ENHANCEMENT OF ANTIBODY-PRODUCTION BY A LEARNING-PARADIGM

The experiments described here show that production of serum antibody to a defined protein antigen (hen eggwhite lysozyme) can be elicited b y classical Pavlovian conditioning in Wistar rats. Reexposure of anima ls to a gustatory conditioned stimulus that had previously been paired with antigen induces a reliable increase in antibody production. This conditioned production of antibodies of IgM and IgG isotypes is simil ar to that found in secondary responses elicited by reinjection of ant igen. These findings demonstrate that the immune system can be stimula ted to produce apparently normal antibody responses by a simple behavi oral paradigm. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.