Neuroimmune Imbalances and Yin-Yang Dynamics in Stress, Anxiety, and Depression

Evidences from psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) and systems biology studies support a conceptual framework of "Yin-Yang dynamics" for understanding the "whole mind-body system." The Yin-Yang dynamical balances in the stress response networks may be critical for health and diseases, especially mental health and psychiatric disorders. Specifically, the neuroimmune imbalances have been found as the important features and potential biomarkers of stress, anxiety, depression, and systemic inflammation. At the system levels, factors such as psychosocial stress and obesity, especially a leaky gut, may result in the imbalance between regulatory and proinflammatory T cells. At the molecular and cellular levels, the imbalances in multiple networks including the cytokine and redox pathways, immune-kynurenine networks, HPA axis, and synaptic plasticity in the hypothalamus are the key factors in depression. The recognition of the neuroimmune imbalances and the restoration of the Yin-Yang dynamical balances need to become a high priority toward the development of dynamical systems medicine for psychiatric diseases including depression and schizophrenia.