Conditioned immune responses and the neural-immune connection in animals and humans

Continuous drug treatment is essential for managing immune-related clinical conditions. However, the significant adverse side-effects associated with immunosuppressive drugs call for alternative or complementary treatment approaches. In experimental animals, as well as in healthy individuals and patient populations, controlled drug-dose reduction has been shown to be achievable via taste-immune associative learning paradigms without compromising efficacy of treatment. A systematic use of such conditioned immunopharmacological responses may therefore be considered as a supportive treatment tool in clinical settings to optimize patients' outcomes. This chapter provides an overview of the neural-immune connection in animals and humans and discusses approaches, translational aspects, and the applicability of learning paradigms in clinical settings.