Relaxation, Imagery, and Neuroimmunomodulation^a

Abstract

Thirty undergraduates screened for high absorption ability were randomly assigned to three conditions. The first condition consisted of relaxation alone (progressive muscle relaxation and focused breathing). The second one combined this same relaxation training with mental imagery of the immune system. The third condition served as an alertness or mild arousal control; in a vigilance task subjects discriminated between tones presented in variable inter-trial intervals. Subjects reported trial levels of tension and daily stress. Before and after the protocols, which lasted about 1 hour, salivary immunoglobulin A (SIgA), cortisol and catecholamines (saliva and plasma), mood states, and power motivation were assessed. Afterwards, subjects doing relaxation alone and with imagery had a higher level of SIgA than did the vigilance task control group, with a large effect size. When the influence of plasma cortisol was controlled, this immune effect size increased by half, mainly by doubling the SIgA level after relaxation alone. SIgA was significantly and negatively correlated with saliva norepinephrine. The saliva and plasma levels for the neuroendocrine variables appear to be independent. Yet some saliva measures (e.g., epinephrine) did correspond highly with other plasma measures (e.g., norepinephrine).

Psychosocial Factors and Secretory Immunoglobulin A

“…These interventions presumably reduce subjective distress and physiological arousal. Only two studies included neuroendocrine assessments (Green and Green, 1987; lasnoski and Kugler, 1987), and both studies reported that there was no change in these measures following the intervention. Surprisingly, of the three studies (Green et al, 1988;Groer et al, 1994) that assessed psychological distress, only one study ) observed a decrease in psychological distress after the intervention.…”

“…The evidence that stress can affect the immune system, including s-IgA, raises the possibility that positive experiences, the opposite of stressful ones, could also affect the activity of the immune system (jasnoski and Kugler, 1987;Zakowski et al, 1989;Van Rood et al, 1993).…”

“…These changes in s-IgA secretion rate appeared to be independent of psychological distress, since no change was observed in anxiety as measured by the anxiety scale on the Hopkins symptom checklist (Derogatis et al, 1974) and the Taylor manifest anxiety scale (Taylor, 1951). jasnoski and Kugler (1987) randomly assigned 30 undergraduates to two relaxation groups or a control group. One of the relaxation groups was trained in progressive relaxation and focused breathing, while the other relaxation group was also trained in imagining powerful, positive immune function.…”

Psychoneuroimmunology and Aging

“…No clear association between the alterations of HPA hormone measures which have been described in depressed subjects and immune status has been reported. Jasnosky and Kugler [78] demonstrated that patients doing relaxation and imagery had higher levels of serum IgA, with a negative relationship between IgA and plasma norepinephrine levels. This evidence supports that a systemic response may integrate the biochemical, metabolic, neural, and hormonal events after a behavioral intervention [78].…”

Evaluation of the Use of Healing Imagery in Athletic Injury Rehabilitation

“…The treatment group initially showed a decrease in white blood cell count but then displayed a significant increase over time as participants became more relaxed and in control of their imagery. Healing imagery has been found to physically boost immune system function as displayed through increased activation of helper T cells (Jasnowski & Kugler, 1987) as well as through increased production m-IgA in the saliva (Gregson, Roberts, & Amiri, 1996).…”