AN EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE ON SIGNALING IN BEHAVIOR AND IMMUNOLOGY

Signaling and communication are important at different levels of biolo gical organization. Signals exchanged between cells of the immune syst em initiate and coordinate the immune response; signals exchanged betw een individuals often coordinate social behavior. Behavioral ecologist s interested in the evolution and functional design of signals exchang ed between individuals have produced a theory of signaling and communi cation that stresses the importance of cooperation and conflict; if a conflict of interest between signaler and receiver is great enough, si gnals evolve towards greater reliability. We suggest that the applicat ion of signaling system theory to signals exchanged between cells with in an individual will allow for a better understanding of immunity and intra-individual communication in general, with potential for novel a pproaches to the treatment of disease.