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Scientists found that people who trained their brains to think positive thoughts immediately after vaccination developed more protective antibodies in their blood in response to the vaccination.
Previous animal studies have shown that the brain reward systemwhich controls motivation and expectations, can affect immunity. However, whether this brain-immune connection also exists in humans remains unclear.
Researchers speculate that this brain network may also be placebo effect—— When fake treatments lead to real improvements in patients’ conditions, a better understanding of this biological process could lead to new ways to make vaccines more effective.
In the new study, researchers trained 85 healthy participants to intentionally increase activity in their brain’s reward network, known as the ventral tegmental area (VTA), and monitored it using advanced brain imaging techniques.
Participants were trained to use mental strategies, such as recalling previous trips, while activity in the VTA was imaged through functional MRI scans.
The researchers also provided participants with real-time feedback on the effectiveness of their mental strategies, allowing them to change their thoughts and adapt to increased VTA activity.
The participants then received a hepatitis vaccine and had their blood collected before and for up to four weeks after the injection.
The study found that people who learned to maintain higher VTA activity had significantly increased levels of protective antibodies against the vaccine in their blood.
Research indicates that in order to maintain high VTA activity, people use psychological strategies involving positive expectations, suggesting that these findings may be a sign of the placebo effect.
“Sustained upregulation of VTA is further associated with psychological strategies involving positive expectations,” the scientists wrote.
The study points to a potential link between activity in specific brain pathways related to motivation and expectations and the immune system.
“It is currently unclear whether a similar brain-immune link exists in humans and whether it involves conscious positive expectations,” the scientists wrote in the study published in the journal. Natural medicine.
It may help identify targets relevant to placebo effects and future treatments in humans.
“These findings suggest that consciously generating positive expectations can harness reward circuits to influence immune function,” the scientists wrote.
However, the scientists are seeking further studies with a larger number of participants because in the latest study, they only measured antibody levels and not the vaccine’s clinical efficacy.