happy to see site feels more snappy snappy
Zero2Cool (23-Jul) : No sir. I did not.
dfosterf (23-Jul) : You didn't get free childcare when you were at work?
wpr (23-Jul) : These guys make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Pay for their own childcare.
dfosterf (23-Jul) : 2nd issue. Number 1 issue was no gameday childcare. 1 of 3 teams not providing it
Zero2Cool (23-Jul) : Suppose if locker room is main issue, we sitting pretty
wpr (23-Jul) : I thought so Mucky. In those useless player polls GB always rates high overall. Locker is a part of it.
Mucky Tundra (23-Jul) : Wasn't the locker room just updated like 6 or 7 years ago?
Zero2Cool (23-Jul) : I have forum updated on different site. We'll see how this one goes before going to that
Zero2Cool (23-Jul) : Elgton Jenkins has a back injury, is expect to end contract dispute
wpr (23-Jul) : It's funny the PA complained about the locker room. It wasn't that long ago it was top shelf. Things change in a hurry.
wpr (23-Jul) : The site is much more better.
Please sign in to use Fan Shout
2025 Packers Schedule
Sunday, Sep 7 @ 3:25 PM
LIONS
Thursday, Sep 11 @ 7:15 PM
COMMANDERS
Sunday, Sep 21 @ 12:00 PM
Browns
Sunday, Sep 28 @ 7:20 PM
Cowboys
Sunday, Oct 12 @ 3:25 PM
BENGALS
Sunday, Oct 19 @ 3:25 PM
Cardinals
Sunday, Oct 26 @ 7:20 PM
Steelers
Sunday, Nov 2 @ 12:00 PM
PANTHERS
Monday, Nov 10 @ 7:15 PM
EAGLES
Sunday, Nov 16 @ 12:00 PM
Giants
Sunday, Nov 23 @ 12:00 PM
VIKINGS
Thursday, Nov 27 @ 12:00 PM
Lions
Sunday, Dec 7 @ 12:00 PM
BEARS
Sunday, Dec 14 @ 3:25 PM
Broncos
Friday, Dec 19 @ 11:00 PM
Bears
Friday, Dec 26 @ 11:00 PM
RAVENS
Saturday, Jan 3 @ 11:00 PM
Vikings
Recent Topics
5h / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

6h / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

25-Jul / Around The NFL / Mucky Tundra

25-Jul / Green Bay Packers Talk / Mucky Tundra

25-Jul / Green Bay Packers Talk / TheKanataThrilla

25-Jul / Green Bay Packers Talk / dfosterf

25-Jul / Around The NFL / beast

24-Jul / Green Bay Packers Talk / Martha Careful

24-Jul / Around The NFL / beast

24-Jul / Green Bay Packers Talk / Mucky Tundra

23-Jul / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

23-Jul / Green Bay Packers Talk / wpr

22-Jul / Random Babble / Zero2Cool

22-Jul / Green Bay Packers Talk / Zero2Cool

22-Jul / Green Bay Packers Talk / Zero2Cool

Headlines
Copyright Ā© 2006 - 2025 PackersHome.comā„¢. All Rights Reserved.