Immunity; controls over socializing? (Introduction)

by David Turell , Wednesday, July 13, 2016, 20:05 (3056 days ago) @ David Turell

Immunity chemical controls may encourage social cooperation:-http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-07-role-immune-social-interaction.html-"In a startling discovery that raises fundamental questions about human behavior, researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have determined that the immune system directly affects - and even controls - creatures' social behavior, such as their desire to interact with others. -***-" The relationship between people and pathogens, the researchers suggest, could have directly affected the development of our social behavior, allowing us to engage in the social interactions necessary for the survival of the species while developing ways for our immune systems to protect us from the diseases that accompany those interactions. Social behavior is, of course, in the interest of pathogens, as it allows them to spread.-"The UVA researchers have shown that a specific immune molecule, interferon gamma, seems to be critical for social behavior and that a variety of creatures, such as flies, zebrafish, mice and rats, activate interferon gamma responses when they are social. Normally, this molecule is produced by the immune system in response to bacteria, viruses or parasites. Blocking the molecule in mice using genetic modification made regions of the brain hyperactive, causing the mice to become less social. Restoring the molecule restored the brain connectivity and behavior to normal. In a paper outlining their findings, the researchers note the immune molecule plays a "profound role in maintaining proper social function."-"It's extremely critical for an organism to be social for the survival of the species. It's important for foraging, sexual reproduction, gathering, hunting," said Anthony J. Filiano, PhD, Hartwell postdoctoral fellow in the Kipnis lab and lead author of the study. "So the hypothesis is that when organisms come together, you have a higher propensity to spread infection. So you need to be social, but [in doing so] you have a higher chance of spreading pathogens. The idea is that interferon gamma, in evolution, has been used as a more efficient way to both boost social behavior while boosting an anti-pathogen response.'"-Comment: A clever solution. If humans act in groups cooperatively they are exposed to pathogens others carry, so it is a reasonable development. It looks like a purposeful development.