Stress and antibody response to vaccination: implications of animal studies for human clinical research

Psychological stress has been shown to be associated with poorer antibody levels following vaccination in both animals and humans, although the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. However, animal research has enabled investigation of how this relationship may be affected by the influence of individual differences in physiological and behavioral stress responses, the role of the timing of stress exposure and precise neuroendocrine and immunological mechanisms. By using these findings to inform future human research, we will be better able to achieve our goal of fully understanding and ultimately ameliorating, the effect of stress on antibody response to vaccination.