FENS 2018: Understanding emotional processing could lead to new treatment approaches

Researchers from Technion Israel Institute of Technology (Haifa, Israel) have studied the interaction between emotional processing and the immune system, suggesting that understanding this could lead to new treatments for psychiatric diseases. The work, which was presented at FENS Forum of Neuroscience (7–11 July, Berlin, Germany), builds on the links between emotions and immunity as seen in the ‘placebo effect’, where an inactive treatment can have a positive effect on a patient’s outcome. Presenter, Asya Rolls (Technion Israel Institute of Technology), commented: “We have underestimated the potential of the placebo in treatment and recovery. The mechanisms of the placebo effect...