PSYCHONEUROIMMUNOLOGY AND COPING WITH STR ESS

The effect of stress on the immune system is an area where, beyond any doubt, it is possible to provide evidence of the psychological modula tion of immunity. It is, however, also an area where different authors recorded different results. In the submitted paper the authors presen t the hypothesis of Evans et al. (1997) on the relationship between st ress and immune processes, which is based on the assumption that the i mmune system behaves in a different way in response to acute and chron ic stress. This hypothesis would also, provided its validity will be p roved, explain the existing discrepancies between results of different investigations. According to this hypothesis it may be said in a simp lified manner that an acute stressor leads to up-regulation of the imm une system, while prolonged stressogenic situations lead to downregula tion of the immune system. Evans and his collaborators assume that und er conditions when it is necessary to cope with some task, resolve som e current problems, which though difficult are feasible and are a chal lenge, the sympathetic-adrenal system is activated (Cannon's model), w hile under conditions where it is impossible to gain control over the stressor for a prolonged period, fulfill a task and cope with the pres ented demands the hypothalamo-pituitary system is activated (Selye's c oncept). This concept is consistent with stress theories elaborating t he effect of cognitive appraisal on the type of stress response in beh aviour and the neuroendocrine component (Henry and Stephens). The auth ors present results which support this hypothesis and questions which remain partly or completely open.