Acute-phase immune response: lipopolysaccharide-induced fever and sleep alterations are not simultaneously...

Recent research has demonstrated that specific parameters of the immune system can be augmented by behavioral conditioning. These physiological alterations have been largely achieved by implementation of the conditioned taste aversion paradigm. Fever and sleep alterations are early occurrences within the acute-phase immune response to infection. The present study attempted to concurrently condition these two simultaneous, yet independent, responses. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was used as an unconditioned stimulus. When paired with a novel-tasting saccharin solution, a conditioned febrile response was observed. However, the somnogenic effects of LPS were not simultaneously conditionable. The conditioning of fever, as well as other interleukin-1-mediated responses, offers promise in both clinical and experimental applications.